Adrienne Whitewood: Ahu Boutique

Rongowhakaata

Even though Adrienne Whitewood did not do as well as she wanted to during her last year of school, that was not going to stop her living her dream of becoming a fashion designer.

When she found out that she needed better marks to get into Auckland University of Technology, to study fashion, she decided to go back and do her last year of school again.

Today, Adrienne has her own fashion store Ahu Boutique in Rotorua and has had her Māori inspired clothing and jewellery seen all over the world. ‘Ahu’ means to help grow, nurture, create or fashion in te reo Māori. The name ‘Ahu’ is perfect for her business because Adrienne’s designs are helping to grow and nurture the local Rotorua fashion industry.

Adrienne’s clothes are often inspired by the beautiful and courageous Te Arawa heroine Hinemoa. Adrienne used the face of one of Hinemoa’s descendants, Tania Tapsell, as inspiration to design the face of Hinemoa in one of her popular prints.

Adrienne was taught how to sew by her grandmother, and she kept her interest in fashion right through her schooling, from Malfroy Primary to Rotorua Intermediate and then Rotorua Girls’ High School.

She takes a keen interest in Pacific design and enjoys talking to, and learning from, other designers in the Pacific region.

Adrienne is leading the way for young people who love their culture and want to live in Rotorua and grow business and creativity in the region, but who still want to make their work known all over the world.

This story comes from the original Great Te Arawa Stories website created by Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru (NPeW) Education Trust in 2018. To ensure consistency, minimal updates were made to the text before it was transferred to this new site.