A video of naked men armed with purses strutting a Madrid fashion runway has resurfaced online, and with full-frontal male nude fashion featuring recently on overseas catwalks, it raises questions if the trend will make its way to New Zealand. Māori fashion powerhouse Miromoda co-founder Ata Te Kanawa shares her thoughts with Te Kāea.
Naked men with purses, runway, and fashion. Will this trend take to the New Zealand catwalk?
Te Kanawa says, “It's a big call to ask models to model naked and I doubt if any of the agencies we work with would be happy with that likewise the models.”
The closest example of near nakedness Te Kanawa could recall was Jockey's All Blacks campaign, and while she's yet to see completely naked male models on NZ runways, she said indigenous cultural dress could embody these elements.
"We haven't really had cause for showing off the body as a means of showing off the fashion so when you think about our cultural practice I think the model is about as near to nakedness that we see quite commonly with Kapa haka.”
Artist Alicia Framis' decade-old fashion set was part of Spanish luxury bag brand Loewe's 160th-anniversary exhibition. Her concept criticised the use and abuse of the feminine figure in advertising. But in recent years males and their goods have featured on overseas catwalks including New York Fashion Week.
"It's all about the models being a coathanger for the garments and so I have to admit I found all the swinging bits a little bit distracting."
It's a trend that could be seen on the catwalk come the New Zealand Fashion Week.