ITI Articles

At just 23 years of age Whitecliffe graduate Tara Cunniffe is being hailed as New Zealand’s next great designer – but don’t let that fool you; this Hamiltonian turned Aucklander has her feet firmly planted on the ground and knows what she needs to do to succeed.

Tara spent her high school years at Hamilton’s Sacred Heart Girls College before relocating to Auckland in pursuit of furthering her artistic ventures. Her desire to pursue a range of arts led her to Whitecliffe College of Arts & Design where she chose to major in Fashion Design.

Not only was it Tara’s designs that impressed her lecturers and peers at Whitecliffe but also her work ethic and in 2008 she was rewarded with runner up awards in both the Fashion Quarterly Young Designer of the Year and the Westfield Style Pasifika competition before graduating top of her class.

Despite having had such success at such a young age Tara continues to push herself as she prepares for her biggest challenge to date, showing at this year’s Air New Zealand Fashion Week as part of the ghd New Generation show. The show features eight up-and-coming young designers, each of whom has been sponsored by a local publication. Tara was approached by REMIX magazine to be their chosen designer and for the last three months has been working feverishly to complete her collection of ten outfits for her Fashion Week debut. “Fashion week for me is all about exposing my label and ultimately the beginning of a career in the fashion industry.”

As for the future, Tara plans to continue marketing her own brand and expanding into menswear as she chases the dream of becoming a household name, but for now it is all sights set on her Air New Zealand Fashion Week debut.