Villa Maria Cult-Couture 2010 a success

Press Release: 1 November 2010

Villa Maria Cult-Couture 2010 a success for designers and organizers alike.

Fashion designers from across Auckland and around New Zealand were celebrated at Villa Maria Cult-Couture 2010, held on Friday night in Manukau.

The premier event of Manukau Festival of Arts and the final major event of the Manukau City Council was a great success, with overwhelming feedback from attendees that this year’s show was the best in its nine-year history.

The Villa Maria Estate Premier Award was awarded to Shona Tawhiao of Avondale. Ms. Tawhiao, who has previously won this award in 2007, is a fibre artist and designer trained in traditional Maori weaving techniques and methods. Her winning garment, LBD, made of harakeke, was also awarded first prize in the Obviously Organic category.

Manurewa-based Visesio Louis Thomsen claimed Villa Maria Cult-Couture’s Manukau Designer Award for the third year in a row for his garment The Dream-Catcher Bride, which also won the Matrimonial Bliss category.

Other category winners were Oudney Tupou of Glen Innes (On the Streets), Casey Schwass of Tauranga (Flight of Fantasy), Christopher David of Hillsborough (Recycled Revolution) and Siobhan Moroney of Dunedin (Formally Yours).

The new Mayor of Auckland City, Len Brown, said that he was pleased to announce that the demise of Manukau City Council would not mean the end of Villa Maria Cult-Couture, welcoming the audience back to celebrate the show’s ten year anniversary next year.

VILLA MARIA CULT-COUTURE 2010 AWARD WINNERS

Villa Maria Estate Premier Award
Winner: Shona Tawhiao, LBD (Avondale)

Manukau Designer Award
Visesio Louis Thomsen, The Dream-Catcher Bride (Manurewa)

On the Streets
Winner: Oudney Tupou, Camouflage (Glen Innes)
Runner Up: Jasmine Elkington, River Bend (Napier)

Flight of Fantasy
Winner: Casey Schwass, Raven Ruffles – Gold Edition (Tauranga)
Runner Up: Kiri Nathan, Illuminati (Mt Wellington)

Recycled Revolution
Winner: Christopher Davis, Heaven/Hell (Hillsborough)
Runner Up: Vincent Michael Pirovano, Moth Eaten Fusion (Taupo)

Formally Yours
Winner: Siobhan Moroney, Fervent (Dunedin)
Runner Up: Kiri Nathan, Guetta (Mt Wellington)

Obviously Organic
Winner: Shona Tawhiao, LBD (Avondale)
Runner Up: Tracey Brown, PiuPiu (Hamilton)

Matrimonial Bliss
Winner: Visesio Louis Thomsen, The Pacific Dream-Catcher Bride (Manurewa)
Runner Up: Sandy Qiu, A Russian Winter Affair (Christchurch)

ENDS

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