James Wakefield

“When I first saw the colour – Resene Arriba – although unexpected I was thrilled to see such a rich and gorgeous explosion of red.

After class that day my eyes would lock onto anything red for the next few days from bright red Pohutukawa to a red towel flying in the wind. But how does this colour represent me? I want to leave this year behind knowing I was able to make a garment that was truly inspired by my life growing up in New Zealand surrounded by my friends and whanau. Throughout life I've had the privilege of always been surrounded by beautiful surroundings and beautiful people.

As I walked home one afternoon I spotted the bright pop of a harakeke flower poking out of the flax bush surrounding it. This gave me the inspiration to base my garment off of, the beautiful harakeke flower. It is believed the three layers of a Harakeke represents a family. The outer layer representing the grandparents, whereas the inner layer of new shoots – the child – remained and were to be protected by the next inner layer of leaves, the parents.

Family has always been a large part of my life. I have a very large family all connected throughout NZ and even beyond. My most precious memories from my childhood are of family gatherings around Christmas our family would travel from place to place changing each year as everyone comes together to celebrate the year that’s been and the years to come.

My design “Blossoming Aroha” is a flowy petal dress design with a flax like upper bust to represent the true beauty of the harakeke and its beautiful leaves that hug around each other like a family.”

Resene Whitecliffe Colour of Fashion clothing - 2024

Photography by Natasha Boshkovski Photography

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