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Catching our eye: stand-outs at the 2017 ID Emerging Designer Awards


News
Collections from Talia Jimenez, Megan Stewart and Nehma Vitols all caught our eye at this year’s ID Emerging Designer Awards—the judges, led by Tanya Carlson, were equally impressed
March 26, 2017/11.52


Thirty finalists were selected to showcase their capsule collections at the 2017 ID Emerging Designer Awards’ runway show. Hosted on a crisp autumn evening in the iconic Dunedin Railway Station, the finalists were chosen by a panel of judges from over 150 different entrants, with designers coming from all over the world.
   Head judge Tanya Carlson said that, although it might sound cliché and make her sound like a broken record, she truly believes that the standard of the submissions continues to rise and we were fortunate to see some of the talent.
   Here were some of the designers which particularly caught our attention.

Marina, Talia Jimenez, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW
Winner of the Golden Centre Prize for the Most Commercial Collection




Chris Park/The Park Brothers

   First off the runway, the collection featured playful digital prints of overlapping marine animals. Jimenez balanced the vibrant imagery by using mostly pastel colours for the prints and keeping the overall colour palette minimal.
   The collection was inspired by a trip to the Sydney Fish Markets in Piermont, where she experienced an overwhelming cacophony of marine-themed advertisements, overfilled crates of prawns, and mud crabs tied up in string everywhere.
   The prints were featured on PVC overalls faced with cotton worn with merino turtleneck knits, and oversized raincoats, referencing clothing traditionally worn by fishermen. The prints might be fun but the imposition of the prints on top of “fishermen” alludes to the over-exploitation of the marine ecosystem, and our excess indulgence in the spoils of the sea.




Chris Park/The Park Brothers

Above: Close-ups from Talia Jimenez’s Marina collection.

The Daily Show, Megan Stewart, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
NZME and ‘Viva’ Editorial Prize for Best New Zealand Collection







Chris Park/The Park Brothers

   This collection is a sharp critique on the distortionary effect that electronic communication and mass media have on our perception of reality. The distortionary effect is expressed in a very literal sense by the use of distorted imagery from television shows and twisted knits.
   She references digital media and the pixels of a screen by incorporating 90-degree angles and rectangles in her patterns, which further add to the warping when the square clothing twists around the human form.
   The television imagery was selected and distorted by Stewart herself, before being printed onto hessian-like material. The shoulder construction hangs by the elbows, adding to the warping effect on our perception of the clothing.
   The bright playful colours and mesmerizing patterns belie the warning messages that Stewart transmits to the viewer, of how being absorbed into media will warp one’s perception of reality.

XXX, Nehma Vitols, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW
H&J First Prize








Chris Park/The Park Brothers

   Vitols’s collection was ethereal. The pieces looked like they were hovering in front and behind the models rather than being worn by them, and yet it the composite fabric used by Vitols that gave it a stiffness belying the translucency of the wraith-like materials.
   Nehma created this material by taking silk organza and bonding it with stiff cotton organdy, then applying laser-cut Tyvek detailing in white to add visual depth. As the models walked down the runway, the fabric would shimmer and float, as if it had a mind of its own.
   The pieces were cleverly constructed from scraps of fabric left over from creating archetypal garments, held together using a combination of ties made out of leftover strips of fabric, contrast top-stitching and golden zips, which provided some weight and textural contrast to the sheer fabric.
   The complexity of the construction, the innovative materials and the brilliant execution led to Vitols taking out the grand prize at ID for 2017. Congratulations!—Chris Park, Special Correspondent




Chris Park/The Park Brothers

Above: Detail from Nehma Vitols’s collection, XXX, which took first prize at the ID Emerging Designer Awards.


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Categories
design / ecology / environment / fashion / Lucire / New Zealand / tendances / trend
Filed by Chris Park

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