New Zealand Fashion Week Kahuria 2026: Day 3 Show Reports – The Studio, The Graduate Collections, Claudia Li, Kathryn Wilson, Karen Walker

The Viva team reports live from New Zealand Fashion Week Kahuria, with coverage of the major shows on the schedule. Today’s line-up opened with The Studio, showcasing some of the best contemporary designers in New Zealand fashion, including Adrion Atelier, Bronwyn Footwear, Claudia Li, Dominique Healy, Fringes, Harris Tapper, We’ll also be reporting from Claudia Li’s show, as well as The Graduate Collections, which features the promising stars from Aotearoa’s leading fashion design schools: Whitecliffe, Massey University and Otago Polytechnic.Plus, we’ll be at the much-anticipated evening headliners: Kathryn Wilson and Karen Walker.Check back throughout the day for updates, and head to Viva.co.nz for more Fashion Week coverage, including our reports from opening night and day two.The StudioThe Sylvester collection hits the runway at The Studio NZFW show. Photo / Jason DordayShed 10 buzzed with anticipation on Day 3. Curated by NZFW creative director Dan Ahwa, The Studio offered an insight into the latest silhouettes gracing our shores. With 17 labels on the runway, there was plenty to peruse.Harris Tapper opened with its sculptural workwear adorned in ostrich feathers from shoulders to toes.Fringes followed, its standout look a cropped, boxy menswear suit decked in more than 6000 hand-sewn buttons.The phones came out for REBE and were kept in hand. Ever a masterclass in contemporary womenswear, we saw a structured leather vest with fluid midi-length fringing, and barrel-leg cream cargos that cleverly convert from a trouser to a short. The oversized shearling collar leather jacket was my early favourite. To see a selection of the looks from The Studio show, click through the photos in the carousel below.Red is the colour du jour, from COMMONPLACE ESSENTIALS’ bold jacquard drawstring jacket to the elevated knitwear of Francie (and even a sequined neck scarf from Claudia Li). If not as a focal point, certainly as an accessory.This was the first and final show for Sylvester, a casual sister label to the eponymous Kate Sylvester. Her three sons opted to continue its legacy after her label’s 2024 closure, but the tough economic climate means it won’t continue after this collection. Kate Sylvester was a cornerstone of NZFW, so it only felt fitting that Shed 10 housed its curtain call, too. Emma Jing’s new collection, Local Hero, leaned into nautical motifs. With voluminous, dramatically draped garments embellished with tricorn hats, low-slung belts and ruched eye patches, the designer receive rousing applause. It was, dare I say, pirate chic. True to form, Dan Ahwa’s Studio ate and left no crumbs. And with many of the collections dropping today, you don’t have to wait to shop the runway. – Skye Ross, Viva writerMore on New Zealand Fashion Week Kahuria