Design by MLT Hokonui Fashion Design Awards Peroni Nightlife Open Award 2021 winner Viv Tamblyn. Image by Still Vision Photography.
Entries are now open for the MLT Hokonui Fashion Design Awards 2022, with this year marking the 34th anniversary of the South Island event. It’s a significant achievement to be going for 34 years as the event is the longest running fashion design awards of their type in Aotearoa.
The first Hokonui Fashion Design Awards were organised by Biddy Kerr and her committee in 1988, with the intention of showcasing wool and fashion in Gore. Over 240 people attended the first show on 1st December 1988. The event has grown substantially since it’s inception with over 1,500 people attending the two evening shows in 2021.
The awards are held in Gore in late July each year and attract entries and interest from throughout New Zealand. It provides a competitive platform for aspiring fashion designers to showcase their designs in front of well-regarded industry leaders. In previous years, the judging panel has included many top local designers including Karen Walker, Nic Blanchet, Kathryn Wilson, James Dobson, Francis Hooper, Trelise Cooper, Kate Sylvester, Liz Findlay, Doris Du Pont and Margi Robertson – NOM*d.
This year’s judges include designers Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett from Twenty Seven Names, Juliette Hogan and Steve Dunstan from Huffer. The Mataura Licensing Trust have naming rights sponsorship again this year, with the awards continuing to be known as the MLT Hokonui Fashion Design Awards.
Entries for the 2022 MLT Hokonui Fashion Design Awards are open now with 11 sections open for entry across both Open and School categories. Entries remain open until Wednesday 8th June and tickets to the two evening shows will be available from Wednesday 6th July. The School section winners will be announced at the MLT Hokonui Strictly Design Evening on Friday 29th July, with the Open section winners announced at the MLT Hokonui Gala Awards Evening on Saturday 30th July. Best of luck to all the entrants of this year’s awards.
Design by Indulge Streetwear Open Award 2021 winner Ella Van Beynen (left). Design by FMG/Farmlands Natural Fibre Open Award 2021 winner Anna de Boyett (right).
Designs by Mackersy Property Collections Open Award & MLT Award of Excellence 2021 winner Ari Terehova.
Images by Still Vision Photography.