Tanya Carlson's Winter 2016 collection on the runway at iD Dunedin Fashion Week 2016.
iD Dunedin Fashion Week returns for its 18th year from March 18 – 26 next year and local fashion designers are now invited to apply for a spot in the highly popular iD Fashion Show held on Friday March 24 and Saturday March 25 at Dunedin’s historic Railway Station. The 2017 event will also include talks by prestigious overseas guests (to be revealed closer to the time), international collaborations, catwalk shows, and retail events happening around Dunedin's city centre.
Both emerging and well known Kiwi designers who are commercially producing directional adult fashion are invited to submit portfolios for the iD Fashion Show. Each brand's links to Dunedin such as retailing in the city, or having lived or studied in Dunedin will be taken into account but are not compulsory and the selections are made by industry professionals.
“The 2016 show had an incredibly high standard of designers, including many new faces to iD and we are looking to build on this by attracting new talent, alongside our much-loved long-standing designers," says iD Dunedin Fashion Week Committee Chair Cherry Lucas. "Two years out from our 20th anniversary, iD is in a strong creative position, continuing to grow and attract new partnerships and talent. Designers wanting to be involved in next year’s event need to register their interest now.”
Dunedin City Council are a premier funder of iD Dunedin Fashion Week and proud supporters of the iD International Emerging Designer Awards which will be in its 13th year next year and will be held on Thursday March 23rd. Finalists will have access to high profile established and emerging designers, a supportive professional environment and a judging panel made up of industry experts – which in the past has included leading designers such as UK-based Kiwi designer Emilia Wickstead, UK milliner Stephen Jones and Paris-based designers Martin Grant and Lutz Huelle, alongside fashion gurus such as Not Just A Label founder Stefan Siegel, US vintage fashion queen Doris Raymond, the UK’s Hilary Alexander, and Australia’s Nicholas Huxley, Patty Huntington, Glynis Traill-Nash and Karen Webster.
Cash prizes are presented to the winners with a top prize of NZ$6000 for First Place, NZ$4000 for Second Place and NZ$2000 for Third Place on offer. There are also other special prizes on offer as well as an internship with London-based womenswear designer Emilia Wickstead who established her prize this year while Wickstead was in Dunedin to judge at this year's event.
“This is an exceptional opportunity for emerging designers looking to show their collections on a world stage, advance their career and experience a range of networking opportunities,” says Dr Margo Barton, Professor of Fashion at the Otago Polytechnic School of Design, which is a major sponsor of the Awards. “The iD Awards is an important event on the world fashion calendar, particularly for the new generation of fashion designers. All our finalists get to meet and be critiqued by some of the world’s leading fashion notables, and this year, each finalist was picked up by Not Just A Label – the world’s largest online platform for emerging designers. With an internship with Emilia Wickstead up for grabs, alongside cash prizes and other prizes yet to be announced, I encourage emerging designers to apply now.”
All Awards applications can be made online with iD Fashion Show submissions to be received by 31 October, 2016 and iD International Emerging Designer Award applications to be received by 30 November 2016.
Image supplied.