A major theme of the Pacific/Ethnology collection is textiles. This item was, according to the label, was: "designed in New York" and "Made in Christchurch" by Gainsborough Fashions, a fashion label first established in 1931 and one that has a significant name in the history of NZ fashion and is included in the New Zealand Fashion Museum collection. The cotton fabric "barkcloth" has a long association with Pacific design from the 1940s and is highly collectable today. The fabric has been used as clothing and upholstery fabric - it derives its name from the texture of tapa and is sometimes known as "rhino" cloth because of it's nubbly texture.The borrowing of the tapa design on the fabric represents a "South Seas" aesthetic that was very popular so the ensemble is important in terms of Social History as it represents a style of clothing that drew on a Pacific aesthetic which was very popular both in Pacific and non-Pacific communities in the 1960s and 1970s in New Zealand. The dress and jacket are in immaculate condition and provide a strong link to the Applied Arts Collection and the small number of items that represent this type of modernity in the collection so far.
This is an ensemble in excellent condition that links to an historically fashion label in New Zealand, draws on "South Seas" aesthetics in the fabric selection as well as the fabric design and colour choices. It is a quintessential representation of the modernity of 1960s and 1970s New Zealand that, through design forged strong links with the Pacific.
(Dr Andrea Low - Project Curator Pacific, 2018)
