Kiwi teen set to show at New York and Milan Fashion Weeks

A Christchurch teenager will be making her mark on the world stage of the fashion industry as she jets off to New York and Milan Fashion Weeks later this year. 

At just 18, Georgia Hensley-Smith was invited by Oxford Fashion Studio, a London-based company that represents emerging designers. She has been asked showcase her label GEOJ on the runway. 

“I wasn’t looking for the experience or even expecting it, but then they just called me and asked me if I could come and be in the shows,” said Hensley-Smith. 

Hensley-Smith only started designing two years ago at her school, Hagley College. She had no previous experience, but had dreamed of having her own label. 

“I have always wanted my own label, I wanted to sell things and now I want to see people walking down the street wearing GEOJ,” says Hensley-Smith. 

Her designs are often inspired by her own experiences and personal style. Her past collections have definitely shown that her way of designing and her style is unique, quirky and bold. 

Originally, she had made an Instagram page for her collections so that her family and friends could keep up with what she was doing. 

After a while she noticed that she started to grow a larger audience than she had anticipated, with a surprising number of overseas followers.  

She thinks her Instagram page is how Oxford Fashion Studio came to find her label, GEOJ. 

She is set to go to New York first for her show on September 8 where she will display a collection of six outfits. The design consists of a natural colour scheme with floral designed holographic prints. 

She notes however that this whole idea could change as she has a somewhat unusual design process. 

“I have a weird way of designing – about four weeks out from showing a collection I am known to change 80% of the original idea, so the collections might be subject to change at this stage,” says Hensley-Smith. 

Her Milan collection, while also still subject to change, will be a bold collection using brocade material and colours such as gold, blue, green and yellow. She will show this collection on September 22. 

Last year she made her official debut at New Zealand Fashion Week, showcasing GEOJ as a New Generation designer. Then 17, she was also the youngest designer to be showing in the mainstream categories. 

Her collection for the show took her only a month to make and she worked with just the colour black. She said it was her first time at the event and she wanted to make a bold impression.

Janey Evett, New Zealand Fashion Week’s business development manager, said that Hensle-Smith’s eagerness and determination was always going to see her achieve great things. 

“I noticed she was always very eager and she was always looking for new opportunities. The New Generation show was a chance for her to get her name out there and she really took advantage of that,” says Evett.