Ensemble, Man's costume (Prince of Peace)

This garment ‘Prince of Peace’was made by Jean Clarkson, a New Zealand-born fabric artist of Tahitian/Scottish descent. She takes inspiration in her work from her heritage on her mother’s side. Her mother was a Norfolk Islander. Jean is also a direct descendant of HMS Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian and Mauatua, his Tahitian wife. Mauatua made block-printed tapa clothing on Pitcairn Island and Jean has based many of her contemporary designs on these patterns. She also employs the same direct leaf-print technique that Tahitians used to decorate their tapa cloth.

Construction

‘Prince of Peace’ comprises four parts, including a cloak, lavalava, headpiece and peace banner. A highlight of the garment is the lavalava, made from unbleached calico and screen-printed with a nuclear-free image that incorporates the words ‘Niuklia Fri Pasifik’ (Nuclear-free Pacific), which as the designer states in the object catalogue record ‘is in pidgin English the common language of the Pacific People’. A banner accompanying the garment has the peace sign at its centre. A woven headpiece (FE012022/4) is made from black recycled plastic and calico strips, imitating natural leaves.

Award winning

This is one of two of Clarkson’s garments modelled at the New Zealand-based Style Pasifika (later the Westfield Style Pasifika) fashion show in Auckland in 1996 and 1999, respectively.‘Prince of Peace’ won the Traditionally Inspired section and the Supreme Award in 1996, and ‘Silk and Banana Bark’ was runner-up in the Evening Wear section in 1999.

Acquisition History

This garment was acquired from Jean Clarkson in 2006.