By Saturday WORD Christchurch is in full flow, a palpable buzz around the central city as people rush from one event to the next, one venue to another. Saturday evening at The Piano is no exception, as a crowd gather in the foyer, sipping on their glass of bubbles and sharing a snack as they animatedly chat amongst themselves. All eagerly awaiting the chance to hear Jane Malthus and Claire Regnault share Eden Hore’s fascinating story.
Once seated, Kate de Goldi opens the discussion by congratulating Jane, Claire and Te Papa for publishing their book Central Otago Couture: The Eden Hore Collection; itself a work of art. Here, dear reader, is where I shall be brutally honest. Before this year’s programme was released, I was not aware of Eden Hore (possibly my age is showing here). But reading the blurb for this event, and learning more about Eden and the book, I was completely hooked. A farmer and a fashion collector, and couture at that? As Kate shared with the audience, what occurs to her is the “eccentricity of a sheep farmer that collects couture.” Essentially what drew me to this event, and how I found myself sitting in the audience, fervently waiting to hear more.
Eden Hore came from a farming background, and as Claire described him, he was a soldier, a farmer, a collector. He returned from the war and made a lot of money with the wool boom in the 1950’s, and then did similar selling cattle in the 1970s. Then, while still a farmer, he started collecting couture fashion garments in the 1970s and 1980s, and then shared them with his community. He attended many Miss New Zealand Pageants, where he purchased many of these pieces. He converted a tractor shed into a space to show case the garments and even held his own pageants with models adorning the incredible pieces. He would hold garden parties on his farm, where he also had a petting zoo for the families with children, and he appeared on Country Calendar on numerous occasions. The depth of this man!
“Accepting of difference and celebrating it.”
In 2013 the Otago District Council purchased the collection, and Jane and Claire were part of the steering committee that assisted them in how best to utilise it, to make it work for the region, making it accessible to the public without using rate payers’ money. The idea for the book naturally followed. Derek Henderson, a prolific and acclaimed photographer, was able to bring the garments to life by contrasting the beautiful pieces against the stunning and harsh backdrop of Central Otago landscapes, that feature in the book. Megha Kapoor, once head of Vogue India, was the stylist and she was also able to bring a fresh look to the garments and collection.
Jane explained that Eden had a very specific vision, and he knew what he wanted. He was astute yet exotic. The competing attributes continue. By the time he opened the tractor shed he was very strategic in what he wanted to show.
Eden was also famous for changing his story depending on who was listening, as well as a poor record keeper. This became a challenge for the pair, working out the competing narratives of the Eden Hore story.
“Meshing of the agricultural world and fashion world.”
As the talk progressed, the audience were treated to photos of the garments and snippets from Eden’s life, as well some behind-the-scenes shots of the photo shoots. One that stood out to me was of a woman in Red Band gumboots adjusting a model’s beautiful dress, standing outside a farming shed. Striking.
Jane and Claire believe his interests changed as the years progressed, as his fascination of miniature horses developed. This interest brought him to The States, where he imported several back to Otago.
Another theme that kept popping up was connections. Who Eden knew through farming, hunting, or the fashion business, or who Jane and Claire met as they created the book, stumbling upon someone who had a descendant of one of his miniature horses. As different topics were touched on, places, events, and shows, the audience would warmly murmur in remembrance, or laugh at a forgotten gem. A secret history, as Kate put it. It felt homely, comforting. Very New Zealand. And although I felt like I’d only just scraped the surface of this incredible man and what he created, I left feeling inspired to investigate more. And to definitely borrow the book from our library.
Find out more
- Find titles by Jane Malthus in the catalogue
- Quick questions with Claire Regnault
- Borrow the book Central Otago Couture
- Our page about New Zealand Fashion
- Browse our WORD Christchurch 2025 page
- Visit the WORD Christchurch website
- Follow WORD Christchurch on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok
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