Mauao t-shirt dress

Shona Tawhiao’s mountain is Mount Maunganui; the Māori name is Mauao.
 This t-shirt dress with printed patches inspired by gangs, tribes and iwi belong to the 'Iwi' collection shown at New Zealand Fashion Week 2011.This particular patch uses the shield of the Arataki Sports Club, which Shona is connected to and which is located in her tribal area. The inspiration for these designs comes from Shona’s supportive stepfather Mona Jacob, who died a few years ago. Although he designed the first Black Power patch in the 1970s, he was not a patched gang member himself. He was affiliated with all the gangs in New Zealand and they came together for his tangi. Patches are emblems of the tribe, hence the name IWI for this collection. 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.

Details

Credit: Garment loan courtesy of Shona Tawhiao
Copyright: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 Licence
Designer: Shona Tawhiao
Garment type: Dress
Material: Viscose jersey, silver cord, silver screenprint
Colour: Black
Label: Tawhiao
Date: 2011