Every year in late August, Auckland comes alive with fashion. It is the venue for the New Zealand Fashion Week, a platform for local designers to showcase their talents and grow their business locally and internationally.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts New Zealand has been a proud sponsor of Fashion Week for many years and was an elite sponsor this year. M Social Auckland was selected as the social and accommodation hub for designers, buyers, and guests coming into town for the fashion festival, while Grand Millennium Auckland played host to the model auditions that took place a week earlier.

To celebrate, Beast & Butterflies at M Social Auckland created a special cocktail for the fashion-forward. Called Tirabuzon, it is a sweet and tangy concoction of passionfruit, apple, tequila and lime, a refreshing treat for before and after a show.

The hotel also partnered with Kiwi Tuk Tuk, the only 100% electric tuk tuk operators on Auckland, to provide guests with a sustainable way to get around the city. Tuk tuks with M Social and Beast & Butterflies branding were used to transport guests in style between the hotel and the Viaduct Event Centre where the shows were held.

M Social Auckland also ran social media contests giving away tickets to shows for local designers Jarrad Godman, a local streetwear label, and Edmund Hillary, an outdoor clothing range inspired by and named after New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary.

At Grand Millennium Auckland, the Atrium Bar was transformed into a catwalk for model auditions. Approximately 200 models attended the castings, coming up the escalator to showcase their signature strut along the mezzanine, to a total of over 90 designers.