Finance Minister Nicola Willis criticised for wearing UK dress on Budget day
'We have wonderful designers here, Jacinda [Ardern] got it right by wearing NZ-made as much as possible. Our leaders should also be doing that. Be proud of your nation and what we make here.'
Online, Willis' dress retails for $1100. Marr said that while Willis and other New Zealanders can afford to spend that amount on a garment, the money 'would be better in our pockets or country than overseas'.
Asked why she chose not to wear a New Zealand designer on Budget day, Willis told the Herald: 'Like most Kiwis, I buy my clothes from a range of places, and I enjoy wearing a lot of New Zealand-made and designed clothing.
'However, I don't think the focus should be on what I wear, but rather the substance of our Government's policies.'
While symbolic, Marr said, any public display of support for New Zealand designers is of value.
'Being dressed in a NZ designer would help our industry hugely, as it is struggling. We need to be front and centre to our nation and the world.'
Clothing and textile advocacy collective Mindful Fashion NZ released a report in 2024 that found the NZ fashion clothing and textile industry contributed $7.8b to the local economy in 2023, accounted for 1.9% of GDP, and employed 76,000 workers.
But chief executive Jacinta Fitzgerald said the industry is facing significant challenges right now.
'Supporting local is one way that everyone can contribute to creating a more prosperous New Zealand for all of us.
'Every dollar you spend is a vote of support for that business.'
Fitzgerald said when you buy from a local brand, 'you are not only supporting a local business that pays tax here, and employs staff here and therefore keeping the value in the NZ economy, but you are also supporting the many often small businesses that they work locally with to bring that product to life so it has a huge flow-on impact'.
'There is great pride and leadership in standing strong in NZ fashion as a creative and cultural representation of who we are as a nation.'
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