Jeanine Clarkin has been a champion of indigenous Māori fashion in Aotearoa and abroad for nearly three decades. Her design story is one that ranges from Streetwear to Haute Couture and Slow Fashion.

She has shown her collections in Sydney, Melbourne, Samoa, Hawaii, Geneva, Saskatoon London, and Paris including a presentation at Musée du Quai Branly as part of their Oceania exhibition in 2019. Currently a huge retrospective, curated by Waikato Museum and titled Te Aho Tapu Hou, The New Sacred Thread, is on display at Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery. 

When she started in 1994 her intention was to provide young urban Māori with clothes that they could wear to express who they were. She created streetwear styles that included maro (loincloths), Rapaki (wraps), kākahu (capes) featuring screen-printed with designs inspired by taniko, ta moko, kowhaiwhai and imagery of indigenous plants and animals. 

Her work continues to be deeply rooted in matauranga māori which includes a commitment to sustainable practice.

For the live event, Jeanine had a conversation with Doris de Pont about her work:

For the workshop component, Jeanine brought some of her lino cut printing blocks and invited attendees to come and do some printing on a piece of clothing that they wished to personalise, or to print a supplied patch that can be used to thoughtfully repair or embellish a garment for an original look: 

Highlights from a linocut patch printing workshop with Jeanine Clarkin.

To find out more about Jeanine Clarkin and her work, visit www.jeanineclarkin.com or follow her on instagram, @jeanineclarkin_official.

Fashioning Assembly Aotearoa was supported by the City Centre targeted rate. 

Global Fashioning Assembly 2022 was supported by the Creative Industries fund NL. 

web: www.globalfashioningassembly.com

insta: @globalfashioningassembly