← NZ A to ZSouth Island • OtagoUpdated 2025
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Karen Walker
Karen Walker launched her fashion label in 1989 at just 18 years old with $100 in her pocket. She is now New Zealand's most internationally recognised fashion designer, showing at New York Fashion Week every season since 1998 and dressing celebrities including Rihanna and Alexa Chung.
Her iconic tortoiseshell sunglasses became a global cult item in the 2000s. Walker's work spans clothing, jewellery, eyewear and fragrance, and her label is stocked in luxury department stores worldwide. She put New Zealand fashion firmly on the international map.
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Zambesi
Founded in Christchurch in 1979 by Elizabeth and Neville Findlay, Zambesi is New Zealand's most revered high-end fashion brand. Known for its dark, architectural aesthetic and uncompromising quality, it has been a cornerstone of New Zealand fashion for over four decades.
Zambesi pioneered luxury menswear in New Zealand and expanded into eyewear and accessories. Its clothing is stocked in New Zealand, Australia and Japan, and it remains one of the few New Zealand brands to have genuinely influenced international fashion thinking.
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Icebreaker / Merino Wool
Icebreaker, founded in Wellington in 1994 by Jeremy Moon, pioneered the use of New Zealand merino wool in high-performance outdoor clothing and transformed the global outdoor apparel industry. Before Icebreaker, synthetic fabrics dominated — after it, merino became the premium choice for base layers worldwide.
New Zealand's merino sheep graze the high country of the South Island, producing some of the world's finest wool. Icebreaker's success made "New Zealand merino" a globally recognised quality standard and launched an entire category of sustainable performance clothing.
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World
Founded in Auckland in 1989 by Denise L'Estrange-Corbet and Francis Hooper, World is the most avant-garde brand in New Zealand fashion — theatrical, provocative and always surprising. Their runway shows have included performance art, elaborate staging and costumes that blur the line between fashion and theatre.
Denise L'Estrange-Corbet became the first New Zealand woman to receive the MNZM for services to fashion. World has dressed performers for major international events and remains the beating heart of New Zealand's creative fashion scene after more than 35 years.
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Trelise Cooper
Trelise Cooper is one of New Zealand's most celebrated fashion designers, known for her opulent, feminine aesthetic and bold use of colour and embellishment. Her work has been featured in Vogue, Marie Claire and InStyle, and she has dressed the cast of Sex and the City.
In 2010 she was commissioned by Air New Zealand to design the airline's staff uniforms — one of the most high-profile fashion commissions in New Zealand history. Cooper is also a passionate environmental advocate and was among the first New Zealand designers to commit to sustainable practices.
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Huffer
Huffer has been New Zealand's defining streetwear brand since 1997, blending urban style with outdoor functionality for a distinctly Kiwi aesthetic. Based in Auckland, it built a loyal following among young New Zealanders for its bold graphics, quality outerwear and consistent creative direction.
Huffer bridged the gap between the surf and skate culture of New Zealand's coasts and the urban streetwear scene, creating a style that felt authentically local. It remains one of the most recognised and respected New Zealand fashion brands among younger generations.
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New Zealand Clothing Icons
Canterbury, Swandri and Line 7 — the New Zealand brands worn from rugby fields to Antarctic expeditions.
New Zealand has produced some of the world's most recognisable outdoor and sportswear brands — built on the country's rugby culture, rugged farming heritage and love of the outdoors.
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Canterbury of New Zealand
Canterbury of New Zealand is the world's number one rugby apparel brand. Founded in the Canterbury province of New Zealand in the late 1880s, the company began as a knitwear manufacturer before a chance request to produce a rugby jersey launched it onto the world stage.
Today Canterbury outfits national teams across the globe including Australia, Scotland, Ireland, Fiji and Japan. The brand's singular focus on rugby — from grassroots club level to Test match — has never wavered. Its head office remains in Christchurch, the capital of the Canterbury province.
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Swandri
Swandri is New Zealand's original bush shirt — a thick, woollen, wind and rain-resistant jacket that has been worn by farmers, hunters and outdoor workers since 1913. Made from a specially treated wool that repels water without losing warmth, it became the uniform of the New Zealand outdoorsman.
The Swandri is pure No. 8 wire practicality — unpretentious, virtually indestructible, and supremely functional in the wet, cold conditions of the New Zealand bush and high country. It has been worn on Antarctic expeditions, on Everest and on farms across the country for over a century.
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Line 7
Line 7 was born from New Zealand's sailing culture and the country's deep connection with the sea. Founded in the 1980s during New Zealand's golden era of yachting, the brand became synonymous with high-performance wet weather gear and technical sailing apparel.
The brand grew alongside New Zealand's America's Cup campaigns and became a fixture on racing yachts worldwide. Its gear is designed for the serious conditions of the Southern Ocean — cold, wet and unforgiving — which gave it credibility beyond the racing circuit into recreational sailing and outdoor adventure.
