Tino Glam

Shona Tawhiao's 'Tino Glam' won the Premier Award and the Obviously Organic category at the 2007 Villa Maria Cult-Couture competition. The bodice is shaped by adding and removing strands of flax in the weaving process so that it follows the body’s curves. The skirt construction alludes to traditional Māori rain capes but here the flax is applied in a loose configuration onto a flexible base cloth so that it can move on the body while evoking the sound and movement of the piupiu (the skirts worn by Māori women for dance performance). 'Tino Glam' has become an icon of contemporary Māori fashion design: it was the poster image for the Cult-Couture competition, it was worn in Korea by Miss University New Zealand as her National Costume and it represented New Zealand at the Pacific Arts Festival in Pago Pago, American Sāmoa. Opera singer Mere Boynton has also worn it for performances, and commissioned a red version for her own wardrobe. Read more about wearing the colour black in the New Zealand Fashion Museum publication Black: The history of black in fashion, society and culture in New Zealand.

Details

Credit: Shona Tawhiao, photo of model by Russ Flatt
Copyright: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 Licence
Designer: Shona Tawhiao
Maker: Shona Tawhiao
Material: Harakeke (New Zealand flax), rit dye, high gloss paint, jersey fabric, satin ribbon ties
Colour: Black
Label: Tawhiao
Date: 2007