iD Dunedin Emerging Designer Awards
By Roshannah Bagley
DUNEDIN, New Zealand:: Every March the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin holds its very own fashion week. The week long event includes the ever popular iD Emerging Designer Awards – held on the 110 metre long platform of the city’s renowned railway station – the occasion brings together a selection of the world’s most innovative fashion graduates of the past year. Recently FAULT featured Otago Polytechnic graduate Roxanna Zamani and her entry Incongruous, an exquisite collection of pleated silk handmade garments. Astonishingly Zamani left the ceremony last Thursday empty handed. Despite this Zamani made quite an impression on the judging panel (fashion designer Zandra Rhodes; Stefano Sopelza, Mittelmoda Fashion Award Project Supervisor, Katie Newton, NZ fashion and beauty editor; and, Isaac Hindin-Miller, fashion blogger) and audience. However this year it was Croatian graduate Igor Galas from Zagreb’s Faculty of Textile Design who triumphed with a knitwear collection entitled Protector From Knitted Galaxy. Out of the 29 finalists, Galas took home the two most anticipated accolades of the evening:: the Life Pharmacy first prize of $5,000 and the Mittlemoda award allowing him automatic entry to show at Mittlemoda, Italy’s premier textile show. Zandra Rhodes said of the winning entry:: “The winning collection by Igor Galas showed wonderful originality that could be translated to a commercial success. His collection demonstrated individuality and his modesty in presenting his collection and describing how he made it was refreshing.”
WINNING ENTRIES::
Life Pharmacy first prize of $5,000 and the Mittlemoda Award:: Igor Galas, Protector From Knitted Galaxy, Faculty of Textile Design, Croatia.
Dunedin City Council second place of $3,000:: Ryota Shiga, AI, Sugina Fashion College, Japan.
Mild Red third place of $1,000:: Ichiro Suzuki, Tweedissimo Volume 2, London College of Fashion, UK.
Golden Centre Jewellery Design Award of $1,000:: Paula Kyle Walden, Inner Battles, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
Pacific Blue Prize:: Laura Marshall , Men in Men’s Clothing, Otago Polytechnic, NZ
Dunedin Fashion Incubator Residency:: Brooke Fairgray, It’s What You Do To Me, Whitecliffe College of Art and Design, NZ.
Otago Institute of Design Sustainability Award of $2,500:: Sandra Tupu, Tatau, Auckland University of Technology (AUT), NZ.
Pulp Magazine “Pulp Fashion Culture Award”:: Glenn Yungnickel, In the Red, Auckland University of Technology (AUT), NZ.