David Fagan may well be New Zealand’s greatest athlete, even though his event is largely unrecognised as a sport. For thousands who prime their clippers for action, the Golden Shears is the only crown that matters.

“It’s the Wimbledon of shearing. You can win every competition on the circuit, but unless
 you bag the Golden Shears title, who will ever remember you?” says the world’s greatest, David Fagan. The 49-year-old titan from Te Kuiti has won the Golden Shears Open Shearing Championship a record 16 times. Shearing industry chiefs have long pushed hard for champions such as David to be recognised by sports award selectors, particularly the Halberg Sports Awards. David, however, is resigned that shearing will always be seen as a minority sport, if indeed a sport at all, in a country in which rugby is firmly the national sport.

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.