MOANA CURRENTS
Has there ever been a better time to discover the distinctive style of New Zealand fashion? With a new emphasis for many on buying local, now’s a great time to get acquainted with Kiwi designers.
The exhibition Moana Currents: Dressing Aotearoa Now at Canterbury Museum will give you a taste of what makes New Zealand style special. It showcases clothing and jewellery by emerging and experienced designers with an emphasis on looks influenced by our place in Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, the Pacific.
“Moana Currents shows how our history of migration and cultural exchange is visible in what we wear and how we adorn ourselves,” says exhibition co-curator and New Zealand Fashion Museum Director Doris de Pont.
“Aotearoa New Zealand’s identity has evolved over time as generations of people migrated here. Who we are and how we dress is a reflection of those journeys both past and present and an expression of our aspirations and how we want to be seen.”
The garments and accessories in the exhibition are uniquely New Zealand. Fran Allison’s lei made from recycled doilies and Shona Tawhiao’s harakeke (flax) bucket hat merge traditional craft and contemporary style. Trelise Cooper’s Shed a Tier dress, inspired by Hawaiian muʻumuʻu, reflects the comfort and ease we enjoy on a relaxed summer day in Aotearoa New Zealand. Emilia Wickstead’s cosy wool jumpsuit and wrap, created in collaboration with The Woolmark Company, references the form of a muka kaitaka or Māori flax fibre cloak.
The garments, hung on brilliant blue mannequins decorated with designs by local tattoo artists, show how various threads drawn from across the Moana are being woven together to produce a new identity in which we can comfortably cloak ourselves in Aotearoa New Zealand today.
Originally scheduled to close on 14 June, Moana Currents has been extended to 6 September 2020.