A design that took three months of inspiration and three months of construction took home the top prize at the MLT Hokonui Fashion Design Awards in Gore on Saturday night.
Sheetal Chawla, a student at AUT in Auckland, won the Mackersey Property Collections Award Open section and went on to win the MLT Award of Excellence for her design, which she said was inspired by nature.
“I can’t imagine winning here,” said an emotional Chawla.
“This will boost my career. I’m really excited, really excited.”
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Judge Steve Dunstan, of Huffer, said Chawla’s black and white cotton-blend designs were a standout among 250 entries from New Zealand amateur designers.
“It was really well built, the level of finish, it was so well balanced.
Kavinda Herath/Things
Hokonui Fashion Design Awards held in Gore winner Sheetal Chawla with her winning design.
“There were a lot of designs that sparkled, but this was a level above the rest, it was a pretty obvious choice,” he said.
It was also a big night for 16-year-old May Dyson of Tuatapere, who won the People’s Choice and Best Southland Designer Awards with a flowing dress made from Vogue sewing patterns.
It was the first time she participated in the awards.
She said she was overwhelmed by her win, would have loved to see her design on the catwalk and planned to study theater costume design.
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Hokonui Heritage Precinct avant-garde award winner Simone Montgomery’s design on the runway at the Hokonui Fashion Design Awards in Gore.
Dunstan said he was “blown away” by the standard of entries in the school sections, and for the first time a high school student won one of the grand prizes, with Tanika Whale from Nga Tawa Diocesan School in Marton winning the Gore District Council Auaha Award.
Dunstan was joined on the jury by twenty-seven named designers Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett, and Juliette Hogan, of Juliette Hogan, to critique more than 250 entries.
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Viv Tamblyn won the open glamor section winner at the 2022 Hokonui Fashion Design Awards in Gore.
Winners:
- The Fabric Store Best Use of Fabric Award: Vorakvong Chylong, Wellington
- Girl Next Door Garment with the Most Commercial Potential Award: Emily Cummings, Christchurch
- O’Connor Richmond Best Use Of Wool Award: Lochiel Kay, Dunedin
- Gore District Council Innovation Award: Tanika Whale, Nga Tawa Diocesan School
- Cardrona Distillery People’s Choice Award: May Dyson, Tuatapere
- Heather Paterson QSM Memorial Trophy/Award for Best Southland Designer: May Dyson, Tuatapere
- Country Living Narrative Award: Nan Walden, Wellington
- Southern Institute of Technology Young Designer Award: Oliver Schefer, Christchurch
- Mataura Licensing Trust Award of Excellence: Sheetal Chawla, Auckland