Wedding Dress

This is a wedding dress designed and made 1997 by New Zealand based Sāmoan designer Paula Chan-Cheuk with input from Jackie Leota-Ete who wore the dress at her wedding to Igelese Ete on 11 January 1998. The ensemble consists of full length dress of tapa, decorated with sennit and shells, a long tapa train and tapa head piece, both similarly decorated, a 'bouquet' made from an orator's fue (fly whisk ornament) with tapa and shells, and a pair of shell earrings.

Traditionally Inspired

In the 1990’s, undecorated tapa cloth (barkcloth) was a sought after material by Pacific Island dressmakers and designers and it found a place in fashion shows, beauty pageants and on special occasions such as weddings.

This tapa wedding dress was commissioned from by Jackie Leota – Ete. In an interview at the time she said, “I first saw the work of Paula Chan at the 1994 Pasifika Fashion show in Auckland. In the Traditionally Inspired section, she presented a puletasi or two-piece outfit, made of tapa with sennit braiding. This was the first time such a contemporary garment using traditional materials had been used/seen and it was truly spectacular. I vowed then that, if I ever got married, she would be the woman to make my dress” (1).

Designer

Paula Chan-Cheuk is of Samoan and Chinese descent and was born in Salea’aumua, Sāmoa and raised in Apia. 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 1991, she designed for the first Miss Samoa New Zealand 1991, Julia Tuivae 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.

References

(1) Leota – Ete. J. 1998 New Zealand Weddings: A Complete Guide. Starlight Publishing.