Innovative fashion talent from around the globe showing off new technology, extreme fantasy and colour will once again hold the audience spellbound, at the ninth annual iD International Emerging Designer Awards to be held next Thursday, March 14 at the Lion Foundation Arena in the Edgar Centre, Portsmouth Dr, Dunedin.
Thirty finalists representing five countries (New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Ireland and China) have been chosen for the prestigious awards from a pool of more than 100 entries from some of the world's best fashion schools.
Prizes include NZ$5000 for first place, $3000 for second and $1000 for third. Highlights will feature on the runway at the iD Dunedin Fashion Show next Friday and Saturday nights.
This year's selection committee, comprising fashion designers Tanya Carlson, Margi Robertson (NOM*d) and Mickey Lin (MisteR), were impressed by the high standard of applicants, who displayed incredible new technologies and creativity.
"It was a really difficult process to take the huge number of entries and select the finalists as there were so many applicants who were of a very high standard,'' says MisteR co-founder Mickey Lin.
Fellow selector and fashion designer Tanya Carlson agreed, adding that this year's collections were ``challenging and thought-provoking with an edge of exaggeration.
"Some of the collections could have been seen on the likes of Lady Gaga or Nicki Minaj. The future of fabric technology is changing and design students' imagination means they can do anything.''
As the only fashion competition of its kind in New Zealand, with a strong international reputation, the awards continue to attract the best of New Zealand and international fashion talent, offering finalists a unique opportunity to be critiqued by some of the most influential fashion leaders in the world. This year UK celebrity milliner Stephen Jones will be part of the judging panel.
This year's finalists are:
NEW ZEALAND
Auckland University of Technology: Sara Andrews, Petra Benton, Charlotte Cho, Sohong Lim; Monique Lynch, Richard McCoy, Fraser Mildon, Bay Rawlinson.
Massey University, Wellington: James Bush, Katharina Hoen, Mary Hutchison, Ayla Rorvik.
Otago Polytechnic: Rakel Blomsterberg, Mandy Myles, Samuel Ralph.
AUSTRALIA
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology: Emma Boseley, Natasha Fagg, Jiyu Hong, Nixi Killick.
University of Technology, Sydney: Gemma Anastasiou, Kathleen Choo, Jeni Kartono, Katherine Mavridis, Josephine Nyoman, Minette Shuen, Karen Yang.
CHINA
Shanghai University of Engineering Science: Zhou Shi Yang (Zoey).
UNITED KINGDOM
London College of Fashion: Byungmun Seo.
Northumbria University: Kamille Davis.
IRELAND
National College of Art and Design, Ireland: Blathnaid McClean, Laura Weber.
Tickets can be purchased at Ticketdirect venues (including the Regent Theatre), telephone 0800 4 TICKET or online at www.ticketdirect.co.nz A booking fee applies.