Review: Te Wiki Āhua o Aotearoa ‘Three’, 26th March 2025 [Web Exclusive]

WEB EXCLUSIVE | REVIEW | ĀHUA | FASHION

Written by Libby Helyar (she/her) | @777libby | Contributing Writer

An intimate affair played out on night three of Te Wiki Āhua O Aotearoa.

Outside Karangahape Road’s Ōtautahi Tattoo, exaggerated curtains shielded public eyes from the catwalk location of Grace Wei of Wei Wen and Madi Vesty of Pure From Evil’s collaborative collection: Three.

Behind the veil was a sacred celebration of storytelling, transformation, and an exploration of the evil and godly.

Classical violin set the tone for the curated experience before an electronic Tame-Impala-meets-Dante’s-Inferno mix reverberated through the venue. The audience were introduced to ritualistic movement through a sole dancer, clad in an organic hued hand knit two-piece from Wei.

Then, the music shifted. A blank canvas was wheeled onto the runway and spray paint was craftily applied in a show-long live art creation.

The show title, Three, references the trio of collections presented. There is an undeniable unity between fashion and religion, but Wei and Vesty set their own spin on its rules, modesty and tradition. 

“Grace had a concept around the Divine Comedy so I played into that with my cynicism,” Vesty commented after the show.

Look one declared the duo’s point of view with a punk-adjacent tartan patchwork set. Wei’s signature crochet style offered soft texture to Vesty’s bold asymmetric designs. The red and black colour palette formed the anarchist foundations of the first collection’s sultry sense of power.

Above: Garments from Collection One

Models marched with intention and an air of untouchability. The audience indulged in their display of gluttony as one carried a glass of red wine and an end of bread, pointedly tearing a bite at the end of the runway.

Neutral layers crept into the second collection. Vesty’s tapestry-esque printed garments carried the bold reds and dark tones. However, they were offset by light grey roll neck crochet tops and fawn-coloured machine-knit tube skirts.

Above: Garments from Collection Two

Wei’s knit designs leaned into Vesty’s earlier asymmetry with distressed tails on mini skirts. The show began to balance more ready-to-wear pieces against conceptual styles.

Doilies donned heads, à la flea market couture. Lace of the altar was recrafted into maxi skirts and paired with hooded crop knits. The lace and lighter tones softened the earlier impression of edge without detracting from its relaxed cool.

Collection three melded the previous collections into its own modern-day congregation.

A two-piece light grey knit set of a strappy top and mini skirt shouted new age bridal, worn with a long, white lace veil that cloaked the shoulders. 

Above: Garments from Collection Three

Warm oranges and muted khakis infused freshness, as prints divulged into florals and doily accessories were dyed to match hair colour. Pieces were designed to move with the hips and the models flaunted that swagger.

The collaborative elements of the collections felt easy, there was no sense that the designers had forced garments together. Instead each look was purposeful and held space for each designers’ perspective. 

“There was no power play. We just asked what more can we do together [rather] than we could do singularly,” Vesty says.

Though devout dress codes often restrict, within Three, Wei and Vesty promoted a new sense of belonging and a new group to belong to.

As the applause picked up, the live artwork was unveiled and the designers walked forward from behind it. 

Wei described closing the show as “surreal”. 

Above: Grace Wei and Madi Vesty are given applause from the audience as Three comes to a close.