The illustrious alumni of the College of Creative Arts are taking the fashion world by storm. With six students and graduates at New Zealand Fashion Week, and others winning national and international awards, Massey is proving to be a launch pad for some of New Zealand fashion’s hottest new designers.
In August, Massey’s top three fashion design graduates from 2015 showcased their work at NZFW’s inaugural Graduate Show. Collections by Sarah Parker, Grace Redgrave and Megan Stewart featured digital printing, colour and non-conventional silhouettes, innovative cutting methods and a menswear range made with minimal waste.
In an industry that is notoriously difficult to break into, Fashion Week represents an incredible opportunity for emerging designers to profile their work in front of key industry players and international media buyers.
NZFW’s Miromoda Show also included three Massey alumni. Student Pania Tucker, winner of the Miromoda Emerging Designer award and the AG Park award, follows hot on the heels of Massey graduate, Steve Hall, who took out the award in 2015. Pania’s collection Alpine Stress showed alongside that of student Len Houkamau, and 2015 graduate Alana Cooper.
Earlier in the year final year student Yoshino Maruyama crossed the world to Delhi where she won joint top honours in a collaborative project Runway to New Zealand, for tertiary fashion design students from New Zealand and India. Sponsored by Education New Zealand, the project offered creative and collborative pathways for both cultures.
Yoshino says that the collaborative experience changed her as a designer, opening her up to the abundance of resources available. “I am now much more willing to look for resources, contact people, not just settle for what I can get my hands on. I feel much more confident to work with other people and across countries.”
See more emerging talent from Massey’s prestigious fashion programme at the Exposure Massey Fashion Show, 12 November (tickets available on Eventfinda mid-October) or visit creative.massey.ac.nz.
