Georgia Alice wins DHL Express Fashion Export Scholarship

Georgia Alice wins DHL Express Fashion Export Scholarship

Emerging designer hailed as ‘the next Karen Walker’

Auckland, 0900 12 November, 2014 – Georgia Alice Currie, founder of New Zealand fashion brand Georgia Alice, has been awarded the $10,000 DHL Express Fashion Export Scholarship for 2014, establishing herself as New Zealand’s top emerging fashion exporter.

In its seventh year, the DHL Express Fashion Export Scholarship is designed to identify New Zealand’s hottest up-and-coming fashion exporters and assist them in achieving international growth. The scholarship paves the way for Georgia Alice to make a huge impact on the global fashion scene.

Georgia Alice Currie was born in Christchurch and after a brief stint at ballet school in Sydney, made the move to fashion through a development programme at Australian department store David Jones. After returning to Christchurch to train in fashion at Christchurch Polytechnic, she eventually set up her own label in Auckland in 2012.

Currie has seen her business go from strength to strength, including features in Australian Vogue, Australian Elle, Russh, Oyster and on international blog The Man Repeller. Currie’s business strategy has a strong focus on online, including targeting bloggers and implementing an Instagram campaign with fashion photographer Steve Tilley that featured polaroid shots of her garments. She also worked with international model Valentina Ruby on her third collection, Battenburg. Now in her fifth season, Currie boasts 24 stockists worldwide, including New York and LA.

Georgia Currie says: “I am beyond thrilled to have been awarded the DHL Express Fashion Export Scholarship. Georgia Alice currently has stockists throughout Australasia and North America, and over the next 12 months with the amazing additional support from DHL, Georgia Alice will be able to confidently continue to export and maintain growth internationally. I am overwhelmed that my brand has been selected and so excited for the future. A huge thank you to the judges who saw the potential in my brand, and of course to every girl out there wearing Georgia Alice.”

The scholarship has become an early identifier of young talent in New Zealand, with previous winners such as Stolen Girlfriends Club, Lonely Hearts, twentysevennames and I Love Ugly going on to significant international recognition.

In a first for the competition, inaugural winner Dan Gosling, director and part owner of Stolen Girlfriends Club, returned to the DHL Express Fashion Export Scholarship as a judge. Gosling joined an esteemed panel that includes John Kelly, MAX Fashions CEO, Paul Blomfield, chairman at FINZ and Megan Wildermoth, fashion and textiles specialist at DHL.

Megan Wildermoth says: “Georgia Alice is on a fast trajectory and she needs support at this crucial point to help catapult her on to an international level. She has a strategy and a vision, and the reception she’s getting is hugely exciting.”

Dan Gosling says: “The momentum Georgia’s receiving reminds me of what it was like at the beginning with Stolen Girlfriends Club. She’s definitely at the tipping point in terms of her brand. But at the heart of it her collections are strong – you can tell if a garment is a Georgia Alice piece. I could see her being the next Karen Walker.”

John Kelly says: “Georgia is at a point in her career where she has a lot of decisions to make. But with the right support and the right people around her, she will go far. She has the potential to have a huge international brand, but she needs the right support now to get her there.”

Paul Blomfield says: “The momentum she’s experiencing is crazy. Now that Georgia is set up in the US market that will undoubtedly generate interest in the Asian markets as well. She has enthusiasm and the international reach to go far.”

The 2014 finalists

The two other finalists for the 2014 DHL Express Fashion Export Scholarship were:
Sly Guild - (runner up)
Lucy McIntosh - (third place)

About the scholarship

The winning scholarship package includes international freight to the value of NZ$10,000, as well as coaching in freight and logistics from DHL Express, a tailored export mentoring package from Fashion Industry New Zealand (FINZ) and an annual FINZ membership. The other two finalists will also receive freight from DHL Express to the value of $1,500 (runner up) and $500 (third place).

All three finalists will receive individual export mentoring and an annual membership subscription from Fashion Industry New Zealand (FINZ).

Entrants were invited to complete an official application and submit a design portfolio, which was judged by fashion and exporting industry leaders.

– End –

© Scoop Media