Māori chief inspires fashion student
On the evening of AUT’s 2023 Graduate Fashion Show, third year Bachelor of Design student majoring in fashion at AUT Tia Tahau (Ngāti Tūwharetoa), spoke to Te Ao Māori news journalist (and AUT alumnus) Jessica Tyson about her collection and the inspiration behind it.
Tia says her journey in creating the collection, named Te Rangi Tāhau, started during her discovery of her tupuna Te Rangi Tāhau, “working my way from who he was as a person in the Māori world and then who I am as a person in the modern world.”
The 21-year-old, originally from Hastings, says her research and the collection explore the position of Māori fashion designers in a Pākehā-dominated industry.
“In society, fashion allows groups and individuals to express themselves and their identity,” Tia says. “A person's dress can denote their governing or political status, power, or their religion/spirituality.”
In Aotearoa, Māori designers can maintain tradition while conceptualising it in a contemporary, often competing for space to allow tikanga Māori to stay relevant in a Pākehā-dominated realm, she says.
Tia’s work explores the New Zealand fashion industry through a te ao Māori lens, based on research, as well as on the experiences of six fashion designers who whakapapa Māori.
“I asked questions which responded to the identity of Māori designers creating within the realm of te ao Māori, as well as the implications of being a minority within the fashion industry of Aotearoa,” Tia says.
You can read the full article about Tia and her work on Te Ao Māori news website at the link below.