By Ryan Patrick
After a four-year hiatus, we’re finally celebrating Fashion Week again! Like most of us, I was holding out for FW 2021 and then 2022, both of which were unfortunately canceled. But here we finally are in 2023!
Over the years, I have met, worked with, and befriended so many creatives whom I was so excited to see in action. In addition to being a fashion and beauty photographer, I also dabble in event photography, so this was essentially Christmas for me.
Opening FW, Kiri Nathan’s show
Day 1
I began every day with a bowl of matcha and 15 minutes of quiet time to myself before the day’s chaos ensued. I’m a recent matcha convert, and I honestly find it helps me focus better than coffee, which can give me the jitters. And any photographer knows unhelpful that is when you’re trying to hold a camera still.
Photo1 - Me in situ, photo credit to Huawei Tong Photo 2 - Makeup Artist extraordinaire, Huawei Tong herself
I arrived at the venue at 8, an hour ahead of the opening show, Kiri Nathan. A good photographer is always early. And I’m glad I was, what a show! Kiri showcased her interpretations of Māori clothing, spanning from prehistory to the future. The show even included a fantastic performance from Ria Hall that honestly had me a little emotional. The first highlights of the week was seeing Rawiri Waititi walk the catwalk in his infamous Jordans, paired with what I can only assume was a custom carved pounamu ‘tie’. [I can’t actually seem to find anywhere confirming this? We could omit it].
Then I hit my first (and fortunately only) roadblock! I had underestimated the amount of storage I’d need, and just how long it would take me to transfer all the files. Normally, I just go home, transfer them to my work computer, and have dinner while I wait. But when you've just shot 1000 images, and have another show in 15 minutes, that's not an option. Whoops. Unfortunately, this meant I missed Rory William Docherty’s show, which I’m still annoyed about. Nevertheless, I was back in the photography pit for Jacqueline Anne, Campbell Luke, and Juliette Hogan. I also took my first photo of Danni Harris, who would become a regular feature on my Instagram feed for the next week.
In the evening I was hoping to get to Nom’D but that was offsite, and I still had to edit all those shows. So, I headed back home, transferred files, reflected, edited, and got them posted. I have a friend who runs a modelling agency who suggested I post the photos as fast as possible, so that’s what I tried to do. I ended up working until 1:30am, editing photos from 4 shows, along with some behind-the-scenes shots and street style photography.
Photo 1 - Rawiri Waititi walking in his Jordans at Kiri Nathan Photo 2 - Sophie Beddoe and the aforementioned Danni Harris, who became famous for her shoe game over the week.
Day 2
I was back at it again at 8am, ready for the first show of the morning, The Graduate Show! It was amazing to see all the up and coming designers, but it became challenging as I shot about 2000 images and was rapidly beginning to run out of space on my laptop and drives. Just buy an SSD external drive dedicated to work, kids, and save yourself the pain. Trust me! After the show, I spent a few hours deleting files and reorganising until I could get enough space to clear my SD cards.
Then it was back on deck for Cecilia Kang Couture and Estele NZ - a gorgeous show. Following them was Kathryn Wilson Footwear, which was super high-energy! And finally, Kharl WiRepa, which ran rather late. Combined with me making the mistake of letting my phone go flat, I found myself walking home from the venue at 11pm. Another late night, this time, I stayed up until 3am sorting out the mess I had made of my filing system.
Photo 1 - a model walking for Nelle Clothing at the Graduate Show Photo 2 - Cecilia Kang brought dancers! Photo 3 - My friend and stylist Sabrina Gardner with who made to all the broadsheets with her styling, alongside Annabel Frida
Day 3
We weren’t allowed to photograph Jockey at 1pm due to the All Blacks’ contracts, so I took the opportunity to have a slower morning at home and catch up on posting. I rocked up eventually at around 11 to shoot some street style before Kaistor St at 1:30. It featured one of my favourite outfits of the week, a vivid blue cape with striking geometric cutouts. Shame it’s never good cape weather in Auckland.
Next up was Zambesi, and the highlight of my week (if not year), was meeting my first fan?! The wonderful Dani Gleeson said she has been a huge fan of my work for years and was thrilled to meet me. It melted my normally icy cold heart! She’s an up-and-coming photographer from Tauranga; you should check her out. Zambesi was unsurprisingly fantastic and fortunately, the weather was perfect. Due to the layout of the runway we could get quite up close and personal with the models, which resulted in some great shots.
Photo 1 - Such a nice cape. A model walking for Kaistor St Photo 2 - Myself and Dani Gleeson, couldn’t not get a photo. Photo Credit Felix R Jack Photo 3 - Stunning in silver on silver. Someone walking for Zambesi
The day concluded with Kate Sylvester and I got home at the relatively civil time of 8:30pm. Edited until I could barely sit upright at 1:30am.
The final model walk for Kate Sylvester
Day 4
Alright, starting to slow down a little now. When I arrived at 11am, I began by photographing the Fashion Lunch. I was in my element capturing the lunch and behind the scenes, but the show itself proved to be challenging to shoot due to varying lighting conditions and multiple models on the runway at the same time. Nevertheless, I managed to snap a photo of my friend Meghan Moffat, which she later said was one of her favourite shots ever taken of her. That made it all worth it.
Photo 1 - Meghan Moffat’s favourite photo Photo 2 - The start of The House of Vivian Aue with Diamond Langi
A bit of recovery time as well as some street and BTS photos, until the Resene Colour Runaway at 6:30pm. It featured designers from the entire week, highlighting colours. However, what I was looking forward to was finally getting to photograph Rael Wright again, who was the very first model I met in Auckland. Naturally, she killed it, as did Tia Harris and a bunch of other friends!
Then it was time to prepare for the Friday Night Fashion Night. What an experience. It kicked off with the phenomenal dance crew One of None, who absolutely blew me away. I had to stop myself from cheering from the photography pit. Designers Nineteen99 and The House of Vivian Aue lit up the runway with a multisensory experience including drums, and more dancers. Finally, they closed the evening with some amazing voguing performances from the House of Givenchy. Which led straight into the afterparty! I did a little event photography but quickly let my hair down when a model friend talked me into a G&T, and then a few more… It was nice to relax a bit and hang out with everyone! I got home at 12:30am and fell straight into bed.
Photo 1 - The House of Givenchy absolutely slaying it Photo 2 - Some of those G&Ts. Photo credit Cyrielle Henry
Day 5
The final day! I had a slower than usual start at 9am, as there wasn’t too much happening early on Saturday. I Love Ponsonby at 1:30pm showcased local Ponsonby designers, and it was fantastic to see so many of my friends walking in it.
Team Red11! With some of my favourites, Charlotte Brown, Erilyn Dagan, and Bethany Simmonds
I spent midday shooting street style, although my motivation may have been running a little low by this point. But I did have another highlight of the week: a mini photoshoot with Tia Harris, Rael Wright, and Kaarina Parker, three of NZ’s best.
Then it was off to the two final shows back to back, Tangaroa Te Ihi Moana, The Sea is Rising with Kharl WiRepa and to close the week, Maesteal Collective, a group of young, Auckland-based designers creating garments to reflect the alienation felt by queer people in society. Then, it was straight home and into bed. I figured the editing could wait until tomorrow.
Photo 1 - Team Red11! With some of my favourites, Charlotte Brown, Erilyn Dagan, and Bethany Simmonds Photo 2 - Won’t lie, been hoping to shoot Tia Harris for years Photo 3 - Might be my favourite look from the whole thing, they have definitely seen some stuff. A model from Maesteal
And was a wrap on Fashion Week ‘23! 20,000 images over roughly 90 hours. It was such a huge experience, and I’m still coming down from it. I’m so grateful for all the friends I’ve made along the way. I often find myself spending long hours alone at my desk, editing photos, and it was amazing to step out, reconnect with everyone, and be reminded that I’m part of something greater than yourself.
Oh, and one final thing; your monopod is your best friend. Never attend a Fashion Week without it.
