iD Fashion Week 2009 Emerging Designer Finalists

For immediate Release: Tuesday 16 December 2008

iD Fashion Week 2009 Emerging Designer Finalists Announced

Special guest judge: WORLD’s chief designer, Francis Hooper.

Following more than 100 entries from 11 countries, 31 finalists have been announced for the 2009 Southern Trust iD Dunedin Emerging Designer Awards in Dunedin on Friday 13 March.

The selection panel narrowed the field to the finalists they believe represent the best and brightest new emerging New Zealand and international talent. These young designers will travel from around the world to present their ranges at the Emerging Designer Awards, now in its fifth year.

The Emerging Designer Awards allow finalists to present their original ideas and collections to the fashion world, winning prizes for outstanding creativity as the next generation of talented fashion designers.

Key Points

From New Zealand, the finalists are:

• Auckland University of Technology: Abby Rose Foy; Felicity Speedy; Glenn Yungnickel; Jade Smythe; Juliet Stimpson; Nadeesha Godamunne; Rachael Wilding Spratt

• Massey University: Elizabeth Daisy Mei Fong Ting; Kate Rose Bartels; Ruth Bucknell

• Otago Polytech: Charlotte Hazlitt; Fiona Paine; Jennifer Hancox; Laura Marshall; Meg Gallagher; Nicole Hamilton

From Australia, the finalists are:

• Canberra Institute of Technology: Kiri Davis

• Queensland University of Technology: Jacinta Dyer; Kate Rich; Nadia Aguilar-Hernandez.

• RMIT University: Sarah Schofield

From Belgium, the finalists are:

• Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerpen: Cem Cako

From India, the finalists are:

• National Institute of Fashion Technology: Kapil Sangwan

• JIMS Vasant Kunj: Nandita Gupta

From Israel, the finalists are:

• Shenkar Engineering and Design College: Elinor Zilberman; Hadas Betzalel; Hani Sagiv; Jonathan Stern.

From Italy, the finalists are:

• Accademia Italiana Arte Moda Design: Mariam Seddiq

From Sweden, the finalists are:

• The Swedish School of Textiles: Emma Joelson

From Taiwan, the finalists are:

• Shih Chien University: Lin Zheng Yu

• The selection panel comprised of Margi Robertson from label Nom*D, Ross Gamble, fashion consultant, and fashion designer Charmaine Reveley.

• WORLD’s chief designer, Francis Hooper, will be the Emerging Designer Awards special guest judge.

• Previous winners of the Emerging Designer Awards have gone on to secure opportunities with top brands including the 2008 winner, Sophie Russo. She recently spent time in Sydney working as a freelance design assistant for Sass and Bide and has designed a womenswear collection for Kornerd, a small Australian label. Sophie also won a prize at Mittelmoda 2008 for her collection, which best demonstrated the characteristics of wool.

• It offers emerging designers an opportunity to gain invaluable experience as they show in what is perhaps their first professional event. It acts as a launchpad for cutting-edge local and international fashion design talent.

• The highly sought after prizes include $5000 for first place, $2000 for second and $1000 for third. Also on offer is the coveted Mittelmoda prize which secures the prize winner direct entry to show at the Mittelmoda competition in Italy in September, bypassing the competitive and complex selection process.

• Organised by Udine e Gorizia Fiere Spa, Italy, the Mittelmoda Fashion Festival is an international competition for budding fashion and accessories designers, and students. Like the Emerging Designer Awards, the event is set in a remote location, Gorizia, a small town in the North East of Italy.

• Since the Emerging Designer Awards show was launched in 2005, two other designers have also gone on to win prizes at Mittelmoda event including Mittelmoda special prize winners Shola Steele from 2006 and Sam Fisher from 2007.

Quotes

Margi Robertson – Fashion Designer, Nom*D, www.nomd.co.nz

"Its always fantastic to see what design students are creating each and every season. Somewhere in these ideas is a new Rei Kawakubo or Jean-Paul Gaultier; the entrants are truly international. It’s so cool to also see our New Zealand applications sitting at the same level, if not better than the internationals, in all a really exciting time!"

Francis Hooper – Chief Designer, WORLD, www.worldbrand.co.nz

"WORLD is so excited to be involved with NZ's most innovative fashion/week and the South's most creative contemporary fashion awards. Dunedin is the country’s hidden jewel of fashion! The city is so isolated that there's nothing else to do but be creative! iD fashion week is the best thing to happen to NZ fashion this year!"

Victoria Bunton – Event Co-ordinator

"The Emerging Designers show is a favourite which provides a journey into the unknown, with some of the world’s most talented next-generation designers. We’ve worked really hard to make contact with international fashion design schools and this is reflected in the number and calibre of applications we received, almost double the number from last year."

ENDS

About the 2009 Southern Trust iD Dunedin Fashion Week – 10-15 March 2009

2009 is a milestone event for the iD Dunedin Fashion Week as it celebrates its 10th birthday. iD Dunedin Fashion Week is the week the city comes alive to celebrate its distinct style, fashion identity and industry, with collaboration between the local fashion sector, the tertiary institutions and the supporting industries which allow the fashion sector to grow and evolve.

A boutique fashion show on Saturday 14 March 2009 hosted on the platform of the city’s captivating Railway Station, offers a glamourous, world-class night out celebrating the best of Dunedin, New Zealand and emerging world fashion.

The 2009 event is once again generously supported by the Southern Trust, as the major funding partner alongside other key supporters.

For more information and event details visit www.id-dunedinfashion.com

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