Denise L’Estrange-Corbet
Co-founder and Designer Denise L’Estrange-Corbet along with Francis Hooper, launched international fashion house WORLD in 1989, with just $200 each and absolutely no business acumen.
‘Survival’ was all they were thinking about, and the fact that they were both bored with what they were doing. They decided to launch their own brand, whilst sitting at a bus stop in Auckland’s Queen Street, and the rest is history.
The brand was the first New Zealand brand to show internationally at Mercedes Australian Fashion Week in 1997, and then followed by London Fashion Week, Singapore, Paris, Melbourne, Hong Kong and New Zealand.
They won the Benson & Hedges Fashion Awards with their Avant Garde origami outfit made entirely of cardboard, which now sits in the Auckland Museum.
Their garments are held in collections at Te Papa, Wellington, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, where they were in the Queer Exhibition until August 2022.
Denise is looking for garments that are inspirational and aspirational, “I want to see something new, something that excites me, and makes me question how it is made, I thrive on ideas”.
Hinurewa te Hau
Hinurewa te Hau, is the General Manager for Creative Northland heading, a team of six amazing creative individuals and has responsibility for strategy, funding & development, industry relations and oversees the implementation of regional art programmes across the North.
She is a big thinker, a strategist, advisor, and implementer. Her specialisation is in how much culture matters to economic outcomes and the relationship ‘culture and creativity’ has for communities in the creation of local economic development initiatives.
She is an expert in business strategy, governance, and cultural management, and fostering social-cultural networks and has an extensive network throughout the country and globally. Basically, she knows how to connect the dots!
She is one very talented lady, with one of her secret talents being able to knit small objects.
We are very privileged to have her as part of our judging team again for this years’ Bernina Northland Fashion Awards.
Regan Moyes
Regan Moyes is co-director of Bravado Hair Salon which he and partner, Dan Matene, opened in 2019—merely months after they moved up to Whangārei from Wellington. With Dan helming the in-salon experience, Regan manages the behind-the-scenes operations of their sustainably focussed salon.
A creative at heart, Regan has a Bachelor of Applied Arts: Performing Arts which has seen him perform on many of Wellington’s illustrious stages. His involvement in theatre runs deep with experience across all facets of production including acting, set design, directing, and costuming.
With a Diploma in Creative Writing, Regan enjoys the craft of storytelling which shines in the short stories, poetry, blog posts, and plays he creates in his downtime. While, the copywriting and email marketing content he produces for the salon provides a frequent outlet for his passion.
And with a Diploma in Web Development and Design to boot, Regan applies the complimentary skills he’s obtained from across the three fields: visual storytelling, language, and syntax, to create engaging experiences across the breadth of his work.
Regan is honoured to be on the judging panel again for this year’s Bernina Northland Fashion Awards. He’s excited to see the community’s talent and creativity showcased onstage in what’s sure to be an absolute visual feast.
Daniel Matene
2023 CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Daniel Matene aka Dan Black is a local business owner and an internationally award winning hairdresser. At 15 years old, Dan dropped out of high school to begin his illustrious hairdressing career where he established himself in Whangarei before travelling and working overseas.
He is no stranger to competition nor a fashion show. Throughout his career, Dan has competed in national and global hair shows where he most notably won Gold in the 2015 Goldwell Colour Zoom Competition for Australia and New Zealand.
Dan has worked on shoots and shows for NZ Fashion Week, Australian Fashion Week, movies, tv, music videos, and also produced four of his own fashion shows here in Whangarei. He was a judge for the 2014 Bernina Northland Fashion Awards and then the Creative Director for the 2016 show.
After an awesome show as Creative Director last year – Dan is excited to be back for the 2023 Bernina Northland Fashion Awards as he loves working with talented people who are brave enough to showcase their ideas on the stage.
