Fashion mag sorry for moko insult

Fashion magazine Marie Claire Australia has apologised for featuring a non-Maori model wearing a sacred Maori tattoo in its October issue.

"We apologise unreservedly if we have caused offence," associate editor Anna Saunders said.

University of Auckland Maori academic Ngarino Ellis yesterday said the use of the moko on an Australian model was a cultural insult.

Australian-born model Gemma Ward was featured in a fashion spread with a moko on the chin.

The picture was part of a fashion tribute to Jean-Paul Gaultier, who was himself criticised in 2007 for using the moko on his models.

"The image was not created or commissioned by Marie Claire, but one chosen as part of a retrospective of the work of the fashion designer," Ms Saunders said.

"We would not knowingly support the appropriation of any aspect of another culture without the support or participation of that culture."

Dr Ellis said only Maori could wear the moko, especially on the face.

The moko identifies the wearer's whakapapa, or genealogy, and role in their community
and it was not a generic design that can be put on just anyone, she said.