Annah Stretton is a designer, artist, entrepreneur, and changemaker who has spent the past 33 years building an iconic New Zealand fashion brand that fuses bold creativity with powerful purpose.

Since launching Stretton Clothing in 1992, Annah has remained the head designer of her eponymous label, a brand now known and loved for its fearless use of florals, colour, and feminine expression.
Her work has been showcased for 13 years at New Zealand Fashion Week and on the world stage of the World of Wearable Art (WOW), where her theatrical, story-rich garments have captivated audiences and celebrated ten years of creative contribution. Her fashion storytelling continues across a diverse range of designs from clothing and swimwear to accessories, homeware, and wallpapers, all crafted under the vibrant umbrella of the Annah Stretton brand.

But it is beyond the runway where Annah’s most transformative work has taken place. In 2013, she founded RAW (Reclaim Another Woman), a social impact initiative that supports high-risk, recidivist wāhine to transform their lives beyond incarceration. Alongside her sister, a mental health clinician, Annah has led RAW from the front, creating a new model of reintegration that prioritises education, employment, and self-belief. She also chairs the Waikato Women’s Refuge, Aotearoa’s largest Māori refuge, and is a fierce advocate for women navigating intergenerational disadvantage and systemic adversity.
To strengthen her ability to speak into these social spaces, Annah returned to university in her 50s and now holds three master’s degrees in Social Policy, Māori and Indigenous Studies, and Photography. Her photography work has become an extension of her storytelling, enabling her to visually reframe narratives of ageing, incarceration, and social exclusion.

Annah’s legacy lies in her unique ability to connect fashion with function, style with storytelling, and enterprise with empathy. Through RAW, the Waikato Women’s Refuge, and the Annah Stretton Foundation, she continues to create real pathways for women to reclaim and rebuild their lives. Recognised nationally for her commercial and charitable achievements, Annah has received numerous awards, including the New Zealand Order of Merit for Services to Fashion, Business and Community, the EY Social Entrepreneur of the Year, and the Kiwibank Local Hero of the Year. She was a finalist for New Zealander of the Year in both 2018 and 2019.
Annah remains committed to creating design with a difference, work that doesn’t just clothe women, but celebrates and supports them in all their complexity and strength.

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