Dunedin designer wins top award

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Dunedin designer Rakel Blom is thrilled to be the first Otago Polytechnic graduate to win the iD International Emerging Designer Awards.

She beat 29 other finalists from England, Ireland, China, Australia and New Zealand to claim the top prize of $5000 with her collection ''The World Through My Eyes'' at last night's sold-out show. 

• Slideshow: iD International Emerging Designer Awards

The 26-year-old School of Design fashion graduate said it felt good to share her victory with those who had taught her.''

There's been a bit of pressure for the polytechnic to have a winner.''

I'm glad to be able to represent my school and the win establishes that I'm doing something right,'' Blom saidIn its ninth year, the competition has predominantly been won by overseas designers.

Judges Stephen Jones, Margi Robertson, Tanya Carlson, Karen Webster and Glynis Traill-Nash described Blom's collection as ''eclectic and joyful, sleek, chic and professional with intricate detailing and true depth''.''

It absolutely had the `wow factor' but also real depth. There was incredible intricate detailing, including handmade buttons, and stars cut out of perspex, mixed with bold inspirational prints.''

The collection was a discovery waiting to be made,'' Webster said.

Blom's collection was inspired by her travels and passion for different textiles.

The fabric of each outfit stemmed from a digital print she created to capture the culture, history and natural environment of each continent.

Originally from Iceland, Blom moved to Dunedin with her husband in 2009 to study fashion. They recently shifted to London.

Judges praised all entrants last night and said selecting winners was especially difficult because collections were so different yet all were perfectly constructed.

Melbourne designer Emma Boseley won $3000 for her second-place collection ''Hyperbolic Beauty'' and Sydney designer Kathleen Choo took the $1000 third prize with ''Dimensionality''.

The $1000 most commercial collection award went to ''Expression'', by Irish designer Blathnaid McClean. Auckland University of Technology graduate Sohong Lim won $1000 and a $2000 fabric voucher for excellence in design with her ''Collage Collection''.

''Every single finalist was completely different and they all really believed in what they were doing. This was true emerging design talent at its best - there was an innocence about the collections that was refreshing and inspiring,'' Jones said.

About 1300 people attended the show at the Lion Foundation Arena in the Edgar Centre.

Entry into Italy's Mittlemoda fashion competition was not part of the prize pack this year.

Fine weather and an overnight low of 13degC is forecast for tonight's iD Dunedin Fashion Show at the Dunedin Railway Station, for which limited tickets are still available.

-rosie.manins@odt.co.nz