2006 Finalists in Fashion Scholarship Announced

2006 Finalists in Air New Zealand Inspiring New Zealanders in Fashion Scholarship Announced

Air New Zealand has announced the four finalists in the Air New Zealand Inspiring New Zealanders in Fashion scholarship.

FinalistsAbby Van Schreven, Helen Adam and Katie-Maree Martin are all from Dunedin and the fourth finalist Sara Smeath is from Wellington.

The four finalists have been selected by Karen Walker following an online application process and the submission of a garment. Each finalist will spend one week of work experience at Karen Walker Ltd, with the first finalist, Helen Adam, undertaking her internship during this week’s Air New Zealand Fashion Week.

Ms Walker, who has teamed up with Air New Zealand to foster the next generation of fashion talent, said the calibre of entries was extremely high.

“The standard of entries has demonstrated that there’s a wealth of emerging fashion talent in New Zealand. The four finalists displayed originality and a sense of individualism in their designs which is an important factor for me personally when looking at garments.”

The Air New Zealand Inspiring New Zealanders in Fashion scholarship is open to students in their final year of a New Zealand tertiary fashion design qualification.

Following the completion of a weeks work experience, one overall winner will be selected to receive a full 12 week structured mentoring and work experience programme with Karen Walker, ongoing guidance and support, and complimentary travel anywhere on Air New Zealand’s domestic or international network.

The successful scholarship recipient will be announced at the beginning of January 2007.

Inspiring New Zealanders is a scholarship programme that involves “inspiring” New Zealanders who have achieved the highest level of achievement in their field, providing inspiration and guidance to the next generation of talented New Zealanders.

This is the first year for the fashion category and Air New Zealand’s Community Partnership Manager, Sam Coxhead, says the company is delighted by the response.

“The aim of this scholarship is to foster up and coming kiwi talent in an industry which we as an organisation are proud to support. We’ve been really pleased with the quality of the submissions and I’m confident that with Karen’s involvement this scholarship will be a launch-pad for future design stars.”

Air New Zealand Inspiring New Zealanders In Fashion Finalist Blogs

Abby Van Schreven
Abby’s dream is to have an established fashion label in New Zealand and Australia which one day she hopes to take to the rest of the world. Her vision is to establish retail stores which bring music, art, culture and fashion together in the one location. She has a Bachelor of design in fashion from Otago Polytechnic and has done work experience with other NZ designers including NomD and Monday Morning. Abby is no stranger to the hard effort required to work in the fashion industry having spent two years working in a factory. She’s keen to absorb as much knowledge and experience as she can from Karen during the scholarship programme. Abby knows fresh ideas and always thinking ahead are prerequisites to being a successful fashion designer and she’s up for the challenge. She wants to start up her own label next year and already has two stores in New Zealand interested in stocking her garments.

Sara Smeath
Sara feels her time with Karen will provide her with real direction and help her to reach her goal. She’s keen to learn how to operate in the industry and become more business savvy. Sara has huge dedication when she puts her mind to it and is eager to learn from Karen in order to succeed and one day make her dream of working in the fashion industry a reality.

Helen Adam
Currently in her final year of a Bachelor of Design (fashion) degree at Otago Polytechnic with a Diploma in Fashion already under her belt, Helen is determined to start her own design label within design collaboration with interior and product design. She is passionate about fashion and design and wants to further develop the contacts she has made so far in the industry. Working with Karen Walker is a dream come true for Helen. She is very excited about showcasing her garments to the world renowned designer as well as gaining valuable knowledge and technique from Karen during her work experience. Helen feels this experience will benefit her on both a personal and professional level helping to improve the standard and quality of her work.

Katie-Maree Martin
This 20 year old from Dunedin has many accolades to her name including Award for Innovation in Design 2004 at Otago Polytechnic, was chosen to exhibit at the Up and Coming Designers show at Britomart in conjunction with Air NZ Fashion Week 2004, she received the Hokonui Fashion Design Merit Award in 2005 as well as the 2004 Winner in Wool award.

Katie-Maree hopes to gain valuable experience as well as the skills needed to succeed in the fashion industry from her work experience with Karen Walker. She also hopes Karen will give her insight into the reality of working in the industry. Katie-Maree wants to be successful and is determined to set up her own New Zealand based fashion label. She dreams of one day travelling either to New York, London or Paris Fashion Week to work with an established designer and she feels this experience with Karen will put her one step closer to achieving this goal.

About The Air New Zealand Inspiring New Zealanders Scholarship Programme

Inspiring New Zealanders is a scholarship programme that involves “inspiring” New Zealanders who have achieved the highest level of achievement in their field, providing inspiration and guidance to the next generation of talented New Zealanders.

The first scholarships focused on Olympic Sport and were made available in September 2005 to young athletes who are currently being mentored by Hamish Carter, Bevan Docherty, Sarah Ulmer and Claudia Riegler. Air New Zealand Inspiring New Zealanders Olympic Sport programme is now calling for applications for its second year of scholarships and has added Barbara Kendall to its mentor list.

ENDS

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