Young designer success stories aren’t written in a day, but you can’t say it’s for want of competition – or, in Australia, competitions.
The latest in a string of initiatives aimed at getting emerging fashion designers off the ground was the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival’s annual National Graduate Showcase. With Target stepping in as the naming rights sponsor (taking over from Sportsgirl), this year’s talent lineup was especially dense with designers worth keeping your eye on.
The most satisfying aspect of the show was the good mix of commercial appeal, understated luxury, and unbridled creativity. From the latter camp was Chin Hau Tay’s Beware Bear! collection, which combined tartan and red faux fur to deliciously exaggerated effect. Anna-Marie Gruber’s architectural knitwear was almost just as outré (cozy loungewear this isn’t) and abstract shapes.
Other standouts of the show included Edwina Sinclair, who founded her own label in 2011 and opened a brick-and-mortar store in 2013. But it’s not just her resume that looks promising – Sinclair’s confection pastels and bubble-like embellishments made for a bright collection in both senses of the word, yet every piece was so beautifully cut as to please even the pastel-averse eye. They’re also like little else on the local landscape.
The winner of the showcase will receive a $25,000 cash grant plus the opportunity to have their collection produced and sold in Target stores. The final decision will be a joint one between a panel of judges and the voting public.
Here’s the complete list of finalists:
- Anna-Marie Gruber
- Chin Hau Tay
- Edwina Sinclair
- Gabrielle Brown
- Juliette Booth
- Lillian Chan
- Molly Younger
- Roxane Chan
- Tan Thanh Trieu
- Victoria Thaniotis
- Wing Chiang
- Yan Wang
Photo: VAMFF’s Facebook
