Lady Melbourne has spent five years covering various graduate and student showcases and there’s one reason why: it’s the future of our home grown industry.
A quick flick through the archives of fashion shows past will remind you of names like Nixi Killick, Danielle Van Camp (now based in Paris) and Natalia Grzybowski (now at Josh Goot) back in the day, on the verge of earning their fashion chops.
The student showcase is a proud tradition and one I intend to continue following with interest for as long as Lady M is writing about fashion.
But I digress.
Last night at VAMFF was definitely a stand-out from a week comprising thousands of catwalk looks. Depending on the vagaries of selection, one of the featured graduates will be given the opportunity to work with Target on a designer collaboration inspired by their national graduate showcase collection.
Handpicked from renowned design institutions and universities across the country, the graduates included:
Lauren Acciarito, RMIT (VIC)
Donald Chung, UTS (NSW)
Erica Deluchi, UTS (NSW)
OPTIC by Monique Duggan, UTS (NSW)
Vanessa Emirian, UTS (NSW)
Felicity Gleeson, UTS (NSW)
Natalie Kieleithner, RMIT (VIC)
A.L.C.H. by Alexandra Louise Champion Hackett, RMIT (VIC)
meg&n by Megan McGrath, UTS (NSW)
Sofie Teh, UTS (NSW)
April Yap, UTS (NSW)
Rachael Zheng, UTS (NSW)
I’ve selected my highlights below, but in all honesty, all 12 designers displayed diversity and creativity and all deserved their moment in the spotlight.
I encourage you, dear reader, to investigate the output of all these designers. You’ll be doing the industry a great service!
Natalie Kieleithner
“This collection incorporates the personally created textile technique of customised perforations with fringing interwoven through the holes, to explore unique textile surfaces and address the idea of creating and filling a void – revealing and then concealing.”
Lauren Acciarito
“Inspired by great American female artists Imogen Cunningham and Georgia O’Keefe, the cross connection between the physical form of flowers and the female body was an important theme.”
Sofie Teh
“The primary intention behind this collection is to investigate the ways in which the image of Vietnamese clothing and traditional dress has affected the image of the nation throughout the past century.”
Vanessa Emirian
“This feminine womenswear collection expresses a whirlwind of circular marvellous mayhem through its use of architectural circle inspired silhouettes, embellished circles and cylindrical handwoven textures.”
