Māori fashion designer Amber Bridgeman has spent decades refining her craft, drawing on her connections to the southern waters.
For 30 years, her path has been shaped by a deep dedication to her whānau and her identity, steadily taking her work across global indigenous runways well before her latest international milestones.
Growing up surrounded by a creative whānau, Bridgeman began making clothes at around nine years old. She recalls watching her mother handle the sewing machine, noting, “My mum made all our clothes, our curtains, everything matched.”
In her twenties, Bridgeman spent time working as a television presenter. Instead of buying off-the-rack outfits, she used her clothing allowance to buy fabric and stitch together her own clothes for the screen. When she started a family and wanted to stay close to home, that habit turned into full-time design.
More than 20 years ago, after the arrival of her twin boys, she began printing simple Māori designs and proverbs onto children’s clothes, a local kōhanga reo project that eventually grew into her label, Kahuwai.
Working independently, she continues to source much of what she uses herself, scouring op shops at home and overseas for vintage pieces and unique textiles. She describes herself simply as “an organised creative in the sense that I’ve been blessed to be gifted.”
Sustainability is second nature to her work. Steering clear of fast fashion, Brigerman uses organic materials and resourcefulness, keeping her focus on caring for the environment rather than mass production.
A quiet trip to Fiji
Wanting to test the waters on an international stage again, Brigerman headed over to Fiji Fashion Week on her own. There, she presented Te Ara Ōkiwa, a collection named after her pōtiki and the deep and often treacherous waters running between Rakiura and Te Waipounamu.
The collection carried layers of meaning, drawing inspiration from personal healing, time spent in the Cook Islands, and the wider social and environmental challenges facing communities across Aotearoa and the Pacific.
At the heart of it was the mana of the pāua, reflecting how a friend described her journey as a metaphor for resilience and hidden inner beauty. Bringing those stories to life, she shares, “I’m not just Māori; I have other beautiful connections overseas,” wanting her work to represent everything she is as an indigenous designer.
Looking ahead to New York and beyond
With New York Fashion Week locked in for September, Bridgeman is preparing to take contemporary Māori design to one of the world’s major fashion capitals.
Staged across Manhattan venues as one of the world’s premier fashion events, she will take part in the lineup; she’ll be presenting a tight curation of her work, shrinking her full collection of 35 pieces down to just 8 key looks. As she puts it, “It’s very hard to go from 35 garments down to 8,” but she notes it’s a necessary squeeze to refine the work and put her heritage front and centre.
After decades of building her brand right from home, stepping onto the international stage is simply the next chapter for a label built on whānau and authentic indigenous design.
