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National | Gisborne

Māori fashion designer wins Attitude Entrepreneur Award

Source: TV1

Cruze Kapa is the winner of this year's Attitude Entrepreneur Award winner at the annual Attitude Awards held last night.

Cruze is the first deaf, Māori fashion designer.

Kapa graduated from the University of Otago with a Bachelor of Design (Fashion) and has since relocated to Auckland to start his own business.

Earlier this year he showcased his work at Vancouver Fashion Week.

In an interview with Te Kāea soon after he was announced as a finalist for the award, Kapa described his work.

"The design of my fashion concepts really reflected on what inspired me and it needed to reflect on who I was”, he said.

He says his inspiration stemmed from his upbringing in Gisborne.

“I remember when I was a small boy watching my Nanna and she had a very small old sewing machine that she used that was great for using old garments and she'd make children’s clothes for the five children that she had. And I think that's where the seed was really planted.”

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