June 07, 2020
Grandmother’s pride recalled in royal honour
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Fashion designer Kiri Nathan says awhina from wahine toa made her feel at ease about her becoming a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
The founder of the Kiri Nathan Clothing label received the tohu for services to Māori and the fashion industry.
Her distinctively Māori aesthetic has attracted international acclaim, with her designs being worn on the Hollywood red-carpet and garments even making their way into the Walt Disney Museum.
Kiri Nathan says the history of colonisation caused her some inner turmoil when the award was offered but drew on those who had come before.
"My grandmother, who was the inspiration for me getting started in the industry, was an absolute royalist. That feeling of knowing how proud she would have felt was a great one and one that I wouldn't not acknowledge," she says.
Kiri Nathan
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