Ceejay Hemopo-Nicholls

“The colour allocated to me is Resene Wayfarer a muted blue grey state, which is quite inspiring on its own. My immediate thought was of the mountain peaks from a distance, the clouds, and the sky in its dying moments of light. Suddenly, the rough sea came to mind when the moonlight shines on the water, along with how our Māori ancestors arrived in Aotearoa in the thirteenth century by sailing across the ocean with nothing but the stars and currents to guide them.

I've drawn enough inspiration from the colour name itself, Wayfarer, someone who is constantly moving and is adaptable, they are wanderers searching for the lost roads. I have taken inspiration from my childhood experiences, having encountered and endured the various peaks and valleys that life can throw at you; I can say I have wandered and had to adapt to a lot. I've found there is still so much to learn and see in life, and with a more positive outlook on things, I can now, as a more mature version of myself, recognise the plethora of opportunities that my younger self ignored and could have given more effort towards. I can now become the person I envision myself to be, being the one to break generational trauma that previous family members have and still endure.

Resene Wayfarer evokes newness, change and modernity. The design elements and principles I used to deliver my story through my garment is, repetition due to the repeated usage of the one colour we were given, movement and rhythm because it's all about creating a sense of flow and freedom which I think I have depicted here.

Flourishing and thriving serve as sources of inspiration for me because of the personal growth within myself. The skirt in my design incorporates elements of the sea in their natural form, capturing both the calm and the tempest of the ocean waves, the wave smocking along the front/back side panels give the illusion of the clouds swaying in the sky. The bell sleeves are the peaks of the mountains from afar. What I wanted to emphasise the most in my design was the spirit of adventure and the ability to feel free, not lost.”

Resene Whitecliffe Colour of Fashion clothing - 2024

Photography by Natasha Boshkovski Photography

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