Shadowplay: NZ Fashion Week 2025

This week we welcomed guests into our world, as we brought our inspirations to life. The taylor moodboard became a reality, for you to step into, to walk through our Shadowplay world.

"This is the world I build before conceiving the collection; it is like travelling into my thoughts, seeing the things that play out as I saw them, before the garments emerged out of the shadowy depths of my mind. Each season, a range starts with an inspiration point, and after 26 years, I still cannot tell you what will inspire each collection. It will be something that I stumble upon, a thought, a physical form, a feeling. What I do know is that it is always something unexpected, always something different that catches my attention." - Vicki

Shadowplay is where light meets dark, following its travels across surfaces. Light waves and shadows change perception, defining the threshold between what we see and what is concealed, figures cut into the foreground, and what we are invited to imagine. This collection is an exploration of light in flux, and the unmistakable dialogue of taylor, where design becomes a language of itself. Across fourteen looks, styled by Creative Director Vicki Taylor and Design & Sampling Assistant Trent Bell, the collection comes to life, highlighting six core capsules.

The Shadowplay Presentation was a celebration of New Zealand creativity across the board. A thank you to all of our partners; without them, the evening wouldn't have been possible. Aleph, D&M Hair, Dancing Water Wines, Dulux Paint, Little Biddy Gin, Paradise Prosecco from Everyday Wines and Nikki Harmsen Lighting.

With a collection name, Shadowplay, it was only right for lighting to take centre stage in setting the scene for the evening. Inspired by the dance between light and shadow, taylor explores the way light defines a space, how it bends, refracts and drapes. Nikki Harmsen of Party Direct, and a long-time friend of Vicki's, created six different zones to reflect the individuality of each garment.

Guests were welcomed into a moody, dimly-lit venue, decorated with walls to divide The Shelter into a gallery-like space. Each wall painted wth Dulux Wash & Wear Tetuiti Black and Mt. Hutt White, the perfect backdrop to bounce light around the show.

taylor looks were complemented by beauty creations from incredible New Zealand creatives Emma Peters from Aleph Beauty and Danny Pato of D&M Hair, in partnership with Davines.

Aleph led by Emma and Yelena Bebich created a glowy, natural base for our models, tailoring each eye, lip and cheek to complement the outfit. Models wearing the Particle Print were adorned with white sculptural eyeliner, and those in the Tag Tops had small droplets, almost like water on the surface of the skin, reflecting light.

Hair becomes an architectural extension of our taylor garments - an expressive form that bends, twists and reaches beyond the body. Each look is rooted in tension and elevation. Imagined by award-winning hair artist Danny Pato MNZM and his team at D&M, hair defies gravity with a wire structure with a slicked-back base.

Collaborating with local suppliers, and female-run brands Little Biddy Gin and Dancing Water Wines were the highlight of our bar for the evening. Guests sipped a curated selection of Otago and North Canterbury wines, and were treated to a Little Biddy Classic Gin & Tonic, garnished with Horopito & Lemon. Paradise Prosecco, a favourite in the taylor workroom, welcomed guests as they entered the show.

To explore our taylor Shadowplay collection here.