{"id":269513,"date":"2025-11-07T16:30:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T05:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.russh.com\/?p=269513"},"modified":"2025-11-07T16:57:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T05:57:58","slug":"te-manahou-mackay-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.russh.com\/te-manahou-mackay-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Te Manahou Mackay on courage, creation and control"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI feel like my creative output really began two or three years ago,\u201d Te Manahou Mackay begins as we speak over the phone. The 26-year-old model and creative is in a moment of creative expansion \u2013 between beauty campaigns for MECCA<\/a> and Jean Paul Gaultier<\/a>, collaborative art projects, walking the runway for Nicol & Ford<\/a>, and a growing body of deeply personal work. Having spent nearly a decade in the industry, Mackay\u2019s focus is shifting from being the subject of images, to shaping them.<\/p>\n

She reflects on the evolution of her work: \u201cI\u2019ve been in the fashion industry for a while, but I never took on a storytelling role until about three years ago, when I started to build and meet a community of creatives that I really had a strong collaborative relationship with. So, I\u2019ve been enjoying doing that a lot more and having more of a voice in the projects that I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Left: MIU MIU top, skirt, shoes and bag. Right: PRADA shirt, skirt and shoes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before that voice found its full expression, Mackay was already immersed in fashion. \u201cI started modelling to begin with when I was 17 years old, but I didn\u2019t really start doing it full-time until I was 19.\u201d Her gaze, shaped as much by image-makers as by lived experience, is deliberate. \u201cHelmut Newton was a big influence on my way of seeing. Bruna Volpi<\/a> was also quite influential in my way of articulating how I see things. Her and I collaborated on some things when I was younger, and she really taught me how to talk to creatives and put what I see onto paper.\u201d<\/p>\n

In recent years, Mackay\u2019s practice has turned inward. \u201cThe key meditation that most of my personal projects have been about over the last year has been my journey and coming to terms with the objectification and sexualisation of the transgender body,\u201d she tells me. \u201cThat has been what most of my personal projects have been about, and what I\u2019m thinking about writing, about creating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her process often begins in introspection. \u201cThe initial idea for me always comes from something that\u2019s happened in my life, or some idea that I\u2019m exploring,\u201d she explains. \u201cWhen I was younger, I used to be an idealist and used to write a lot about utopia. But I think as I\u2019ve gotten older, it\u2019s gotten a little darker.\u201d<\/p>\n

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GUCCI top, skirt, tights, shoes and necklace.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That tension \u2013 between self-connection and distance \u2013 remains constant. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m in a constant state of flux between feeling so connected to my soul, and then there just being so much between us. Life just puts things between you and yourself. It feels like I\u2019m on a constant journey of removing those obstacles between me and just being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her grounding rituals are elemental. \u201cThe forest. I grew up in New Zealand<\/a>, so being in lush greenery really makes me feel like I\u2019m at home. And a physical transformation \u2013 doing something different to my hair, or tweaking something \u2013 makes me feel\u2026 I think it\u2019s probably a control thing, but like I\u2019m in control. Also writing. I love to write. And just being with friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Left: VALENTINO bra, bodysuit and briefs. Right: PRADA shirt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Mackay, fashion and beauty are portals to identity and performance alike. \u201cSometimes I see fashion and beauty as a vessel to really get in touch with who I really am, and to explore something within myself. Sometimes you\u2019re a completely fictitious character. But I think even the fictions we create are a reflection of who we are inside.\u201d Her style philosophy is simple: \u201cBe fabulous? Yes, always serve a look. I don\u2019t get the point of getting dressed if it\u2019s not to look amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She speaks about fashion as language. \u201cI\u2019ve always thought of fashion and aesthetics as your first sentence in dialogue with the world. You can tell people where you are, how you feel, how to treat you\u2014all without having to open your mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among her career highlights sits The Leopard<\/em><\/a>, a project realised with prosthetic artist Julian Dimase<\/a> and frequent collaborator Vy. \u201cIt was just, to me, the best of the best all coming together,” she says. “It was fun, and it was crazy, and there were eight hours of hair and makeup. We all went into this little universe together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Left: GUCCI sweater, skirt and shoes. Right: EMPORIO ARMANI top and jacket (worn as skirt).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She tells me she imagined the Leopard Woman \u201cclimbing the corporate ladder, hiding who she really is behind beautiful, opulent clothing\u2026 until she decides that conventional life is not for her, and she takes off all her clothes and reveals that she\u2019s… different. She drives away with her handbag and her jewels on a motorcycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

But looking ahead, Mackay is intent on scale. \u201cI wrote a short film called The Pursuit of Being<\/em>,” she tells me. Another project she developed in collaboration with Bruna Volpi a few years ago. “We spent a really long time building out the visual universe of that\u2026 I would call it a prose short film.\u201d<\/p>\n

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GUCCI jumpsuit, belt and shoes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I ask about a potential release for it, she simply tells me, with an air of assurance, “When it’s when it’s the right time, it’ll come to life.”<\/p>\n

As for what else is planned for her next chapter? \u201cHopefully, more ease. More courage in my own way of seeing and creating more autonomously. I think it’s really easy to lean on all of your friends perspectives and second guess everything that you do. That\u2019s what I hope for.\u201d<\/p>\n

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PHOTOGRAPHY Tom Hearn<\/small><\/p>\n

FASHION Thomas Townsend<\/small><\/p>\n

MODEL Te Manahou Mackay<\/small><\/p>\n

HAIR Linda Ha<\/small><\/p>\n

MAKEUP Soraya Boularas<\/small><\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANT\u00a0 Joel Lumbroso<\/small><\/p>\n\n