Phoebe McCrossin

“‘Resene Freewheeling’ evokes feelings of nostalgia; its “sun-soaked aqua and green” hues reminiscent of the crystal blue glacier-fed waters of The Hokitika Gorge. Just a ten-minute drive from the gorge, my grandparents lived and ran 90ha of dairy farm in Kowhitirangi from 1966. This is where my mother and her siblings were raised, and where myself, my siblings and cousins spent a good chunks of our childhoods; where I learnt to drive tractors, back trailers, move cattle, milk cows, hose down the milking shed, and so on! The farm was sold in June 2021, nine years after Grandma passed, subsequently closing the chapter of the farm on ‘the coast’.

The Hokitika Gorge track, right on the farm’s back doorstep, was a pilgrimage often taken and the glittering blue beauty never ceased to amaze. I consider it an extension of my sense of home on ‘the coast’.

As a glacier moves it grinds the bedrock, creating a fine ‘rock flour’ that travels into meltwater streams, and then to glacier-fed rivers, gorges and lakes where the fine particles are suspended, creating a ‘milky’ tint. Zooming out, the ice-to-water story is symbolic of New Zealand’s ever-retreating glaciers and the increasing threat climate change poses for our natural world – an issue close to my heart.

Through the vehicles of ‘Resene Freewheeling’ and my chosen fabric manipulations, my design explores the journey of ice to water, or more aptly glacier to gorge. The tightly smocked upper chest emulates the intricate solidness of glacial ice, which, as it loosens shows the beginning of melt. Falling from the shoulder, ice becomes soft streams of drape, that then pools at the lower back representing The Hokitika Gorge.”

Resene Whitecliffe Colour of Fashion clothing - 2024

Photography by Natasha Boshkovski Photography

Find out more   Return to gallery