Creativity stand out in student fashion awards

September 2004

Look at Me! Innovation and creativity stand out in student fashion awards

Selecting the winners for the 24th LYCRA® HAS IT Student Fashion Awards was no easy task this year. With over 130 entrants from fashion design students around the country there was an overwhelmingly high standard of creativity and experimental design.

The theme for this year’s Awards was “LOOK AT ME: An experimental attitude to dressing up with a dramatic decorative approach to self expression”. Garments had to be outspoken flirting with movement, light and colour to capture attention. The Awards were judged across six categories: Swimwear, Intimate Apparel, Activewear, Avant-Garde, Streetwear and Menswear, with the Supreme Award being judged across all categories.

The judging panel of Chris Lorimer, Staple Fashion Editor, Sonia Gray, TV Presenter Flipside and Ami Cannell, a designer for Moontide, were unanimous in their decision to award Rebecca Cassin of Christchurch Polytechnic the overall Supreme Award for her swimwear entry titled “Shake Your Pom Poms”. This two piece bikini with pom pom accessories featured contoured paneling constructed from bright nylon with LYCRA®, creating an eye catching and innovative piece. “Rebecca’s entry shows a great understanding of the brief for this year,” says Chris Lorimer. “She has taken the brief and run with to create a garment that shouts Look at Me.”

Rebecca also took out first place in the Swimwear category with her unique pom pom entry. Runner up position went to Joena Adele Joyce from Bay of Plenty Polytechnic with her neon swimsuit printed with bold graphics. Titled ‘Well Suited’ this garment brought a dose of high voltage glamour to the poolside. Rachel Smith from Auckland University of Technology was highly commended for her two piece ensemble titled ‘Skate and Swim’.

The Intimate Apparel category attracted a variety of entries, from black-lace bustiers to combat-style micro-minis, mixing up boudoir chic with urban streetwear. However there could only be one winner. Ella Sarjant of Massey University Wellington took away top prize with her creation titled ‘Princess Antiquity’ which boasted beautiful workmanship and external construction. “The combination of colours and trims works really well. This garment has been cohesively constructed and very well made,” says Ami Cannell. Runner up in this category was Erika Liniger from Wanganui Polytechnic with a one piece and skirt overlay titled ‘Boudoir’.

Inspiration for the winner of the Avant-Garde category, Alicia Bewick from Massey University, came from her love of soccer. Alicia was able to incorporate many aspects of the game into her winning garment titled ‘Soccer Star’. The outfit featured a necklace of soccer balls and was described by the judges as being innovative with a “silhouette of Avant-Garde”. Runner up in this category went to Mingwei Li from Massey University Wellington with her entry titled ‘Skeleton and Rose’. This garment incorporated woven cotton with LYCRA® and nylon with LYCRA® and featured unique printed patterns created by the designer. Kimberlea Lux from Auckland University of Technology was highly commended for her garment titled ‘Coiled Kaleidoscope’. This intricate creation featured strips of fabric plaited and zig-zagged together to make a large canvas from which the pattern was cut.

Alicia Bewick topped her winning Avant-Garde entry with a first place in the Activewear category. Her piece ‘Considerations for the female surfer’ was praised for its innovation with all three judges commenting on the intense engineering that had clearly gone into the creation. This one piece rash-vest in bright yellow incorporated hip pads for cushioning and was covered in dots of latex to add further grip when surfing. Jo Torr from Massey University Wellington was awarded runner up for her cycling outfit whilst high commended went to Lucy Taylor of Massey University Wellington for her colourful inspiration ‘Clowning Around’. This four piece ensemble with hat, leotard, ribbons and leggings used a combination of LYCRA®, nylon and mesh.

One of the most varied categories of the competition was Streetwear. This category saw students being distinctly experimental, while keeping with the theme of ‘Look at Me’. Kate Megaw from Wanganui UCOL was awarded first prize for her garment titled ‘Bitches on Ponies’. This garment was described by the judges as having real attitude as it pushed the boundaries of design with a definite ‘Look at Me’ factor. ‘Queen of Camelot’ by Kelly Tansey from Auckland University of Technology was awarded runner up position with a two piece ensemble using strips of woven LYCRA® fabric.

The Menswear category brought an array of lace, hot pants and suit jackets to the judging table. Emma Rasmussen from Auckland University of Technology took away first prize with her detailed workmanship and experimental applications in a garment titled ‘Deconstruct Reconstruct’. The fabric for the jacket and pants had been cut up into squares and then patched back together leaving the edges to fray. It was the re-constructed style of this creation which contributed to it being an immediate favourite for the judges. Seventies inspiration was behind the runner up outfit ‘Funkadelic’ by Angela Steadman of Otago Polytechnic. Steadman chose brightly coloured 70’s vintage fabric demonstrating that men too can have bold colours in their wardrobe and still look masculine and sexy.

The judges were amazed by the high calibre of talent amongst New Zealand’s up and coming designers and picking a winner was not an easy task. Winners were selected based on workmanship and the theme was a “constant backbone from which to judge”. The competition brought together a wide range of ideas and concepts illustrating just how much enthusiasm and creativity there is amongst design students throughout the country. The six category winners receive a cash prize of $1000 each and the overall Supreme Award winner will receive a Janome Sewing Machine valued at $2599.

INVISTA is proud to support the LYCRA® HAS IT Awards, now in its 24th year. “The Awards program is open to second, third and final year students and recognises outstanding and innovative design of garments using fabrics containing LYCRA®,” says INVISTA Awards Program Co-ordinator, Donna Hobman. “It also provides students with a platform from which to launch their design aspirations and careers.”

W I N N E R S L I S T

Supreme Winner

Name: Rebecca Cassin School: Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) Garment title: Shake Your Pom Pom’s

Swimwear

WINNER Name: Rebecca Cassin School: Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) Garment title: Shake your Pom Pom’s

RUNNER UP Name: Joena Adele Joyce School: Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Garment title: Well Suited

HIGHLY COMMENDED Name: Rachel Smith School: Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Garment title: Skate and Swim

Streetwear

WINNER Name: Kate Megaw School: Wanganui UCol Garment title: Bitches on Ponies

RUNNER UP Name: Kelly Tansey School: Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Garment title: Queen of Camelot

Intimate Apparel

WINNER Name: Ella Sarjant School: Massey University Wellington Garment title: Princess Antiquity

RUNNER-UP Name: Erika Liniger School: Wanganui Ucol Garment title: Boudoir

Menswear

WINNER Name: Emma Rasmussen School: Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Garment title: Deconstruct, Reconstruct

RUNNER-UP Name: Angela Steedman School: Otago Polytechnic Garment title: Funkadellic

Activewear

WINNER Name: Alicia Bewick School: Massey University Wellington Garment title: Considerations for the female surfer

RUNNER-UP Name: Jo Torr School: Massey University Wellington Garment title: -

HIGHLY COMMENDED Name: Lucy Taylor School: Massey University Wellington Garment title: Clowning Around

Avant Garde

WINNER Name: Alicia Bewick School: Massey University Wellington Garment title: Soccer Star

RUNNER-UP Name: Mingwei Li School: Massey University Wellington Garment title: Skeleton and Rose

HIGHLY COMMENDED Name: Kimberlea Lux School: Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Garment title: Coiled Kaleidoscope

ENDS

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