Siaposu‘isu‘i, Wedding Dress

Lindah Lepou, who identifies as fa'afāfine, is a multi-media artist of Samoan and European descent. In her fashion work, she combines elements from Pacific and European textile traditions to create high-impact, one-off garments which she describes as ‘Pacific couture’. In 2022 she received the inaugural Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi “Toi Kō Iriiri” queer arts award in celebration of an outstanding artist or group of artists whose practice has a meaningful impact on the queer community.

Siaposu‘isu‘i

Lepou made this wedding dress especially for Te Papa on the occasion of the exhibition Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (16 December 2011 to 22 April 2012). She sought to reference both the past and future in the dress through her choice of materials - tapa cloth and LED lights.

The wedding dress is named after Lepou's ancestor Siaposu‘isu‘i, whose name literally means ‘stitching tapa (bark cloth)’. She also pays homage to her late great-grandmother, Fa‘agase, who appeared making tapa cloth in the film Moana: A Story of the South Seas (1926). Her choice of white cloth references the Western wedding tradition and the Christian association of white with purity, while the tapa cloth ruffles, which she has made from strips of tapa cloth, represent islands, and the many twists and turns of a person’s journey through life, including marriage.

The weddin g dress, which is made from over 20 metres of tapa cloth stitched onto a white denim base,  is completed by heavily beaded headdress featuring a pattern based on a contemporary tapa design. She has fitted an LED light in the centre of each flower to create a subtle halo effect., symbolising knowledge, enlightenment, and spirituality.