Review: Te Wiki Āhua o Aotearoa ‘The Uncommon Thread’, 26th March 2025 [Web Exclusive]

WEB EXCLUSIVE | REVIEW | ĀHUA | FASHION

Written by Libby Helyar (she/her) | @777libby | Contributing Writer

Construction reigned supreme on night three of the 2025 Te Wiki Āhua O Aotearoa,  The Uncommon Thread, situated in Karangahape Road’s Raynham Park.

Designers Giulia Zigliani, QQ, Pixie Pyxis, Poison Spike and Netasha Abeysinghe presented collections of concentrated fluidity, and the audience embraced the multiformity.

Stations of stand-up mirrors formed a central line down the runway, and as the lights dropped, strobes flared to reveal a lone dancer weaving in intense jolting movements. What the show would deliver had been declared.

The creations of Giulia Zigliani were the first to be introduced.

Robed and textural, the first look immediately announced luxury. The collection’s rich purple hues were paired with crisp whites and an air of whimsical renaissance. Knee-length bloomers and silky skirts billowed below adorned corsets, and shoulders were draped with an intentional lightness. Vitality entered the room.

Above: Garments from the Giulia Zigliani Collection 

From there, QQ expanded the audience’s wonderment.

The collection’s Pagliacci absurdity had an awareness of its camp qualities. Models carried plush bananas and wore fruit bowls atop their heads. In the garments’ joints, there lay playful puppet-like mechanisms at the knee, with glimpses of a red lining to contrast stark white exteriors - a feast for the eyes.

Above: Garments from the QQ Collection 

If clown-wear is in, Pixie Pyxis established their very own faction, with bold, lost boy-inspired looks. Staying true to their principle of employing used or discarded materials, buttons and pearl strings embellished experimental styles. Models gifted audience members tree branches, with cheeky smirks giving inklings that these characters had trouble to cause, wherever they were headed to. 

Above: Garments from the Pixie Pyxis Collection 

Poison Spike then shifted the show’s momentum. 

These girls know something you don’t - and flaunt it accordingly. The designs balanced youthful fun with gory elements of manufactured femininity. Beads covered stitch lines in Kintsugi style, and knitted intestines spilled out of the chest of a shift dress. Wide patchworked trousers paired with decorated bandages posed questions of modified identity.

Above: Garment from Poison Spike Collection 

Netasha Abeysinghe’s promotion of poise re-grounded the audience to close out the show. Rich, sari-inspired drapery was accessorised with bead strings around the waist, and detail-oriented garments displayed fine construction skills. Gaia-esque models concluded their study of vanity by forgoing a final walk, instead collecting around the catwalk’s mirrors to affirm their beauty.

Above: Garments from the Netasha Abeysinghe Collection

The lone dancer returned, softer in movement and energy, spinning around like a girl in her bedroom until the audience’s loud cheers of approval and celebration could no longer be contained. 

The designers made their runway march to eruptive applause. It was clear that these emerging creatives had found endorsement amongst the Raynham Park crowd.