Nicholas Wilson, 2007 winner.
Australia's most talented fashion graduates will compete for the title of Australian Fashion Graduate of the Year in a competition at this year's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival - Brisbane (24-29 August), hosted by Hilton.
Following the success of the inaugural event last year, the heads of six Australian fashion colleges were once again invited to nominate their top two 2007 graduate students to compete for the national title and a $5,000 cash prize, courtesy of Westfield Chermside.
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival Director Lindsay Bennett said the Westfield Chermside Australian Fashion Graduate of the Year Award is an important stepping stone, and the parade received much acclaim at last year's festival.
"This is a wonderful chance for the public to see the cream-of-the-crop of Australia's emerging design talent," Lindsay said.
"Fashion can be such a difficult market to break into and this is an invaluable opportunity for the winner to develop and progress their burgeoning fashion career."
Westfield Regional Marketing Manager for Queensland Kate Wivell said Westfield Chermside is the premier fashion destination in South East Queensland and is thrilled to be supporting the fashion festival and Australia's emerging fashion talent.
"The Westfield Chermside Australian Graduate of the Year Award parade will showcase the most talented emerging designers from around the country and we're confident the designs will be moving from the runway to the shelves of our stores in no time at all," Ms Wivell said.
The award sets itself apart from other fashion student competitions as it is only open to the most outstanding graduates from Australia's pre-eminent fashion colleges.
Its purpose is to reward and promote students who consistently create exceptional designs and have the potential to make an impact on the Australian fashion scene.
Those fashion colleges competing for the prestigious award include Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE (MSIT), RMIT, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Fashion Design Studio Sydney Institute of Technology and The Whitehouse Institute Pty Ltd.
The 12 finalists (see below) will take to the runway on Thursday 28 August at 7.30pm to showcase their collections. At the parade finale the Westfield Chermside Australian Fashion Graduate of the Year Award winner will be announced.
Brisbane finalists:
- Monika Holgar (QUT)
- Hannah Gartside (QUT)
- Maricel Cabig (MSIT)
- Camille McDermott (MSIT)
Others finalists: Laura Prideaux (UTS), Lee Matthews (UTS), Dion Lee (Sydney Institute of TAFE), Guy Hastie (Sydney Institute of TAFE), Natalie Foran (Whitehouse Institute of Design), Alison Davis (Whitehouse Institute of Design), Kylie Varty (RMIT), and Melanie Bower (RMIT).
