Te Puna Vai Mārama entered the Pride Cook Islands Anuanua Week World of Wearable Arts competition in April.
Pride Cook Islands, in partnership with Te Tiare Association, held a week of events and activities to celebrate love, unity, and the first anniversary of the decriminalization of same-sex marriage in the Cook Islands.
The entrants for the Wearable Arts competition were tasked with designing a wearable yet artist garment of a certain colour, whilst practicing sustainability. Each of the 6 entrants got allocated a colour of the rainbow which their garment had to match – ours was tārona (purple).
The garment, dreamt up by Prof. Heather Worth, was inspired by Netflix’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Jean Paul Gaultier’s 1998 Marie Antoinette collection and Miss Cook Islands 1968. Fabric was sourced from op shops, and the final design even included some bamboo and old swimming pool noodles from the homes of TPVM staff.
Our entry was modelled by the beautiful Talia, who looked fabulous as she strut down the catwalk for both the judging and the official public event.