Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei partners with Resene for first taiao-inspired colour palette

The first iwi-inspired colour paint palette was recently launched in partnership between Resene ColorShop and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

The palette draws inspiration from the taiao, the natural environment, and will be used to maintain the iwi’s wharenui, refurbish papakāinga housing, and other new developments in Ōrākei.

“The colours reflect the history and pepeha of Ngāti Whātua,” iwi spokesperson Clay Hawke says.

Ngāti Whātua uses over 2000 litres of paint annually to maintain the wharenui and papakainga housing along with other projects.

Resene’s national business development manager Vaughan Schmidt says the colour palette took two years to develop, with most of the discussion taking place during the Covid pandemic.

“That was quite difficult because you can’t get the true essence of the colours digitally. You have to see it in person,” Schmidt explained.

“Because it was the first time something like this has been done, there were a lot of different angles to cover, and it was the first time for everybody, so it took a long time to get through, let’s say, the legal process. And then that opened the doors to get into the creative process, which, with lots of parties involved, even within Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, has taken quite some time.”

These new colours, all with Māori names, are now available in all Resene stores throughout the country.