Te Puke woman Donna Dinsdale's love of fashion was fostered from an early age, thanks to both of her grandmothers and mother who were all highly-skilled dressmakers.

'I was taught by the very best, which was my mum,” says Donna.

She now passes those skills and passion on to students at Toi Ohomai, where she teaches the fashion design major within the Bachelor of Creative Industries.

Incorporating her fascination with textiles, Donna also designs and creates pieces that could best be described as 'fashion as art”.

It was in her 2018 exhibition ‘Aroha Atu', held at The Historic Village, that Donna first began using blankets – 60 of them – as the main material in her designs.

It is also a blanket that features heavily in her upcoming creation selected for inclusion at this year's World of Wearable Art Competition in Wellington from September 29-October 16.

Wow is a leading international design competition in New Zealand – offering a space for artists to push the boundaries of wearable art design.

There is a reason blanket is her material of choice.

'The blanket is part of our cultural history. Some of the blankets I use are more special than others because they've been gifted to me by my whānau. Some are ones my mum's kept.”

This is Donna's third entry to the World of Wearable Art, and her second successful selection into the competition.

‘Wāhine Toa' is the name of her entry and is a celebration of the strength, unity, empowerment and beauty of the women of Aotearoa.

Part of the enjoyment for Donna in working with wool is the imperfections – the worn edges and the mended parts appeal to her.

She has a deep respect for the craftsmanship, and the direct relation to the person or people who once owned them.

'The narrative behind a lot of the blankets is very personal and so I value and respect that. I want to do them justice,” says Donna.

Catherine Sylvester.