Pacific Couture – Lindah Lepou “Le Tatau” (2006) – Rebirth

Lindah Lepou is an internationally renowned, Fa’afafine ARTIST, with an interdisciplinary (and collaborative) practice in Fashion, Photography, Film, Music, and/or Performance. Over three decades now, she has built a unique, body-of-work, that illustrates a multidimensional, multicultural, and intergenerational connection between pre- and post-colonial worlds, that travels through her ‘Gafa’, and relationship with ‘AITU’ (Spirit/Ancestors).

In 1992, she coined the term, “Pacific COUTURE” to redefine (and demonstrate) her own vision of what “Pacific FASHION” design should be, and has built a solid foundation that utilizes a variety of natural fibres i.e. Flax, Tapa Cloth, Coconut Shell, and Recycled materials, that promotes the preservation of traditional indigenous techniques in contemporary ways, and shares a ‘visual language’ that helps her communicate, and express a distinctive ‘pacific’ identity and narrative, belonging to us.

Since then, Lindah has been exhibited alongside the Haute Couture greats like, Christian Dior, Chanel, and Vivienne Westwood, and her works continue to be sort after by museums around the world.