In preparation for the Hagley Cultural Awards to be held in July, the Fashion School have had tuition on the tikanga that is required when using harekeke in the production of Muka.

We visited the whare where we were taught how to harvest the herekeke. We spent a day extracting the muka from the harekeke using nit combs, paua shells and a traditional shredding technique taught to us by Julie.

Once the Muka was extracted, the students began the process of weaving a wall hanging styled on a kākahu. We were fortunate to have the privilege of seeing a kākahu first hand that belonged to Sir David Carter, who served as the 29th Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017. Sir David’s kākahu was commissioned especially for him and incorporated albatross feathers donated by DOC. Seeing the whatu up close reinforced the technique and gave us a benchmark to aim for.

The results have been impressive with knowledge of tikanga and skills gained that can influence ongoing projects. Special thanks to Chantelle for her guidance and input into this work.