After almost a decade of showing in the fast-paced world of New York Fashion Week, New Zealand-born, New York-seasoned designer Claudia Li is making a powerful return to where it all began: New Zealand Fashion Week (NZFW). This isn’t just a comeback; it’s a homecoming.
Having stepped away from the relentless global fashion cycle, Li is now designing with a new sense of clarity and intention. Her latest collection, aptly titled “A Different Place and Time…,” is a thoughtful reflection on her 10-year journey as a designer, revisiting and reshaping the very silhouettes that first defined her brand. In this exclusive chat, we dive into what inspired her return, the lessons learned from her time away, and what it feels like to finally be home.
As a global success story, how does it feel to bring your designs back to New Zealand Fashion Week for the first time?
It feels surreal but also grounding. For almost a decade, I showed in New York, and that became my normal — but standing here now, it’s a very different feeling. There’s something powerful about sharing my work at home, with the community that shaped me before I ever became a designer. It feels less like a career milestone and more like a homecoming, a return to where it all began.
You stepped away from the fast-paced New York fashion cycle. What was the biggest lesson you learned from that break, and how has it changed the way you approach your new collection for NZFW?
The biggest lesson was that stepping away doesn’t mean falling behind. I’d been running at a pace that felt unsustainable, and the break forced me to strip everything back and ask myself why I was doing this in the first place. That reset changed how I design — now I work slower, but with more clarity and intention.
Your clothes are known for their bold colours and beautiful shapes. What local New Zealand sights, sounds, or feelings inspired the collection we’ll see on the runway?
What struck me most about being back here isn’t just the physical landscape, but the quietness — the space it gives you to think. In New York, the pace was so fast that I was always reacting, always moving. Here, there’s room to pause, to focus on what actually matters. That space allowed me to rediscover who I am as a designer, and that sense of clarity shaped the collection more than anything else.
Your work often starts with a personal memory or emotion. Can you share a specific story behind one of the pieces in your new collection?
The whole collection is built from fragments of memory, silhouettes and shapes that first defined my brand years ago. They were the pieces that felt most honest to me when I started, and now I’ve brought them back with new proportions, new volume, and a different kind of strength. It’s not tied to one story, but to the act of revisiting myself. Each look is a conversation with the past, re-edited with more focus and confidence. It’s about rediscovery and understanding why those designs mattered in the beginning, and how they continue to hold meaning now.
You’ve had your work displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. How does that kind of international recognition influence your confidence and creativity as a designer?
It’s validating, of course, but it doesn’t define how I create. Recognition like that is meaningful, but what it really reinforces is that the work has to come from a personal place first. Staying true to the core of my vision matters more than chasing approval, because that’s what keeps the creativity honest and sustainable.
The name of your collection is “A Different Place and Time…” What is the story behind that title, and what do you want the audience to feel when they watch your show?
The title is a continuation of a collection I showed years ago, called “Take Me Away to a Different Place and Time…” That one was about escape. This new chapter is about return and grounding. It’s a reflection on where I started, and how those same ideas feel different now after ten years of designing. I want the audience to feel that tension between past and present, and to sense the rediscovery that has shaped this moment.
Looking at your 10-year journey as a designer, what’s a moment you’ll never forget, and what are you most proud of?
There are so many! From my all Asian cast New York Fashion Week show, to being exhibited in the Met. But honestly, this moment, showing at home after 10 years, feels just as important. It closes a circle for me.
We’ve heard you’re collaborating with local artists and creatives on the hair, makeup, and styling for your show. What can you tell us about that dream team and the vision you’re building together?
I’m working with Liz Hyun on makeup, Kelly Manu on hair and Apela Bell on casting and photography. They’re not just collaborators, they’re close friends, which makes the process feel natural. It’s fun, but it’s also deeply collaborative. I don’t pretend to be an expert in what they do, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s about exchange, conversation, and trust, and that’s what makes the vision come alive.
If you had to describe your new collection in just three words for someone who couldn’t be at NZFW, what would they be?
Grounded. Emotional. Intentional.
Don’t miss the Claudia Li runway show on Wednesday, 27 August. Get your tickets here.
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