A florist has completed a korowai covered in flower petals to celebrate New Zealand Flowers Week next month. However tonight The National Flower Promotion Group gives Te Kāea exclusive access to this unique item.
The designer of the cloak, Melissa Jane says, “I saw the lily flower and noticed that the petals were like feathers so I took that idea and transformed it.”
Jane who's one of the top five florists in New Zealand took on the challenge of creating this piece of art with a Māori twist to celebrate New Zealand's Flowers Week.
“I was thinking kind of maybe doing something bird-like making a swan or something like that and then it kind of transformed into a feather cloak. In total it probably only took 2 hours to do that section but if we were to do a full cloak than it would've been half a day’s work.”
Her design techniques are a mixture of European influence along with a characteristic style that New Zealand florists are known for.
“I went with the Māori idea and then I decided to make it bridal. So bridal is traditionally white, so I wanted to still bring the cultural but still mix it with more of a contemporary style. This has made me more interest but I know where my skills are and it's not there.”
New Zealand Flowers Weeks launches on the 20th of November.