This year marks a century since the Māori Arts and Crafts Act established dedicated schools for Māori arts, and the occasion is being celebrated in a strikingly contemporary way: on the runway at New Zealand Fashion Week. Six woven pieces, created through a collaboration between designer Shona Tāwhiao and the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute's (NZMACI) Te Rito o Rotowhio National Weaving School, will feature in Tāwhiao's collection, The House of Harakeke, on Thursday, 20 August.
The collaboration, part of Kāhui Collective's 2026 programme, brings the ancient arts of the whare pora (school of weaving) into the spotlight of Aotearoa's fashion scene. For Cori Marsters (Te Arawa, Te Whakatōhea), Tumu (Head) of Te Rito o Rotowhio, the partnership with Tāwhiao and Kāhui Collective founder Kiri Nathan was a natural fit, even if the speed of connection surprised him.
“They're heavy hitters, Kiri Nathan and Shona Tāwhiao are internationally renowned, but I was probably surprised on how well we got on so quickly. I'd like to mihi to them for sort of letting me in to share space. If you were to ask me, Kiri, for Damehood.”
Marsters hopes this is the beginning of a longer relationship, not a one-off. “Although this might sound like a new thing, stepping into the fashion space, whare pora was always the house of fashion and textiles to our ancestors. So we're just an echo, I guess, of the past and just making sure that echo carries on.”
From harakeke to high fashion
The collaboration began with a week-long wānanga at the National Weaving School at Te Puia in Rotorua at the end of May, where Tāwhiao (Ngāi Te Rangi, Whakatōhea, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui) and Nathan (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Maru and Ngāti Paoa) worked alongside Marsters and his team.
The process starts with harvesting harakeke (flax). “We prepare our materials, and we let it dry, and it dries to a creamy white, and that's our canvas. You can dye green, but we prefer to dry it white. Once it's dried bone colour, we'll heat the pot up, get it boiling, rolling, and add a dye in it,” Marsters explained.
For this project, they used a commercial dye, which takes just five minutes once the harakeke is added to boiling water. This contrasts sharply with traditional methods. “In the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, we are steeped in the traditional dyeing practice. We do contemporary dyes, but it's not our first port of call. So it's good to sort of bring our whare pora into that space again, because it's quite instant. With paru (mud), when you dye black with the paru, it takes a day. Two different worlds coming together in a good way.”
Challenging where high fashion is made
For Tāwhiao, the collection is about more than aesthetics. “I'm hoping the collaboration will inspire the tauira to take their weaving skills further in their careers. The collection is called The House of Harakeke, which has a connection to Te Rito o Rotowhio and the harakeke that it's made from.”
The relationship between fashion and Māori weaving also challenges conventional ideas about where high-end fashion is made. “In Europe, designers have ateliers and staff who make their collections, and this is what it was like being at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute for me at Whare Pora Te Rito o Rotowhio.”
What does this mean for the future of Māori fashion?
This collaboration signals a growing recognition of Māori textile arts as a legitimate and vital part of contemporary fashion. By bringing the whare pora into the modern fashion space, it not only honours a century of institutional support for Māori arts but also opens new career pathways for weavers. As Marsters puts it, the whare pora was always the house of fashion to ancestors; this is simply the echo continuing, louder than ever.
Frequently asked questions
When will the collection be shown at Fashion Week?
The collection, The House of Harakeke, will feature at New Zealand Fashion Week on Thursday, 20 August as part of Kāhui Collective's 2026 programme.
What is the whare pora?
The whare pora is the traditional Māori school of weaving, dedicated to the study and practice of textile arts. It is being revived and brought into contemporary fashion through collaborations like this one.
Why is 2026 a significant year for Māori arts?
2026 marks 100 years since the Māori Arts and Crafts Act 1926, which established institutions dedicated to the study and practice of Māori arts and crafts, including the National Weaving School.