Best dressed from Otago Polytech (+ pics)

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The work of third-year Otago School of Design fashion students paraded at the weekend's Collections 2008 show once again gave a glimpse into the design nous of the graduates. Jude Hathaway reports.

The rows of raised seating flanking the long concrete runway were packed by an enthusiastic crowd punctuated by industry heavyweights for the Collections 2008 show, which gave sharp focus to the work of the graduating third-year fashion students of the Otago Polytechnic's School of Design (formerly the School of Fashion) on Saturday night.

The industrial setting of the upper floor of the Wilson carpark in Cumberland St, immediately adjacent to the fashion school, gave the event an intriguing air.

For the second successive year it proved a great venue and a fitting backdrop for the overall calibre and individuality of the work.

Collections comprising five or six outfits from this year's record number of students, who will graduate with a bachelor of design (fashion), streamed down the runway on models from Dunedin's Ali McD Modelling School and Agency.

A total of 45 models, including children, were involved in the event.

The diversity was remarkable, with strengths in the various areas of design and construction evident.

Commercial sophistication showed alongside the dramatic and theatrical; flirty femininity was juxtaposed with contemporary menswear and gaming gear; there were the tweedy and the tea-dyed silks; the dip-dyed velvets and the denims and exquisite prints.

Innovation was seen in cut and draping techniques as well as the art of inflatable garments.

The thoughtful styling and presentation of their respective collections is another valuable tool the students will carry with them into their future careers within the fashion industry.

Add to that the glimpse of what is coming through the ranks, in the presentations by the 21 year-one and 28 year-two students, and this year's show theme of "Excite" was almost an understatement.