Last week, I was lucky enough to be invited along to NZ Fashion Tech’s Diploma Runway Show, to check out the Graduate Collections for 2012 (have a look at what I was wearing!).
The show included garments made by NZ Fashion Tech’s first year students as part of the Red Cross Upcycle Challenge, where they deconstructed 5-6 old garments selected at random from Auckland Red Cross stores, and reconstructed them into high fashion garments. What an awesome exercise in sustainability! It definitely made me think about upcycling some of my old clothes to breathe life into my wardrobe, although I don’t think my results will be quite as stunning as the ones I saw at this show!
Also on the runway were the Diploma students’ Kleenex Cottonelle Paper Dresses, which were white cocktail gowns made from … wait for it … toilet paper. They were absolutely amazing! Who knew that anyone could create such stylish gowns out of paper?
By far my favourite part of the night was the runway show of the Graduate Collections. The students worked to each create their own ready to wear collection, and I was really impressed by the quality of workmanship in the outfits! I thought I’d share a few of my favourite designers of the evening, and my picks of who are the “talents to watch”.
Abandoned Hood by Kimmery Fotuhetule
Image: Bryan Lowe/Lowe Photo
Kimi Fotuhetule’s collection Abandoned Hood, had some fantastic denim pieces for both men and women. I especially loved the cropped sleeved denim top (pictured above).
What Lies Beneath… by Suzie Eggleton
Image: Bryan Lowe/Lowe Photo
Suzie Eggleton’s collection What lies beneath was edgy, stylish and included garments that could easily been worn as separates (seriously, you need to get some of Suzie’s clothes in your wardrobe!), with the floaty dress pictured above being one of my favourites.
Pleasure Over Matter by Sali Hafeedh
Image: Bryan Lowe/Lowe Photo
Sali Hafeedh’s Pleasure Over Matter was stylish and sophisticated, with a beautiful colour palette – this mustard dress was one of my favourite pieces of the evening!
Femme By LaMeck by MJ Greig
Image: Bryan Lowe/Lowe Photo
The crowd favourite definitely seemed to be MJ Greig’s Femme By LaMeck, a collection that consisted of high fashion garments that really stood out. MJ’s collection was cohesive and her styling fantastic, right down to detailing on the shoes!
Keep an eye out for these graduates as they shoot to success – I look forward to seeing more from them in the future!
Many thanks to Bryan Lowe /Lowe Photo for letting me share his images – if you’d like to see more of the NZ Fashion Tech Diploma Runway Show 2012, check out Bryan’s album on facebook.
Images © Lowe Photo 2012
Text © Meagan Kerr 2012
