Hokonui Fashion Design Awards

Home
New Zealand
Gore
Hokonui Fashion Design Awards

The Hokonui Fashion Design Awards have been running since 1988 and are now firmly established as a k

Hokonui Fashion Awards an annual event held on the last weekend of July each year. Designers form all over New Zealand enter their fabulous designers every year in different section. Check out http://www.hokonuifashion.com for more details and contact information

08/09/2026

Collections (Open)

A trio of designs that follow a cohesive theme.

This section is for going beyond the limit that a single design mandates. This is your opportunity to take those multiple ideas in your mind and make them co-exist. Walk multiple paths of possibility at once, or accentuate and emphasize a particular element or theme. Make intentional use of the opportunity, and ensure that each design is individually strong, but elevated by its company.

07/09/2026

Aotearoa (Open)

A design inspired by the cultural, historical, environmental, and/or social identity of Aotearoa
New Zealand.

What does Aotearoa mean to you? What memories, what feelings, does this place arise in you? This is your opportunity to explore those questions across any dimension you see fit –
cultural, historical, environmental, social, or anything else. Is it ice cream melting in your hand on a hot day, or is it the ancestral land you are connected to? Is it native flora and fauna, or watching your sibling play sport on a frozen morning? Whatever Aotearoa means to you, we want to see it expressed and embodied in your design.

06/09/2026

Winter Solstice (Open) ❄

A design that explores fashion during Earth’s coldest season.

In winter, many of us reluctantly pile the layers on, and with that often comes a feeling of stifled creativity. This is your chance to show that a change in the weather doesn’t mean a reduction of possibilities, but an expansion of them: explore what the winter months mean for how we dress, from layering and texture to materials, accessories, and silhouette.

05/09/2026

The Great Outdoors (School) 🥾

A design inspired by the nature, adventures, and demands of the great outdoors.

The natural world and our time spent within it is a fundamental part of Aotearoa’s identity. Whether it be the practical demands and classic design language, or the textures, colours, and memories, we want you to use the great outdoors as inspiration for any kind of design you like.

04/09/2026

Activewear (Open)🎽

A design inspired by movement, sport, and the body in motion.

Activewear typically implies a fairly one-dimension kind of garment. Here, we want you to reimagine that term. Be inspired by the texture, energy, and sociality of the body in motion,
and create something that reimagines activewear as a more creative, romantic, and exciting term.

01/09/2026

Ready to Wear (School & Open)

A garment that centres on the importance of fashion for everyday wardrobes and lives.

Most of us never walk a red carpet, but every day we carefully and intentionally choose what we wear for our commute down pavements and into our working spaces.

We wear our favourite piece for the hundredth time and we eagerly combine it with something we bought second-hand just yesterday.

Emphasising everyday wear, inclusive silhouettes, and
expression through fashion, construct a garment to support the people out there living.

31/08/2026

Red Carpets (Open & School)

A design which stands strong among the ambiguity of the world’s red carpet events.

Imagine a red carpet of your choosing, and design a garment for someone walking down it.

Is it for Queens and Kings, or Zendaya and Coleman Domingo?
Is it at Wimbledon, Wānaka, or Wakanda?
Is it a classic silhouette, or one that’s never been seen before?

Whether it be imagination or refined tailoring, emphasise your personal strengths to create a garment that leaves onlookers starstruck.

30/08/2026

2027 Entry Sections are here!!

School
Red Carpets
Ready to Wear
Mātauranga
The Great Outdoors

Open:
Red Carpets
Ready to Wear
Aotearoa
Winter Solstice
Collections
Activewear

Stay tuned for more details to come...

14/08/2026

New Zealand Fashion Week is next week! ✨

We’re incredibly proud to give a special shoutout to the talented designers from the Hokonui Fashion Design Awards who have been selected to showcase their work at this year’s New Zealand Fashion Week.

What an incredible achievement and a testament to the talent coming through our awards.

🌟 Alex O'Hagan - Dunedin AirportOpen Collections Winner, The Fabric Store Best Use of Fabric & MLT Award of Excellence, Ara Institute of Canterbury

🌟 Bracken Eaves - Open Gala, Otago Polytechnic

🌟Jumaanah Vahora - Ivy Clinic Open Aotearoa Winner, O'Connor Richmond Ltd Narrative Award Winner, Auckland

🌟Helen Marshall - Country Living Open Winter Solstice Winner, Invercargill

🌟Jessica Batt - School Androgynous, Wellington Girls' College

🌟Michaela Argyle - School Gala, Winton School

🌟Hazel Evans - Schools Gala Winner, School Award of Excellence, Bayfield High School

A special thank you to our judge Dan Ahwa, Creative Director of New Zealand Fashion Week, for helping create this opportunity and connecting our designers with the wider fashion industry.

We can’t wait to see them take the next step on the national stage 😍

08/08/2026

Ivy Clinic Open Aotearoa Award Winner - Jumaanah Vahora, Auckland

Address

Gore

Website

http://www.hokonuifashion.co.nz/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Hokonui Fashion Design Awards posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Hokonui Fashion Design Awards:

Want your business to be the top-listed Clothing Store in Gore?