Alright folks – I’m branching out of the US and Canada and crossing the ocean to feature some designers from New Zealand! I was blown away when I saw the work produced by the designers there. This week I plan to feature four Maori designers. The first is Suzanne Tamaki whose Maori-punk aesthetic features graphic designs, plaid kilts, top hats, and feathered cuffs.Designer Profile | Suzanne Tamaki
Suzanne Tamaki (Maniapoto, Tuhoe, Te Arawa) is an Otaki-based fibre artist with the label Native Sista.
She creates body adornment, costumes and jewelry inspired by legends and mythical creatures in the Pacific, as well as traditional indigenous costuming throughout the world.
Tamaki was a founding member of the Pacific Sisters fashion collective in the mid 1990s, and participated in various multimedia fashion shows including the 12th Sydney Biennale and the 1996 South Pacific Festival of the Arts in Samoa. She often works as a guest tutor at various institutions and also produces multi-media fashion events independently promoting Maori and Pacific fashion, music, movement and image.
Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout New Zealand and the Pacific at venues including Objectspace in Auckland, City Gallery Wellington, Pataka Museum of Arts and History, the Dowse, Te Papa Tongarewa the Museum of New Zealand and Belau Museum during the 2004 South Pacific Arts Festival.
Check out her profile at Pasifika Styles, or her artist site at IWIART for more information.