Fashion forward

In a city rich with sartorial energy, the Christchurch Spring Fashion Festival finds its home. From shopping to street style and fashion shows at Te Pae, industry influencers Jessie Kirk and Skye Zöfia Marryatt find their style blooms from within The Crossing. Skye Zöfia Marryatt, @skyemarryatt Fashion design graduate and stylist What does […]

Spring refresh: The Fitting Room

Help is at hand for the perfect fit. Spring is in the air, and it’s not only the flowers emerging from winter hibernation. With longer, warmer days, it’s time to shed the winter woollens and freshen up your wardrobe. Good foundation wear is the place to start. Bras that dig in or straps […]

Why we need a fashion festival

Three reasons why Christchurch is the perfect host for a fashion festival. The Christchurch Spring Fashion Festival (CSFF) is a sartorial showcase, bringing stylish New Zealand Fashion Week (NZFW) events with South Island flavour. In a three-year partnership between sustainable economic development agency ChristchurchNZ and NZFW, it builds on last year’s landmark debut […]

Inside the Christchurch Spring Fashion Festival

Runways! Designer showcases! Industry events! Christchurch’s fashion festival – our city’s own New Zealand Fashion Week – returns to the spring calendar for 2026 from 15 to 18 October. Here’s everything you can’t miss out on. Taking the runway to a new venue this year, state-of-the-art convention centre Te Pae will host the […]

What’s new this spring? By Made in the Shade Fashions

Between custom-designed prints and vibrant spring colours, we track the latest collections and seasonal styles to this longstanding fashion location on Colombo Street. “A transeasonal wardrobe is rather important,” says Ali Donn in between unpacking spring additions for the Made in the Shade shelves. “Choose fabrics and colours that float seamlessly between winter, […]

New Zealand Fashion Week, wrapped!

From her base out of Auckland’s Shed 10, the main stage for New Zealand Fashion Week 2026, Head Dresser and Metropol’s correspondent Mima Lewis Gourdie wraps her favourite moments from the six-day schedule.

Local fashion student a triple threat

Ara’s Alex O’Hagan won three major awards at this year’s Hokonui Fashion Design Awards in Gore, where amateur fashion designers showcase their work to industry leaders. In conversation with Metropol editor Nina Tucker, the third-year student talks about exploring control and spontaneity, and working with velvet to honour his grandma. Tell me about […]

Aotearoa’s future of fashion

New Zealand Fashion Week 2026 felt like the event’s most diverse, empowering and authentic yet. Ahead of Ōtautahi’s own Spring Fashion Festival in October, Metropol editor Nina Tucker shares the best things she heard and read over the week. “It’s really easy to critique the New Zealand fashion scene,” says Rose Hope of […]

Behind the bridal gown: Brides of Merivale

For 30 years, wedding gown designer and boutique owner Lisa Dermott has fulfilled the dream dress fairytale for thousands of local brides. She tells Metropol the stories of her success, from learning to sew to the most special moments. Lisa, next year marks 30 years of Brides of Merivale! Describe the journey? I […]

Pearl glam

Curated by Nina Tucker Get in the spirit of the show you’re going to watch, so says the New Zealand Opera of the what-to-wear dilemma. Pearls traverse beyond the opera house to daily dressing, don’t be afraid to live vicariously through Coco Chanel’s famous saying: “A woman needs ropes and ropes of pearls.” […]