Sydney TAFE student Emily Walters has been crowned the 2011 Westfield Chermside Fashion Graduate of the Year, following a showdown at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival – Brisbane, South Bank.
The Fashion Graduate of the Year Award, launched in 2007, and acknowledges the best student with the most potential to impact on the Australian fashion scene, with previous winners including designer Dion Lee who won the award in 2008.
Walters, who showcased her collection “ Gossamer” at the event, competed against 12 of the best fashion graduates from elite fashion colleges around Australia to win the title and the $5000 grand prize, awarded by Westfield Chermside.
Contestants were graded on August 23 by an elite judging panel which included fashion industry leaders, Felicity Loughrey, on-line editor Vogue Australia; Kellie Alderman, fashion editor, The Sunday Mail; David Bush, fashion buyer, David Jones; fashion designer Paul Hunt, and Kim Ring, stylist for Westfield Chermside.
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival director Lindsay Bennett said he was pleased to have the support from Westfield Chermside for the Australian Fashion Graduate of the Year Award, which has boosted the careers of its participants for the sixth year running.
“This competition gives the best emerging designers a platform to show the Australian public the incredible talent that they have to offer,” he said.
“The winners in the past have received acclaim in an industry that is notoriously difficult to break into, and the competition is seen as an invaluable opportunity to skyrocket their fashion careers.”
Students who competed for the award came from far and wide, and fashion colleges such as: Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE (MSIT), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Sydney TAFE, and The Whitehouse Institute of Design.
The remaining finalists included: Jason Hewitt, RMIT, Rachael Perks, Whitehouse, Laura Alexandra Anderson, RMIT, Tovah Cottle, MSIT, Anna Diaz, QUT, Anna Westcott, Sydney TAFE, Matilda (Tilly) Pamment, UTS, Lauren Becker, UTS, Nerida Bourne, Whitehouse, Wil Barbour, MSIT, Shenaz Engineer, QUT.
Special mention also went to Laura Anderson and Shenaz Engineer, who received a highly commended acknowledgement from the judges.