Tag Archives: WorldBrand

Unveiled: unwrapping the New Zealand commissions

23 November 2011 – 11.59am

Carefully packed into custom-made crates, the exhibition Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, has departed Melbourne for Wellington by sea. In the meantime, its been all go in Te Papa’s Textile Store with the arrival of our New Zealand commissions – or at least two of them. One is still in the throes of being made. While the gown is looking amazing, our designer is looking somewhat worse for wear as she sews into the night, night after night.

It has been wonderful seeing the designs metamorphasise from drawings into highly tactile and three dimensional objects. Of course, there have been a few changes along the way – both creative and practical. Needless to say there have also been a few surprises, including a bonus pair of shoes and some rather dangerous looking gloves courtesy of WORLD, who have channeled the lively spirit of Surrealist designer, Elsa Schiaparelli. Indeed, in a recent interview Francis Hooper of WORLD stated: ‘Te Papa the client is freaky’ – freaky obviously right down to our fingertips.

A pair of Surrealist gloves by WORLD for their vampish bride. Collection of Te Papa.
A pair of Surrealist gloves by WORLD for their vampish bride. Collection of Te Papa.
WORLD couldn't resist bedazzling the bride's shoes. Collection of Te Papa.

WORLD couldn't resist bedazzling the bride's shoes. Collection of Te Papa.

Francis Hooper, WORLD

Emphatically declaring that ‘all brides should have crystals on their wedding dresses’, Hooper the WORLD team have painstakingly hand applied, one by one, well over 14,000 Swarovski crystals onto Te Papa’s garments! It is in the unpacking and handling of these garments, that you really begin to appreciate the sheer amount of labour that goes into them. 

In comparison to WORLD’s freaky bride, well known bridal designer Jane Yeh has created a pure Cinderella moment for Te Papa. Once the dimensions of the skirt came in, we had to double the size of the plinth! Her chantilly lace gown is adorned with hand made flowers and butterflies, one of which gently perches on the bride’s head, completing the delicate veil.

Jane Yeh's drawing for Floral Goddess.
Jane Yeh’s drawing for Floral Goddess.
A handmade butterfly and flower completes Jane Yeh's delicate veil to perfection.

A handmade butterfly and flower completes Jane Yeh's delicate veil to perfection.

 
 
While WORLD has been busy hand placing crystals, and Jane fashioning butterflies from lace, Lindah Lepou has been immersed in an inspiring but unwieldy tide of tapa cloth. Drawing inspiration from the past, present and future, Lindah has named her gown Siaposu’isu’i after one of her ancestors.  Siaposu’isu’i literally translates to ’sewing tapa’. Sewing tapa has been occupying Lindah’s life day and night! Sourced recently from Tonga, the tapa cloth is relatively fresh, and Lindah likens its delicacy to ‘sewing papyrus paper from Egypt!’, declaring it to be ‘THE MOST intricate and difficult dress’ she has ever made. Here is a tantalising image of the gown in process.
 
Lindah Lepou's dress Siaposu'isu'i in the throes of being made.

Lindah Lepou's dress Siaposu'isu'i in the throes of being made.

 
Lindah’s Facebook page has been going wild with excited comments about the almost completed dress.
 
As well as machine sewing, Lindah has also been busy hand-beading. Her intensely coiled and ruffled tapa gown, will be completed by a bridal hood, which has been beaded with a tapa pattern and a special surprise for which you will need to visit the show to see.
 
Detail of the beaded headdress by Lindah Lepou. Collection of Te Papa.
Detail of the beaded headdress by Lindah Lepou. Collection of Te Papa.
 
During the exhibition there will be plenty of opportunities to meet all three designers, to see more of their work and to get their perspective on wedding design and the spectacular garments shown in Unveiled. Keep an eye out on our Events programme for more details.
By Claire Regnault | Posted in Exhibitions, Fashion, History | Also tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Unveiled – the New Zealand designers

25 October 2011 – 4.04pm

As we build up to the much anticipated December opening of Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, it is time to ’unveil’ our three New Zealand designers!

As part of the exhibition Te Papa has commissioned three very different New Zealand designers to create their idea of the ‘ultimate’ wedding gown. 2011 has proved to be a high-profile year for each of our chosen designers, and Unveiled is bound to provide the perfect finale.

Our first designer is a dedicated bridal specialist. Throughout her career she has dressed over 5000 brides! While most of us relaxed in front of the telly with a glass of wine to watch Prince William and Catherine Middleton’s wedding on 29 April, this designer was glued to the screen, noting down every element of the dress that she could see. It was Jane Yeh’s job to recreate the year’s most anticipated wedding gown within just 12 hours! 

Jane Yeh in her Parnell workroom, Auckland.

For Te Papa, Jane is doing what she does best, making a wholly romantic gown fit for a glorious summer’s day wedding. She even promises butterflies!   

Jane Yeh is creating a wholly romantic gown.

Keen to showcase traditions that reflect the wedding traditions of this part of the world, we have also invited multi-award winning designer Lindah Lepou to create a gown. Lindah specialised in ‘Pacific Couture’. In 1994 Lindah shot to national attention at the Benson & Hedges Awards with her extraordinary Flax Tutu, which is now in Te Papa’s collection and a star piece of the exhibition Tangata o le Moana. She has scooped up many more awards since, inlcuding just the other week the supreme award at the Cult Couture Fashion Awards Show in Auckland. She won with Bushygaga, an homage to the pop star Lady Gaga.

Award-winning Bushygaga by Lindah Lepou, 2011

Dedicated to combining Pacific and European textile traditions, and with a talent for magically transforming materials, Lindah made this garment from calico and flax. For her wedding gown she is working with tapa cloth from Tonga and Samoa. While we are not expecting anything quite as radical as Bushygaga, we can assure you it will boast the same wonderful dexterity of making that is a hall-mark of Lindah’s work.

The final design company in our New Zealand section comprises of not one but three designers - Francis Hooper, Denise L’Estrange-Corbet and Benny Castles. Together they make up WORLD. As WORLD designs both women’s and menswear for the ready-to-wear market, we asked them to design ‘his n hers’ wedding outfits. While the groom’s ensemble is still on the work table,  the ‘bride’ made her national debut at New Zealand Fashion Week in September. The dramatic show doubled as the finale of New Zealand’s Next Top Model.

As can be expected, WORLD’s bride is no ordinary bride. She is a sophisticated winter bride, sheathed not in white, but in a figure hugging black, dazzling with crystals.

Behind the scenes at WORLD’s NZ Fashion Week show, Good Vs Evil.

WORLD’s menswear designer Benny Castles has the task of designing the groom’s outfit. Having staunchly declared that his groom will not be overshadowed by the bride we wait with anticipation to see Mr Castle’s design unveiled in December.

Speaking of which tickets are now available for sale via Te Papa’s website - they’ll make great Christmas presents for those who already have everything! And if you are looking for a beautifully illustrated summer read Edwina Ehrman’s book Wedding Dress: 300 Years of Bridal Fashion is available from the Te Papa Store. It got a great review in Graeme Beattie’s book blog. 

By Claire Regnault | Posted in Exhibitions, Fashion, History | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)
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