Māori-owned fashion labels KaistorSt and Mitchell Vincent Collection have taken a major step into the Thai fashion market after launching their newest collections in Bangkok.
On Thursday they held a fashion showcase named AHO: Continuity and Connection to launch the collections that weave stogether Māori culture and Thai heritage.
KaistorSt owner Nichola Te Kiri, said the feedback from guests had been nothing but positive.
“Everyone’s loving it. They actually really love our culture. The other feedback I heard is that they want to have it again… I feel really content that they understood it, understood the narrative, understood and could see that connection.”
Te Kiri’s label KaistorSt redefines fashion and accessories with a mission rooted in te ao Māori. She is passionate about narrating indigenous stories through limited-edition clothing and bespoke pieces and weaves pūrākau (stories) into every creation.
Mitchell Vincent Collection owner Mitchell Vincent has already achieved worldwide influence in fashion, captivating audiences from New Zealand through to cities like Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
His designs are inspired by stories handed down through generations and designed with colours that evoke sophistication, using ethically sourced and dead-stock end-of-line fabrics. Each collection at the event also wove together Māori heritage and Thai culture.
Vincent said guests “really connected with our culture, but also, I think they were just surprised to be able to see fashion coming from Aotearoa. So it was quite a cool spin being able to put culture and fashion together and at the end of the day that’s what myself and Nichola do.”
C-ASEAN managing director Sutthipun Nujjaya was a guest and said she was impressed by how well the designs connected with Thai people.
“It’s simple but elegant and, most importantly, the designers brought patterns from Māori and matched them with Thai patterns, which I have never seen before.”
Designer and tailor Dev Mohnani was another guest.
“I love how each piece is mastered very well, how the different cuts will shape people differently here and how we can have both cultures collaborate together,” Mohnani said.
The event was packed with guests including New Zealand diplomats, company and business owners and leading influencers. It was held at the dusitD2 Samyan Bangkok hotel and included a fashion show showcasing the new designs modelled by staff at the hotel, delicious kai and a performance by Zentarge band member Te Manawanui Tawhara-Crown.
But a major highlight that stunned guests was a haka performance by alumni of Te Hononga-a-Kiwa, a programme that aims to increase Māori business engagement, capability and awareness internationally. The alumni helped as event staff to host the event.
Te Kiri says, “It was so amazing. I know that at a lot of events we don’t have such a big team, so it was amazing to have people backing us and in our corner and being able to push us to our best to be able to platform premium Māori pakihi.”
Te Kiri and Vincent say they made connections at the event and potential collaborations for future business in Thailand.
“We’ve been very fortunate to meet some very big people tonight, the ambassadors, people from Aotearoa but also influencers who we didn’t think we’d see tonight, which was amazing,” said Vincent.
Te Kiri said, “this definitely is step one and I can’t wait for three, four, five and six.”
