The Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival has revealed the six Australian designers who have been selected as finalists for the highly acclaimed National Designer Award prize. The award, presented by David Jones, is regarded as Australia’s most prestigious fashion award.
The award focusses on acknowledging designers in their first five years of business that excel in design, manufacturing standards, business practices and innovation. This year, however, there is an additional prize. In line with global trends towards sustainability, one designer will also receive an Honourable Mention of Sustainability and the opportunity to complete a mentorship with the sustainability team at David Jones.
The six finalists are BLAIRARCHIBALD, Christian Kimber, MNDATORY, Arnsdorf, Chris Ran Lin, and Double Rainbouu. The judging panel is comprised of industry leaders and icons including Graeme Lewsey, festival CEO, and Edwina McCann, Vogue Australia editor-in-chief.
The winner of the grand prize will be revealed on March 1st at an exclusive industry event held at David Jones Bourke Street, Melbourne.
The National Designer Award has been instrumental in the development of some of Australia’s finest designers such as P.E Nation, Macgraw, Yeojin Bae, etc. The winner of this year’s competition will also get to feature alongside the world’s best designers at the Gala Runway presented by David Jones on March 4th, 2019.
