Overview
Anyone with a swimwear obsession, a love of the past, or an interest in local fashion will enjoy the New Zealand Fashion Museum's latest exhibition At the Beach: 100 Years of Summer Fashion in New Zealand. The collection of New Zealand-made and designed beachwear is being shown at the New Zealand Maritime Museum, giving fashion types an excuse to discover the country's nautical history simultaneously. The two worlds collide surprisingly effectively, with scantily-clad mannequins nestling against beautiful, wooden sail boats and convening in beachside ice cream shops and classic kiwi baches.
As well as charting the change in beach fashions over the years – in short, the use of ever skimpier and slinkier fabric – the collection celebrates how Kiwis have spent their weekends and holidays for more than a century, our love of the coast and its influence on national identity.
The exhibition, put together by New Zealand Fashion Museum founder Doris de Pont and fashion consultant Dianne Ludwig, showcases swimwear, beachwear, and the all-important summer accessories.
The swimsuits are the stars, ranging from demure woolen onesies, to terry towelling numbers and barely there bikinis. But the beach accessories are the cherry on top; hefty sun umbrellas, retro loungers and polystyrene surfboards (which I must point out from experience will break if two people try to climb aboard at once).
These displays are intershot with anecdotes of Kiwi's own beach attire over the years, and not-to-be-missed photos of our most famous swimsuit models Rachel Hunter and Miss Universe 1983, Lorraine Downes.
Worth a visit next time you're in the Viaduct, for a waterfront reminder of why we love the coast – and how talented our local designers are.