Prize for talent on the Verge

By Belinda Smart

03 Jul 2008

NEW ZEALAND: Organisers of the Verge Breakthrough Designer Show, taking place as part of Air New Zealand Fashion Week from September 16 to 19, have announced that this year's winner will walk away with a $10,000 prize, dubbed the Verge Business Development Grant.

The grant is a new addition to Verge’s Breakthrough Designer Programme, which has been running for five years and has helped progress the careers of labels including Cybele, Adrian Hailwood, Lonely Hearts (formerly Lonely Hearts Club), Michael Pattison and Charmaine Love.

The Programme will continue to offer designers mentoring and support to show at Air New Zealand Fashion Week, which includes a boot camp covering strategies on taking their business to the next level, including marketing, financial information and how to make the most of Air New Zealand Fashion Week.
 
Verge founders Ian Webster and Neil Brabant said the decision to award a business development grant was a natural progression for the programme.

"2007 was the fifth year of the Verge Breakthrough Designer Programme, and we’ve been blown away year after year by the talent that emerges. The development grant is the next step in helping a promising designer really build a robust, exciting business in fashion."

The grant would be awarded by the votes of designers, buyers, stylists and fashion media in the front rows at the Verge Breakthrough Designers fashion show.

Webster said the voting concept was a relevant experience for the designers to go through, as ultimately it was the critics on the front rows and the buyers that a designer needed to impress.

"We’re inviting the most influential people at fashion week to vote for the winner. They’re the judging panel, and it is a great way for our designers to benefit from their valuable international experience. They’re the people who go on to determine the success of your collection, and they’ll be looking for a designer whose collection would be considered the most commercially viable."