Wastebusters is holding its annual Refashion show aimed at reducing the wasteful impacts of fast fashion and promoting the more sustainable slow fashion.
The show brings together established designers who have been in the business for years as well as emerging designers, some of whom are as young as 16 years old.
Designers who take part are dedicated to the values of minimising waste and offering people clothing that is stylish, long-lasting and affordable.
Wastebusters spokesperson Ruth Blunt said the organisation had dedicated the month of March to slow fashion and the fashion show was the highlight.
"There’s a huge volume of textile waste that’s a big problem around the world — it’s one of the highest carbon emitters."
The show aimed to promote sustainability while still celebrating individual styles, she said.
"There’s people dressing up all the time and we want to celebrate that."
It was also an opportunity for young designers to meet more established locals who had already set up their brands.
"It’s such a supportive, fun vibe where emerging designers with sustainability at their core can rub shoulders with really established designers who are working with natural fibres, natural processes."
Local brand Precious Collaborative is set to showcase its newest line, which was partially funded by the sale of a coat last year designed by Liz Mitchells.
"It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase the Precious Collaborative ready-to-wear collection, which hasn’t been seen on a runway format in Wānaka before," spokesperson Lindsey Schofield said.
The line was the creation of local designer Claire O’Connell, who had a strong passion for sustainable fashion.
The group was displaying a variety of clothing including shirts and pants for both men and women, all of which were made primarily from wool and hemp with a lot of locally sourced materials in the mix.
The idea was to give people an affordable option for quality, long-lasting clothing, which fitted perfectly with the values Wastebusters was upholding, Ms Schofield said.
"A lot of people haven’t worn anything like that that’s actually properly made and once you do wear something like that then you think ‘Oh OK, this is what good clothes feel like’."
Lohi Linen’s Tania Murray Haigh is also back for the third year as a supporter of the slow-fashion movement.
The designer is showing off some of the store’s long pants, summer tops and menswear, all of which are 100% linen.
"We’re just really getting back to the basics of being slow fashion, which is fundamentally being transparent about what we do, so we sew in the shop that we have, and we also have no waste," Ms Murray Haigh said.
The show is set to take place on March 20 at the Lake Wānaka Centre, starting at 6:30pm.
