As the Eden Hore photographic exhibition makes its way around Central Otago, more and more people are delighting in the story of the area’s famous fashion-loving farmer.

Large-scale photographs of a selection of Eden’s collection of over 220 high-fashion gowns from 1970s and 1980s New Zealand, portray the dresses against the area’s distinctive scenery.

The images, created by renowned photographer Derek Henderson during a photo shoot in 2019, combine glamour with the often-barren charm of Central.

Beginning in Naseby, near where Eden had his Glenshee tourist park and farm, the exhibition has attracted plenty of admirers, Central Otago District Council community engagement manager, Paula Penno, said.

She said the beauty of the images gave people a real lift of positivity and working on the Eden Hore Central Otago project had been an “absolute privilege”.

“It has been great to hear stories from individuals who had met Eden or had visited Glenshee ‘back in the day’. It is also exciting to be able to introduce the collection to a new generation.”

The images were displayed in Alexandra and Cromwell before being moved to their current location in the Wedderburn Cottages woolshed in the Maniototo.

A section of the display currently open at the Wedderburn Cottages woolshed in the Maniototo.

Here, huge mounted stag heads look down over the display, in what is a free exhibition running until Tuesday, April 19.

From there it will move to the historic village of Ophir where it will occupy the Ophir Peace Memorial Hall until May 4.

In the collection’s first outing beyond the South Island, The Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt recently staged an ‘Eden Hore: High Fashion/High Country’ exhibition as part of its full-year 50th anniversary programme.

This featured some of the most striking garments from the collection, some of the large-scale photographs and moving images.

Eden Hore lived in Naseby all his life, aside from the war years, and was a successful sheep and beef farmer, tourism pioneer, world traveller and avid collector of plants, exotic animals, fabric, dresses, and many other objects.

He had a huge formal garden and drew thousands of visitors to the area.

His dress collection is considered to represent the best of what the country’s best were designing at the time and is characterised by luxurious fabrics and flamboyant styles.