Miss Aotearoa signs on for Te Koanga Fashion Show

PRESS RELEASE

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Miss Aotearoa signs on for Te Koanga Fashion Show

The current Miss Aotearoa New Zealand, Angela Cudd, will be one of two guest models to feature at the coming Te Koanga Fashion Show, being held as part of the National Waiata Maori Music Awards in Hawke’s Bay next month.

Angela will join former New Zealand Top Model contestant Ruby Higgins as the guest models for the annual show, which aims to mix Maori music with Maori fashion, and will be held at the historic Hawke’s Bay Opera House in Hastings on the evening of September 7.

Angela was born in Gisborne but now lives in Napier and has 11 siblings. Ruby is from Hastings but now lives in Wellington, she works for the 62 Models and Talent agency. The two top Maori models will make a formidble pair on the catwalk of the Te Koanga Show, which this year is being produced by Oyster Entertainment (Style Pasifika, New Zealand Bridal Fashion Week).

Angela says she feels it is her responsibility to do all she can to support the execuctive director, Tama Huata, and the work his team is putting into the Waiata Maori Music Awards and the Te Koanga Fashion Show this year.

“I believes the work Tama and his team are doing is very important to Te Ao Maori. It would be foolish of me to not want to be involved in this long-term. One of my goals is to achieve consistent, positive promotion of Maori and I want it to have longevity.

“This is something that Tama and his team are already achieving. I would love to learn as much as I can from them and give back just as much if not more,” she says.

Angela says there are many fashion shows around New Zealand but what will set Te Koanga apart from the rest is its connections with the Waiata Maori Music Awards.

“… which fills a distinct and, I think, very important gap in recognizing Maori achievement. Because of this connection I think Te Koanga will naturally progress from being a fashion show to becoming an esteemed event that recognizes Maori achievement in the fashion world.”

Anegla’s first high-profile show was the Miss Wellington pageant (2010) where she was placed in the top five and was awarded the Miss Knowledgable title.

The next day she flew to Auckland to compete in Miss Aotearoa New Zealand where she won the Miss Charity Queen and Best Speech sections before being crowned Miss Aotearoa New Zealand 2010.

Six weeks later Angela flew to Papua New Guinea to represent New Zealand at the Miss South Pacific pageant. It was a gruelling 10 days but it was all worth the effort when she won the Miss Tourism title before being awarded first runner-up.

Since winning the accolades, Angela has modelled for various business, including Stichbury, Denada and Holistica. Highlights include a photo feature in Tu Mai magazine, appearances on television in the South Pacific, articles in newspapers in New Zealand and she has featured in an Australian documentary.

She has also appeared in the New Zealand film, Hook, Line and Sinker, and was offered extra spots on some of New Zealand’s popular television shows including Go Girls and Spartacus.

Angela has also worked hard to achieve goals outside of modelling and in 2007 she was awarded a first-year scholarship to Victoria University in Wellington. After completing her first-year Angela moved back to Hawke’s Bay due to family commitments and in 2009 graduated from the Eastern Institute of Technology with a Diploma in Recreation and Sport.

She then returned to Wellington in 2010 and completed her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies. She is now working toward completing a further Bachelor of Arts in Defence Studies and a Bachelor of Laws degree.

Angela hopes to complete Masters and PhD qualifications before looking to join the army as a legal specialist officer. Her ultimate aspiration is to be the first Maori Supreme Court Chief Justice.

Her pageant endeavours for the future include winning the Miss World NZ and Miss Universe NZ titles so that she can represent the country once more in an international arena and to promote Maori and Pacific people in a positive manner.

ends

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