Headband

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, beauty pageants attracted a large and loyal following across the Pacific. They are a catalyst for the creativity and innovation of dress designers, and events through which young women can perform and celebrate their cultural skills and knowledge.

This headband is part of an ensemble made by New Zealand based Sāmoan designer Paula Chan-Cheuk, who is widely known or her elegant synthesis of Pacific, Asian, and European styles. Chan-Cheuk designed the dress for Sovita Mauga, who represented the Sāmoan community in New Zealand at the Miss South Pacific Pageant in Sāmoa in 1996. This garment won the Traditional Wear category of the competition.

Construction

Paula Chan-Cheuk constructed the dress from natural materials including tapa cloth and pandanus. The ensemble includes a wig/headdress made from curled strips of pandanus leaf decorated with tapa flowers, and a headband also made of tapa and ornamented with cowrie and other seashells. The bodice is strapless and has a bustline decorated with petalled pandanus flowers with tapa stamens. It comprises seven rows of dark leaf shaped elements made from tapa cloth. Four rows of leaves are decorated with diamond shapes made from pandanus. The hemline features a fringe of long narrow pandanus strips.

Designer

Paula Chan-Cheuk is of Samoan and Chinese descent and was born in Salea’aumua, Sāmoa. Both of her parents were dressmakers. She came to New Zealand in 1974 and completed a course through the New Zealand College of Fashion Design. In 1992, she designed for the first Miss Samoa New Zealand winner, Julia Toevae who went on to win the Miss South Pacific Pageant. Over her long career she has acquired a reputation for elegant and highly detailed garments.