Woman’s suit
New Zealand fashion designer Nadine Freundlich has worked her own heritage into this contemporary suit. Through clever use of both design and fabric she has created a stylish Scottish/Mäori/English mix. The suit was part of Nadine's Autumn/Winter collection at the Air New Zealand Fashion Week in 2005.
The suit is inspired by the traditional pleated kilt. It combines 'Pride of New Zealand' tartan with a screen-printed design fusing the Scotch thistle and Mäori koru (unfurling fern pattern).
The tartan was designed in New Zealand by Ivan Coward, a Dunedin taylor. All the colours are significant, black represents sporting achievements, grey represents New Zealand's multicultural society, and white symbolises the snow-capped mountains of this country's own highlands.