Track the Trends thanks to Georgette Pollock

Track the Trends

By Georgette Pollock-Johnston (Styled By Georgette)

New Zealand Fashion Week always tells us something about where we're headed, not just on the runway, but in our actual wardrobes. As a colour analyst and stylist, I'm less interested in what looks good under the lights and more interested in what's actually going to look good on you.

Ahead of this year's shows, there are four trends I'm expecting to see plenty of, and the best part is, you won't have to look far to find them. Westfield Newmarket has become my go-to for translating runway trends into real wardrobes, with enough range under one roof to actually build these looks properly.

One thing I will say going in: New Zealand Fashion Week has traditionally leaned heavily on black, and I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing more colour this year. We saw it start to happen last year, with designers like Claudia Li bringing through pops of red and blue, and I'm hoping that energy carries into this season.
I love the designers who give us a beautiful colour moment. Colour makes your brain light up. It's what catches your eye and what stays with you long after the show ends. I want to see more of that on the runway this year, and I think we might just get it.
Ahead of this year's shows, there are four trends I'm expecting to see plenty of, and the best part is, you won't have to look far to find them.

Soft Power Tailoring
Sharp shoulders and structured blazers have been dominating for a few seasons now, but the shift I'm expecting to see on the NZFW runways this year is a softening.
Tailoring will still be doing the talking, just with more relaxed lines. Think a blazer with a bit of drape instead of a rigid shoulder, or trousers that skim rather than cling. I'm already seeing this play out in stores with that unstructured trench coat silhouette showing up everywhere. People are belting them too, which adds shape back in without losing that relaxed feel.
This is a shift I'm genuinely excited about. Soft tailoring is far more forgiving across different body types, and it opens the door for colour play that structured tailoring doesn't always allow.
If you're a Soft Summer or Soft Autumn, this trend is basically speaking your language already. But even my brighter seasons can lean into it by choosing a
fabric with a bit of movement and letting the colour do the sharpening instead of the cut.
This is exactly the kind of piece worth trying on in person rather than guessing online. A Saturday spent looking through the stores at Westfield Newmarket will tell you far more about the way a jacket actually falls on your body than any lookbook will.

Sheer Layers
Sheer fabric has been building for a few seasons, and I expect it to have a real moment at NZFW, hopefully done with restraint rather than shock value.
What I think will be particularly interesting this season is how sheer layering starts to merge with more delicate, lacy pieces underneath. Think lace trims and delicate edging on slips and dresses, with a sheer layer over the top so the detail still comes through.
It's that soft, romantic quality where you're seeing two textures working together at once, and it's something I'm already noticing in stores. A sheer overshirt thrown over a simple singlet, or a fi ne sheer knit layered over something more structured underneath. It's a trend about texture and depth, not exposure.
This is one where colour analysis genuinely matters more than usual. Sheer fabric shows your colour twice: once in the layer itself and again where it meets your skin.
If you're working with a translucent piece, I'd always steer you towards your seasonal palette rather than simply choosing the trend colour, because a sheer layer in the wrong tone can wash you out fast. Done in the right colours, though, it's one of the most fl attering ways to add dimension to an outfi t.
Because the effect changes so much depending on lighting and what's underneath, this is another one I'd try in store rather than online. Westfi eld Newmarket's mix of brands makes it easy to play around with a sheer piece over a few different base colours and see what actually works before committing.

Pastel Palette
Pastels have been building for a while, and I think this could be the year they properly arrive at NZFW, not as a spring novelty, but as a genuine colour statement worn confi dently across different silhouettes.
In stores right now, I'm seeing a lot of baby blue, and I think that's a colour that's going to stick around.
This is exactly why colour analysis matters so much right now. Not all pastels are created equal. A warmer, clearer pastel will do far more for my Springs, while
softer, more muted versions are where my Summers are going to shine. Autumns might fi nd their version in warmer, more grounded interpretations of the trend, while Winters can look for those icy pastels that hold a little more clarity.
The trend itself isn't the hard part. Finding your version of it is.
That's the whole job, and it's a lot easier to do when you can hold a handful of seemingly similar shades up against your skin and actually see the difference. With so many brands under one roof at Westfi eld Newmarket, you can compare those subtle shifts in colour properly rather than trying to work out whether something is warm, cool or somewhere in between from a screen.

Crafted Texture
The last trend I want to flag is less about colour and more about texture, and it might be my favourite of the four.
Crochet, hand-knit detailing, raw or frayed edges, visible stitching used as a design feature rather than something to hide. There's a real craft-forward, considered feeling building in New Zealand fashion at the moment, and I'm hoping NZFW leans right into it. We have such a strong tradition of makers here, and I'd love to see that refl ected on the runway rather than overshadowed by fast-fashion polish.
What I also think we might see is two trends merging, with texture being created visually as well as physically. Plaids and fabric prints that give the impression of texture are something I'm watching for. Then there's fabric weight and fi nish: silks, heavier weaves, shine and lustre all play into this space and completely change the way an outfi t reads.
Texture is one of the easiest trends to wear regardless of your season because it adds interest without necessarily adding more colour.
But if you want to make it work even harder for you, choose your crafted pieces in your palette rather than automatically reaching for a neutral. Let the texture and colour work together instead of making the texture do all the heavy lifting.
Texture is also something you really need to see and touch, so this is a trend I'd want you to shop in person. Having the range at Westfi eld Newmarket means you can compare those fabrics, weights and fi nishes side by side and see how they actually work on you.
What ties these four trends together, for me, is that none of them are really about being on trend for the sake of it. They're about softness, dimension and craft, worn in a way that fl atters the individual rather than following a single silhouette or colour story.
That's always been my approach to styling, and it's genuinely exciting to see New Zealand Fashion Week moving in that direction too.
If there's one thing I'd want you to take into NZFW this year, it's this: the trends are only ever the starting point.
Your colours, your proportions, your personal style, that's what turns a trend into something that actually looks like you.
And if you want to get a head start before the shows start, Westfield Newmarket is a great place to find your next look.