Freestyle – Aotearoa-Flavoured Fashion
Amazing things have happened in fashion design in Aotearoa – in recent years, Māori and Pacific motifs have even found
their way to the runways of Paris and New York. FREESTYLE celebrates the fusion of culture and style unique to this
place, screening on Māori Television on Saturdays at 7.00 PM.
FREESTYLE is a half-hour magazine show with a finger on the pulse of health, beauty and fashion, to create a style file
for the style-conscious viewer.
The show is split into fun and informative segments. Auahiana is an insider’s guide to the most up-to-date looks in
magazines, and on catwalks. E Mara! features bloke’s bloke and roving reporter Matua Parkinson, a metro male in the
making as he gets a new hair-do, tries bikram yoga and finds out if blondes really do have more fun. Te Rakeitanga is
all in te reo, and looks at how designers can honour and retain the past while moving into the future. And Tohunga Taa
Whatu features chats in studio with some of finest emerging talent in fashion design.
“As more Māori choose to work in this creative industry, we need to show taiohi – youth - that it can be done, and done
with style,” says producer Veeshayne Patuwai, who with husband Tamati also presents the show. “FREESTYLE achieves that,
and represents Māori in a way that’s fresh, innovative, and most importantly, positive.”
Vesshayne and Tamati have many years of media experience between them. Veeshayne won the Mobil Radio Award for best
newcomer in 1995, and has also won numerous acting roles, while Tamati is a trained actor who has starred in numerous
high-profile television shows and films.
Home-grown and funky, FREESTYLE screens on Māori Television on Saturdays at 7.00 PM.
ENDS