Catwalk glamour This week I’ve been working on couture garments that are destined for display at Expressions in Upper Hutt. The Catwalk to Cover exhibition will include fashions from Te Papa’s collection by international and New Zealand designers alongside photographs that capture the dynamism, creativity and glamour that epitomize theRead more
Lace is fascinating for its changing and divisive role in history. Desired for its beauty and admired for its technical expertise, the best quality was restricted in use for monarchs and nobility. While sumptuary laws during the 1500 and early 1600s claimed to protect local industries, lace actually helped identifyRead more
Art curator Mark Stocker introduces us to the life and work of 17th century etcher Wenceslaus Hollar.Read more
September is New Zealand Queer History Month and a great opportunity to celebrate the LGBTI histories represented in Te Papa’s collection. So over the next few weeks we’re aiming to showcase queer related objects and stories through Instagram and blogs.Read more
This Sunday marks Fashion Revolution Day. Any one can take part. All you need to do is ask one simple question: ‘Who made my clothes?’Read more
The End of Fashion, College of Creative Arts, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand, 8-9 December 2016 Conference conveners: Professor Vicki Karaminas, Massey University, Wellington and Professor Hilary Radner, University of Otago, Dunedin Keynote Speakers: Valerie Steele, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York Pamela Church Gibson, London College of Fashion RaphaëlleRead more
On Tuesday 9 February, 2016 at 6pm Dr Alexandra Palmer of the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada will present a lecture at Massey University, Wellington on ‘Frock coats, redingotes and Dior: Fashion in the Royal Ontario Museum 1909-2016’. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is similar to Te Papa in that its collections span theRead more
Right from the beginning TEAL, NAC and later Air New Zealand produced travel bags that reveal the company’s name, colours and logo. As such they are important markers of the changing face of the airline. Air New Zealand 75 years. Our nation. The world. Connected has a selection of theseRead more
‘The introduction of trousers was a first for the airline and probably a world first as well.’ History curator Lynette Townsend talks about her favourite Air New Zealand uniform from the 70s.Read more
When Prince George had his New Zealand playdate on 9 April his romper suit with sailboat smocked on the front, inspired parents to rush out and buy up the outfit by British designer Rachel Riley. Like many royals before his clothing both inspires and reflects the fashions of the time. A baby’sRead more
This week is Niuean Language Week. The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Leveki mo e Fakaaoga e Vagahau Niue’ | ‘Treasure and Use the Niue Language’. Pacific Cultures curators will be posting blogs related to Niue throughout the week and highlighting treasures from Te Papa’s collections. Today’s blogpost isRead more
This week is Tuvalu language week and the theme is “Tuvalu tau gana ko tou lagaifakalaga Tuvalu, your language keeps your culture and identity afloat”. Curators from the Pacific Cultures team are highlighting key Tuvalu artefacts and stories from Te Papa’s collections. It is busy at Te Papa right now, withRead more
To celebrate Cook Islands language week, the Pacific Cultures team are blogging about collection items from the Cook Islands. Here, Safua Akeli talks about the mu’umu’u (dress) worn in the Cook Islands. These mu’umu’u (dress) are part of a number of dresses acquired by the Pacific Cultures collection in 2009 from Tepaeru Tereora. Tereora was theRead more
While Unveiled unpacks the influence of the colour white on wedding fashion, another exhibition has just recently opened in Wellington that explores fashion’s long term obsession with black. Black in Fashion is a ‘pop-up’ exhibition curated by former fashion designer Doris de Pont. Doris and her creative team have populatedRead more
This week I am attending my first ever full Fashion Week. A Fashion Week that might, according to newspaper reports, be New Zealand’s last – at least while the recession digs its toes in. Yesterday I attended two shows that while wildly diverse reflect two aspects of current activity atRead more
