Unexpectedly Glamourous World of Eden Hore - Curators Talk

On the opening day of Eden Hore: High Fashion/High Country, join exhibition curator Claire Regnault and dress historian Dr Jane Malthus to explore the unexpectedly glamourous world of Eden Hore - the visionary Central Otago farmer who collected over two hundred couture gowns in 1970 and ‘80s Aotearoa.

Hear about the collection’s significance to New Zealand’s fashion history, illustrated by historical images of the high country fashion museum that Eden Hore set up in a converted tractor shed on his Naseby farm. Then take to the gallery for a curatorial tour of his exquisite garments and hear first-hand about shooting on location in Central Otago with celebrated fashion photographer Derek Henderson.

Claire Regnault is a curator at Te Papa, where she specializes in dress histories. Her dress-related publications include Dressed: Fashionable Dress in Aotearoa New Zealand (Te Papa Press, 2021), The Dress Circle: New Zealand Fashion Design Since 1940 (Godwit, 2010) and New Zealand Gown of the Year (HBCT, 2003). She is a member of the Eden Hore Central Otago Steering Group, and once-upon-a-time worked at The Dowse as a curator.

Jane Malthus is a dress historian and honorary curator at Otago Museum, with a background in textiles, clothing and fashion, history and fine arts. Recent work includes a chapter, Dressing Settlers in New Zealand: Global Inter-connections, for Dressing Global Bodies: The Politics of Fashion in World History, 1600-2000 (Routledge UK, 2020); and co-curation of Fashion Forward: Disruption through Design (Otago Museum, 2021). She is a member of the Eden Hore Central Otago Steering Group.