Dunedin teen soars at fashion awards

A victorious Dunedin teenager went the extra mile at the Hokonui Fashion Design Awards. At 17 years-old, Hazel Evans, of Bayfield High School, did not only hand-stitch over a thousand feathers for her design that took out the top prize in the school competition. The year 12 student wore it on the catwalk, too. The Bernina School Award of Excellence meant she won a Bernina sewing machine and $1,200 cash at the awards. She also won the Regional Ford School Gala award. Hazel, who modelled at the awards last year, said designing and modelling worked for her. “It made it easier because I could work with my own measurements,” Hazel said. “I could sell it how I wanted to … wings up.” The event, which attracted 600 spectators, was held at the Gore Town and Country Club Stadium on Saturday and Sunday. The annual event had about 300 entries by 200 designers from around the country. Hazel was surprised when she found out she had won. “I can’t even describe it, it felt so surreal,” Hazel said. “If I’m being real, I didn’t feel totally deserving.” “A lot” of the 33 designs she was up against were just as worthy of winning the top gong, she said. Hazel’s first-time entry, which had over 1,600 feathers on strings, also had a deeper meaning. The teenager chose the colour white as it represented the “angels” in her life. Audience member Cullum Flutey, of Gore, was impressed by Hazel’s eye-catching design. “It takes a lot of thought [creating] something like that, at such a young age,” Mr Flutey said. “It was very clever.” Grace Shemely, from Kaikorai Valley College, won the Collective Design School Preppy category in the school competition. The top prize for the open section, the Mataura Licensing Trust Award of Excellence, which came with a prize package worth more than $15,000, went to Ara Institute of Canterbury’s Alex O’Hagan. Gore designer Dorothy McIntyre won the Heather Paterson QSM Memorial Trophy, for the best Southland designer. Mrs McIntyre, who won at the awards for the first time, said she was emotional. “I was quite shocked,” Mrs McIntyre said. Four out of six winners in the open section were from Otago and Southland. Invercargill designer Helen Marshall won the Country Living Winter Solstice Award. Nicola Mason, of Ettrick, won the Hokonui Heritage Precinct Avant Garde category. Ben Rouse, from Otago Polytechnic, took out the Van De Water Jewellers androgynous section. Three of the seven Special Awards were dished out to designers from Otago and Southland. Jodi Walker, of Gore, won the Lion Gala Award. Viv Tamblyn, of Gore, won the Wools of New Zealand Best Use of Wool Award. Mrs Tamblyn, who had won 26 times at the awards in the past 19 years, said most of her designs were made from natural fibres. Synthetic fabrics were going out of fashion because they filled up landfills, Mrs Tamblyn said. Kathryn Holloway, of Dunedin, won the New World Gore Sustainable Excellence prize. The Strawberry Strictly Design Show on Friday night saw all entered designs hit the catwalk, and the school category winners were announced. At the Gala Evening on Saturday evening, alongside its award presentations, there was entertainment by Auckland singer Jarni Blair and the Dunedin Dance it Out Studio. On Saturday, there was also a judges showcase, and the fashion brands of Sara Aspinall’s Company of Strangers and Dayne Johnston’s Kowtow were on display. gemma.sinclair@alliedmedia.co.nz

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