When the World of Wearable Arts show is in town we like to join the festivities by handing over our shop windows to students from Wellington High School and Queen Margaret College. The year 13 fashion and materials technology students display their own striking wearable art creations as part of their course.Read more

Intern Keira Miller in the lab, preparing materials for dyeing. Photo by A. Peranteau, copyright Te Papa.

Have you ever thought about the history of the humble pocket?  This past winter, Keira Miller, an intern from the University of Glasgow’s Center for Textile Conservation, helped us with the treatment of some detachable 18th century pockets for the exhibition European Splendour 1500-1800.   Keira writes about the importance of pocketsRead more

Among the many treasures in the textiles collection at Te Papa there is one very large pair of drawers. These drawers were owned by Queen Victoria. After her death in 1901, Queen Victoria’s underwear was distributed to members of the Royal Household. This particular pair was owned by Louisa Seddon,Read more

 I’ve been asked a lot of questions about why some of the new acquisitions were pursued and why they were put into this show, so hopefully this entry will help answer some of the queries and shed light on the curatorial decisions made for Uniformity. In my last blog Uniformity: WhyRead more

The museum sector is currently gearing up to its annual conference in Nelson in a couple of weeks. I am particularly excited about this year’s conference as one of my most favourite historians is making an appearance as a keynote speaker – Annabel Westman. Annabel is also going to present three publicRead more

2011 Māori and Pacific Textile Symposium The beating of aute, or tapa, is a heartbeat that resounds across the ocean of Kiwa. The harakeke of Aotearoa, symbolising family, acknowledges the relationship of the Pacific people as one, through weaving. These genealogical and material connections will be explored at the inauguralRead more