Ohomairangi Matariki Arts and Fashion Show will comprise Maori Art and fashion.
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Whakaorangia ngā pona moeroa o te tinana , whakaohongia ngā hope ngāueue e hika mā kia mataara e te iwi kai te pae o Takurua tētehi huinga whakahirahira katoa o Te Arawa, ko te whakakitenga ā toi mō Matariki ki Ohomairangi me te whakaatu pūeru ka tū inākuanei.
E ai ki te mātanga whakarākei kaupapa ngāngānā ko Kharl William Wi Repa he whakaaturanga whakamihi ki te kete tuatea. He huinga rangatira tēnei e hora ai te whāriki kura e ihi ai ngā mahinga a ngā toki nui o te ao toi, o te ao waihanga pūeru ā motu nei me te ao whānui hoki.
E kōrero ngākau ana a Kharl, ae e hoa mā kātahi te huihuinga nui, te mana e rere ai te aroha e rere ai te hākoakoatanga hai whakateitei i te kāhui Matariki, Te Arawa e maranga e tū.
Hai tā Kharl kai te whāia e ia te wairua o Matariki whakakōtahi tangata – " He wā e whakakotahi ai a Rotorua me te motu whānui ki tētehi kaupapa kōkōrangi. Kia kaha kē tātou ki te hora i te aroha nui o Matariki ki ngā iwi katoa o te motu".
Ki te taha o te ara-whakamīrerirei, me he wairua toa te tangata kia kaha te tuku i tō ingoa ki te huinga mātai tauira-whakaatu pūeru i mua o te rāwhā te tuarua o Hune/ Pīpiri ki te Rotorua Community Center 1181 Pukuatua Street. Nau mai e te tini, e te nui, e te iti.
E whai wāhi ai ngā tauira hou ki te parakitihi i mua o te kaupapa nui ka tū ā te kotahi mā ono o Hune/Pīpiri. Ka tū te whakakitenga whakahirahira nei ki ngā pāpāringa o Te Rotorua nui a Kahumatamomoe.
He kaupapa i tautokongia e te Geyser Trust, Rotorua Trust, Waikato Trust, Te Puni Kokiri, Wintec, NZ School of Tourism,Tainui Live, me te Kiingitanga i ngā tau tawhito, whoi anō kua whai waewae te kaupapa e tū Māori noa nei mō tēnei tau he ahakoa kai te āta mirimiri nei a Kharl i ngā tūara o te hunga mātakitaki ki te hoko tīkiti hai awhina i te rangatahi , ngā wāhine, ngā whānau me te kete tuatea.
Whai hononga ai a Kharl ki a Ngāti Pikiao, ki a Ngāti Wāhiao, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui me Tainui waka. Kua kotahi tekau mā ono ngā tau a ia i te ao pākihi-ā-tuatea nei. Kua iwa ngā tau tēnei kaupapa e kaha ana, i pupū ake ai i te arohanui ki ngā iwi taketake otīā me te whakaaro he kaupapa pai e whakamōhiongia ai tō tātou kaha ki te toi me tō tātou ahurea ki ngā iwi kē atu.
"Ko te titiro tawhiti kia whakaarangia ngā ātamira huhua e ihi ai te iwi taketake e tae atu ai ki ngā kūmore katoa o te ao whānui". " He whakakitenga e mana ai te wairua o te mātanga toi e tāea ai e ia te whakaatu i ōna tauwharenga katoa o te ngākau, ao tawhito mai, ao hou nei".
He ahakoa he kaupapa-ā-motu nei kai te kōkiringia tēnei waka e Ngai Te Arawa, me te mea hoki e tika ana he kaupapa nā te Māori tonu e waha. Kua oia te waka pūtea nei e te māuiui korona ko tētehi anō o ngā take o te kaupapa kia whakamomona ai ngā pūkoro o te kamupene kia ake tonu ai ngā kaupapa pae tawhiti nei.
Kua whakamihia āna kaupapa huhua hoki e ngā whare teitei o te ao toi pēnā i te Miromoda i te tau e rua mano kotahi tekau mā wha. He momo rūnanga i whakaarangia i te tau e rua mano mā waru te tau e te pae o tuatea taketake.
Ko Miromoda te kamupene rangatira katoa o Aotearoa ki te kawe kaupapa whakaatu pūeru, mahi toi kauanuanu. I whakatūria ai te tūāpapa o Ohomairangi i te tau e rua mano kotahi tekau mā wha te tau.
He kamupene ohaoha e kaha nei ki te hāpai me te amo te hunga mahi toi puta noa te motu ā whakawhiti atu ki Te Moana nui a Kiwa.
Ia tau hou ka tū te kaupapa rangatira nei a Matariki e tūhono tahi ai te Māori me ngā whānaunga o Te Moana nui a Kiwa.
Kua whai hononga rangatira ā mahi hoki nei te kamupene ki a Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade the Pacific Cooperation Foundation me Te Kīngitanga hoki. Hai tā Kharl, he ahakoa e toka tū ana rātou i te ao o te kete tuatea, ka nui kē te taumahatanga ā pūtea me i kore ngā poupou tē kītea o te whare kua hemo noa atu rātou.
Ko te anga whakamua, ko Kharl te rangatira o ētehi atu pahi pākihi rangatira. " He kaha nōku ki te hāpai i ngā pikitūranga kia aro pū ahau ki āku kaupapa hou". He ahakoa kai te whakapono ia ki te oranga tonutanga o te ao pākihi i Aotearoa tērā anō e āmaimai nui ana tētehi wāhanga o tōna ngākau ki tō tātou pāpori.
"E toromi nei tātou i te mate pī – e oho, maranga e tū e te iwi patua, kai tāmī tātou!". Ae, he tangata momo pī i ngā tau ko hori a Kharl engari kua patua kētia e ia taua ngārara e hikoi ngātahi ana me te whakapono Moromona.
E whētukituki ana te whatumanawa, kai te ora ngā pūkahukahu o te tinana ka nui tana whakakōroria i tōna whakapono. He ahakoa kai te patua tonutia ia e ngā hara o ngā tau tawhito, ko te rāweke moni me āna hara tarutaru, otīā kia mōhio hoki ai tātou i kāwhakina, ā i patua hoki ia e ētehi – he mōhio pū nō Kharl ka tū anō te rā. Ko ngā kupu whakakapinga āna mō ngā whakatupuranga hou – whakapono ki te Atua.
— Na Raimona Inia tenei purongo i whakamaoritia
Polish up those dance moves and prepare to don your glad rags to celebrate at the most glamorous Matariki event in Te Arawa — the Ohomairangi Matariki Arts and Fashion Show.
Glamour designer Kharl William WiRepa says the Ohomairangi Matariki Arts and Fashion Show will comprise Maori Art and fashion.
The red-carpet event will include artwork and fashion from internationally recognised artists and designers.
Kharl promises that the event, which includes music and dancing, will be the No.1 Matariki celebration in Te Arawa.
He sees the Matariki celebration as of benefit to everyone – "it allows Rotorua and New Zealand to feel included in celestial tradition. Matariki is not just for Maori it is for everyone."
Locals with a penchant to strut the catwalk can answer a model casting call next Thursday, June 2, at the Miss Rotorua Community Center 1181 Pukuatua Street. All sizes are welcome.
That will give the newbies just over a month to train for the big event on July 16. The 2022 Ohomairangi Matariki Arts and Fashion Show will be held on the shores of Lake Rotorua.
In the past the Ohomairangi Foundation has been supported by Geyser Trust, Rotorua Trust, Trust Waikato, Te Puni Kokiri, Wintec, NZ School of Tourism Tainui Live, and the Kiingitanga.
However for the 2022 Matariki event the kaupapa is self-funded and Kharl encourages the public to purchase tickets to support rangatahi, wahine, whanau, and the arts.
Kharl, who has hononga to Ngati Pikiao and Ngati Wahiao in Te Arawa, and Te Whanau A Apanui and Tainui, has been in the design and fashion business for 16 years.
The foundation has been active nine years and was initiated to provide indigenous people with the opportunity to share their heritage and culture. "Our long-term goal is to create platforms that celebrate cutural integration and allow the people of the Pacific to be globally recognised.
"It enables artists to share their stories in traditional and contemporary formats."
It is a national kaupapa being led out in Te Arawa and was initiated to allow Maori led initiatives to thrive.
Covid has drastically impacted the organisation financially and the Matariki event is to fundraise for the organisation so it can continue to grow the capacity and capability of New Zealand and the Pacific.
His work has been recognised by various awards over the years including the prestigious Miromoda in 2014. Founded in 2008 by the Indigenous Māori Fashion Apparel Board Miromoda is Aotearoa's leading indigenous fashion events company.
Kharl was also the first The Ohomairangi Foundation was established in 2014. The charitable trust works to provide artists across the Pacific with opportunities that are not otherwise available.
Every year the organisation presents a world-class Matariki celebration connecting Maori and Pasifika. The foundation has worked with leading organisations globally. Including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The Pacific Cooperation Foundation, and The Kiingitanga.
Kharl acknowledges that becoming established in the fashion business is not cheap and he is thankful for the support from whanau and the wider Maori community.
As to his succession plan, Kharl is the head of multiple organisations and businesses.
"I am always looking to support new leadership so I can focus on new projects."
He sees the future as very promising for New Zealand business but he has reservations about the future of our society.
"We have a methamphetamine epidemic that needs to be seriously addressed."
Kharl has kicked his drug and alcohol habits and reignited his Mormon faith.
Fitter and healthier than he has been in years, Kharl is rejoicing in finding his faith again.
Despite run-ins with the law over fraud and drug use, and then as a victim of a kidnapping and assault, Kharl has always known he could bounce back because of his talent.
Among his many accomplishments is being the first Maori published in the British fashion magazine Vogue.
His advice to future generations? Trust in the Lord.