Most of Stan Walker's clothes are from the hokohoko

As a proud Māori man with a strong sense of style, musician Stan Walker buys a lot of preloved clothing and when he's done with an item, passes it on to charity.

To encourage more Kiwis to do the same, he's fronting the Uber X Red Cross Clothing Drive, which offers free pick-up of charity clothing donations on Saturday, 18 October.

"Used kākahu [garments] that you know are done for your season and for that era, they can be somebody else's new thing for [their new] era", he tells Saturday Morning.

Walker, who won Australian Idol in 2009, now wears kākahu Maori (traditional Māori garments) as a "daily practice".

In his early years, as he figured out his personal style and identity as an artist, he experimented with many different looks - even a white sequined glove a la Michael Jackson.

Unlike most other New Zealand performers who are "quite relaxed and reserved" when it comes to fashion, Walker likes to be "extra".

"There's only ever going to be one of you, so be the best version of you. Be out of the gate, be crazy, be outrageous."

In the past, Walker used to think people in the music industry couldn't be seen wearing the same piece of clothing twice, and he used to sometimes "chuck out" things he no longer wore.

Now, with a focus on having a smaller closet of items that are good-quality, he likes to either "repurpose" garments and keep them wearing himself or pass them on to someone else.

Living in a world of constant maumau (waste), it's easy for people to get consumed with wanting more and more new clothing, Walker says.

But more than half the looks worn in his music videos and photo shoots are from the hokohoko (op-shop), he says, and that's where they go back to when the time comes.

"It's hard for me to hand it on sometimes, but I gotta do it."

Walker says he has three black rubbish bags loaded with "mean stuff" ready for the Uber X Red Cross collection on 18 October.

Not only is the recycled clothing drive a kaupapa that he's aligned with, it's also a really easy option for someone "privileged" to have lots of clothing but really busy with whanau and work.

"I'm so full-on, and at the same time, I can get lazy... I realised, 'Oh, this is easy for me - I clean up the clothes, I give them away."

The Uber and Red Cross Clothing Drive will be held in Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington from 10am to 4pm on Saturday 18 October 2025. Via the Uber or Uber Eats app, people can book a free pick-up for quality, pre-loved clothing to be donated to Red Cross shops.