All the fashion seen at Aotearoa Art Fair 2025

This past week felt like a cultural crescendo for Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Anchored by the Aotearoa Art Fair, the city was brimming with visual energy—joined by the Viaduct Harbour Sculpture Trail, the May Art Fair, and DarkLight, a luminous, immersive installation by Angus Muir Design and producer Dan Move. The sheer breadth of work on show offered plenty of space to contemplate, collect, and be captivated. As well as, take some art home.

Opening night at the Aotearoa Art Fair, in particular, proved to be a study not just in contemporary art, but in contemporary style. A cross-section of artists, collectors, and culture-seekers arrived in very cool directional silhouettes, rare vintage, and cult labels for the Opening Night of Aotearoa Art Fair. As someone who’s spent over 18 years on the global Fashion Week circuit, I’m always struck by how art fairs have become quiet showcases for personal style at its most expressive and idiosyncratic.

We’ve rounded up some of our favourite looks from the evening—each one telling its own story.

Artist Nikau Hindin

Artist Judi Bagust

Artist Georgia Arnold

Artist Jade Townsend

Sauce Founder, Zeenat Wilkinson

Lisa Muller

Artist Marita Hewitt

Evan Woodruffe (left) and Garth O’Brien (right)

Artist James Drinkwater

Artist Nephi Tupaea

Elle Föenander overlooking Artist Monica Rani Rudhar’s works

Elle Föenander, owner of Föenander Gallery

Anouk’s Wallis-Lewis, Nat Tozer & Tori Beeche of mothermother Gallery

Dean Howard Hoo & Marie Meindl

Artist Alex McFarlane

Yuka O'Shannessy, Public Records

Tatum Savage & Jasmin Scott

Ijeoma Opara

Writer Rosa-Lee O’Reilly

Lissy Robinton-Cole

Artist Amelia Fagance

Images : Karen Ishiguro
Words : Zeenat Wilkinson