After an incredible display of local and global style, the longest runway in the southern hemisphere has been released and the winners of the 2023 iD Dunedin International Emerging Designers have been announced.
Taiwanese designer Zong-Lin Liang of Shih Chien University in Taipei was announced as this year’s winner of the Otago Polytechnic Te Pukenga First Prize in front of a sold-out audience and thunderous applause.
Liang received praise for her collection titled Urban Refugees, featuring a powerful selection of multi-purpose inflatable clothing rigged with portable fans. Liang will also receive $10,000 in prize money for placing first.
Liang said after the show in the foyer of Dunedin railway station that she was “so honored” to receive the grand prize.
“It’s like a dream. I can’t believe I won the first prize”
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It was a circle moment for Liang, who said her collection was inspired by “Cities, the places where people chase their dreams and the reality that causes people to become refugees from dreams.”
Liang was one of 25 finalists from fashion schools in Aotearoa and the world who on Thursday presented collections to a panel of seven New Zealand fashion leaders for judging, before presenting their creations to enthusiastic fashion media and showgoers during the second half of the iD show of 2023 .
Tanya Carlson, the show’s chief judge, said Liang’s collection “blew us away”, but stressed that the judging had “so many breathtaking moments”.
“The advancements in technology and sustainability we saw are at the forefront of our next generation of designers.”
Carlson also praised the forward-looking bright perspective across the cohort. “They were all so positive considering what the world is like right now.”
What also struck the Auckland designer was that environmental principles are insane for the next generation of designers.
“Sustainability is still a conversation, but now it’s a normal conversation. That is in their DNA.”
“A lot of them want to do small batches, bespoke and made to pre-order. No one is saying ‘I want to be a big, famous designer.’ They’re all being seriously considered.”
IFM Guillaume Roujas/included
With her knitted collection, titled The Power of My Hands, French-trained designer Tatjana Haupt explores how feminism can be expressed through craftsmanship.
The second prize went to designer Tatjana Haupt of the Institut Français de la Mode in Paris, France.
Haupt’s collection, The Power of My Hands, dissected traditional craft skills and their relationship to politics and gender.
“It’s about women’s work and how it has evolved, or not evolved.”
Haupt said the energetic collection was a tribute to her German grandmother who was a “typical housewife who sewed and crocheted, but it was never appreciated” and also to her punk mother who pioneered the male-dominated world of IT.
Backstage, Haupt said these women together taught her “how to be yourself and stand up for women’s rights.”
Nuoqi Shen, of RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, won third prize from the Property Broker for their Mars Odyssey collection, which depicts a Martian lifestyle for humans and brings these stories to the catwalk using zero-waste design, upcycling and streamlined production using 3D programs.
The depth of talent in the field this year was incredibly strong, with Carlson saying, “Being selected as a finalist in this competition is an amazing achievement and I speak for all the judges when I say it was a humbling and inspiring day. ”
Carlson, who has been involved with iD since its inception, was joined on the jury this year by Zambesi’s Elisabeth Findlay, Viva Managing Editor Amanda Linnell, Jimmy D designer James Dobson, designer Charmaine Reveley, NOM*d’s Margarita Robertson, Paper Theory’s Tara Viggo .
Friday’s event this year saw a return to face-to-face research, having used a ‘virtual’ assessment concept in the previous two years due to Covid precautions.
Carlson said it had been an undertaking to return to a large-scale show at the train station, especially the effort it took to combine the emerging designers with the contemporary ready-to-wear collections, saying the success was a testament to “the incredible of Dunedinites”. understanding of fashion.”
During the first half of the show, Aotearoa fashion royalty including NOM*D, Company of Strangers, Charmaine Reveley, Carlson, Kahuwai, Moochi and Liz Mitchell displayed the full Winter23 collections.
Next to them were capsule collections and edits of upcoming collections from ReCreate, New Lands and Margaret Wray. In addition, Willmott-Dalton, Su’mar, Jojo Ross, Vader, James Bush and Kate&Frances.
Rounding out the offering were Otago Polytechnic designers George Park, Francesca Flynn, Finn Duffy, Russelle Ivan Tino and Sidney North, who each showcased outfits from their 2022 graduate collections alongside the established designers.
iD International Emerging Designers awards the full list of winners:
Brand Aid Fashion Photography Award: Niam Dobson
Otago Polytechnic | The Audience Award: Anaclara Lijo Losinno
Viva Top NZ Designer: Leonard Hill
Polson Higgs Entrepreneur in Design Award: Ethan Cruise
Cooke Howlison BMW Sustainability Award: Eden Metal
Campaign for Wool Natural Luxury with Wool Award: Dan Collings
Third Prize Real Estate Broker: Nuoqi Shen
Wellbeing + Its Second Prize: Tatiana Haupt
Otago Polytechnic | First Prize Skill: Zong Lin, Liang