Contemporary Fashion

I photographed this wonderfully whimsical dress - made of plastic tiki - at last year's Ngai Tahu Huia-a-Tau, which was held at Puketeraki Marae at karitane, North of Dunedin. It was made by clothing designer, Amber Bridgman (Ngai Tahu, Kati Mamoe, Waitaha, Rabuwai) for her entry into a national art-fashion award. Amber, who also designs her own range of jewellery, was last year invoted to present a collection of her garments at the prestigious New Zealand Fashion Week, after winning the tee-shirt design section of Miromoda, an annual Australasian fashion design competition based in Wellington. She produces and sells her garments under the label Kahuwai - garments inspired by traditional Maori designs and geared to babies, toddlers, all the way through to adults. www.kahuwai.co.nz