In the third installment of our Te Wiki Āhua o Aotearoa story, we find ourselves seized by the echo chamber. A space where the glamour is loud, the pressure hits harder and the line between opportunity and exploitation becomes dangerously thin.

This is not your hero’s journey. It’s a mirror held up to an industry that grooms and consumes. Where control is dressed up as mentorship, and creativity is traded like currency. Yet, we find ourselves returning. Not because it’s easy, but because it matters. Our stories matter.

We give everything because we know, every season of Āhua, that this might be the last time we get to make this stand. We’re a community of young, scrappy, and hungry creatives that show up to the arena seemingly ill-equipped and eyes bigger than our stomachs.

Every show this August 22nd – 30th is more than just a runway, it’s a declaration. It’s a stand for what we value, what we protect, and what we carry forward as a community.

Runway 04

Show Title - Material Girl’ by Sleeping Profit ft. Babyhead

Material Girl is a dedication to all the versions of Her. Who she was, who she is and who she might become. This collection draws from both the world we live in and imagined realms, with each look capturing a different feeling, moment or place. A blend of fantasy and reality, it expresses what cannot be said with words, instead materialised through light, colour and movement. Whilst the meaning and magic behind the work can’t be fully explained, perhaps it will mean something to you.

Contact the host of Te Wiki Āhua o Aotearoa - Material Girl