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Emotions ran high when Gore designers took two of the seven Special Awards at the Hokonui Fashion Design Awards on Saturday night.
The Heather Paterson QSM Memorial Trophy, for the best Southland designer went to Dorothy McIntosh and the Wools of New Zealand Best Use of Wool award went to Viv Tamblyn.
Mrs McIntosh, who created a sentimental tailored Anzac-themed coat, was emotional on stage as she was presented the trophy.
“It was quite a shock, but it’s very exciting, … I didn’t expect it,” Mrs McIntosh said.
The 38th Hokonui Fashion Design Awards were held at the Gore Town and Country Club stadium last Friday and Saturday night.
The annual event, which attracted 600 spectators at the Gala Evening on Saturday, had about 300 entries by 200 designers from throughout the country.
Ten designers from the Gore area entered in the open section, and eight students from Blue Mountain College and Māruawai College entered the school competition.
Mrs McIntosh’s coat, which took six months to complete, was dedicated to her grandfather, who served in the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment, during the First World War.
The coat also honoured her best friend, nurse Adrienne Lee, who died in April after a battle with cancer.
“Inside [the coat], between the lining and the fabric, and at the bottom of the front top pocket is actually her name, her date of birth and her date of passing,” Mrs McIntosh said.
“She got to come down the catwalk with us.”
The coat, made of wool and cotton, was also in the Ivy Clinic Open Aotearoa Award, a section for New Zealand-inspired pieces.
It was Mrs McIntosh’s seventh time entering the awards and the coat was her first win.
Viv Tamblyn, of Gore, won the Wools of New Zealand Best Use of Wool Award.
Her design, Wooly Wonderland, could be adapted so it could be worn at different times of the day.
Mrs Tamblyn, who has won 26 awards at the Gore event in the past 19 years, said the piece involved crochet, quilting, machine stitching and smocking.
“I love the thrill of the challenge,” she said.
Mrs Tamblyn had won the Best Southland Designer award six times.
Even Gore Mayor Ben Bell, who presented the Gore District Council Auaha Award, got in the spirit and made his way down the runway with event MC Shazdog (Sharyn Casey).
The top prize, 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.
gemma.sinclair@alliedmedia.co.nz