The runway event is a celebration of the 2022 graduating class’s collections. Katie Day, Fashion Writer, talks with students about their work.
The audience, dimly lit and dressed in curious anticipation, sat side-by-side, framing the illuminated runway.
A clock’s countdown kept time, elevated upon projector screens above the catwalk, to herald the annual fashion show’s commencement.
The atmosphere was filled with the eager support of graduates while a conscious awareness of the risks and meaning of gathering as a group lingered.
The vibrant hum was tempered by a faint thread of trepidation, but celebration exceeded all expectations.
As the first model entered the runway, a rhythmic, bass-led track resonated through the closely seated crowd.
It was followed by a display of second-year student design ideas. This established the explorative signature for the evening. Collective themes visible among the early designers’ work included oversized garments, natural fibres and textile explorations. The boxy, oversized silhouettes reflect the renegotiated space that exists between the garment’s body and the garment, reflecting the shifting of home and work spaces many have witnessed in recent years.
Students and the design school embraced natural fibres such as cottons, chambray and linens. The second-year cohort created garments that showcased thoughtful textile explorations and offered contemporary ideas of embroidery, felting, and print.
The colour of the second year’s designs was connected by the use of colour. It offers a seamless blend between 70s tones in tans and creams as well as soft chambray and chambray colors. Textured with nostalgic 90s plaids and blacks, it is reminiscent of the 1990s.
As the bass notes subsided, Otago Polytechnic’s Head of the College of Art, Design and Architecture, Frederico Freschi,offered gratitude for the event and community that contributed to such. He spoke of Otago Polytechnic’s 31-year-old fashion event and its significance as the last one to be held before the national polytechnic merger that created technical institutes under Te Pukenga.
It is certain that the fashion show will continue. Freschi introduced the graduating third year cohort, which is tenacious and technically-minded fashion thinkers who began their fashion studies at the 2020. Their night. This was their night to show their five-outfit graduate collection. Each collection represents three years worth of creative and adaptive thinking combined with their growing technical skills.
The psyche of lockdown explorations was captured in many third-year collections, with notes of reimagined realities or worlds of escape. There were everything from streetwear inspired by gaming to formal wear. Game of ThronesYou will find a variety of garments that are referencing the scales as well as many corset-featuring occasion wear collections. Others collections were based on the designer’s personal reflections or criticisms of contemporary society.
Students graduating from college, Francesca Flynn, Jess Long, George Park, and Jess Long share the meanings behind their collections.
Minnie Fry
Hagyatek is Hungarian folkwear inspired ready-to-wear clothing collection. The purpose of this collection was to draw more attention to traditional Hungarian garments and craftsmanship and to honour my Nana’s memory. This collection was designed to last, be sustainable, culturally relevant, and long-lasting. While I did want to modernise traditional folkwear in a way that would make it fashionable, I didn’t want to encroach on the original meanings and techniques used. I kept the hand embroidery and headdresses that indicate marital status, aswell as some pleated skirts (and an apron), which are key components in Hungarian clothing.
Natural fibres, such as silk and cotton, were dyed with natural colors like iron, madder root, and pomegranate. As with everything I make, I tried to keep material waste to a minimum and create clothing that won’t harm the health of the wearer or the environment.
Jess Long
No matter what their clothes, women are sexualized. Female empowerment is intrinsic to my practice, and the female friendships formed throughout my study have fostered my passion for feminism. Materials can be opaque or sheer to reflect the belief that women can wear whatever clothes they like. These garments can be made as open- or as low-profile as you wish. Crochet was a challenge this year. The physical engagement that required me to crochet helped me understand the medium. My collection facilitates women’s choice about how they want to present themselves.
George Park
My graduate collection, “The Nature of Mercury”, details the transformation of a metamorphic creature to survive various perpetrators. How the minority adapts to survive the majority — by exploiting their features to blend in. These memories are stored in the subconscious and reflect the self.
Masking, or “social camouflage” gave way to my aesthetic inspiration — exploring modern concealment technology; artificial-intelligence, tactical camouflage, reflection, malformation, proportion, pattern and a complete obscurement of the form. I’ve prioritised a display of variety and abundance of skill, spanning wearability to avant-garde absurdism. From tailoring to dancewear to exploration of high-concept materials.
Francesca Flynn
“The Colonial Wedding”, is a collection that I created from my journey of whakapapa, reconnecting to Ngai Tahu and creating my own iwi, Ngai Tahu. This collection highlights the effects of colonialism on Aotearoa. Gazing through the lens of Christianity, to explore the reality of indoctrination and the explicit extermination of Maori culture — to the impact this has on Maori wahine today. As a designer, my process is focused on experimenting with textile manipulation and unconventional materials, implementing techniques such as laser cutting, etching, heat moulding and glasswork — to push the limits of the materiality of fashion.