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Regional | Fashion

Aspiring young Māori designer hopes NZFW will inspire

These are the pieces that won Ngāpuhi descendant Erin Wellington a trip to India at the end of this year.

Over 70 fashion designers are featuring their work throughout NZ Fashion Week this week.  A young Māori fashion student has set her sights on making it to NZ Fashion Week one day.

At only 19 years old, she's already won many awards for her designs, most recently the Prime Minister's Scholarships for Asia programme.

Erin Wellington (Ngāpuhi) says success here in NZ would be far more meaningful than success internationally.  She says, "If you were able to have something here in NZ, I kind of think it would almost be better then having Fashion Week in New York, because this is where your from and all your friends can really celebrate with you."

She has high expectations for NZ designers at Fashion Week, and hopes their designs will be inspiring.

Erin leaves for India on November 15 where she hopes to draw more inspiration for new designs.