Four emerging designers will take part in TAFE NSW Fashion Design Studio’s ‘The Innovators’ runway show at Australian Fashion Week on May 14.
It marks 25 years of launching emerging fashion designers at the national fashion event.
The four Fashion Design Studio graduates taking part include Samara Darling, Sara Marta, Renee Henderson and Isabella Hoyle Davies.
Following the graduate designers' showcase, the runway will transform into an exhibition spotlighting the Fashion Design Studio’s alumni including Zimmermann, Dion Lee, Akira, Anna Quan, Bianca Spender, Christopher Esber, Ginger and Smart, Romance Was Born, Michael Lo Sordo, and Hansen and Gretel.
The Zimmermann business was sold for over $1 billion last year.
“We’re really proud to look back on the history of the Fashion Design Studio and reflect on the incredible contribution our alumni have had on the fashion landscape both locally and internationally,” head of TAFE NSW Fashion Design Studio Andrea Cainero said.
Entry to the Fashion Design Studio is reportedly competitive with places offered based on a strict criteria and selection process. Following graduation, a select number of students are invited to showcase their collections at Australian Fashion Week.
Head of TAFE NSW Fashion Design Studio Laura Washington said the four graduates have been equipped with hands-on training that integrates new technology with ethical design practices.
“We’re thrilled to showcase our emerging fashion designers who are bringing their innovative, creative, and ethically-minded designs to the Australian Fashion Week runway,” Washington said.
“It’s an important time for the Australian fashion industry as the sector shifts in the way clothing is produced and circulated.
“The TAFE NSW Bachelor of Fashion Design program prepares students for the future of a circular fashion industry where sustainable design is paramount. The graduates exhibiting at The Innovators show will give you a glimpse into the future of fashion.”
Meet the graduates
Renee Henderson
Renee Henderson is a Wiradjuri designer whose design aesthetic is influenced by Aboriginal art and storytelling through prints and patterns that spotlights Indigenous culture. Her collection is titled ‘Lychee Alkira’.
Renee’s work was featured earlier this year in Melbourne Fashion Festival’s First Nation’s Mob In Fashion runway.
“My great grandma was a seamstress, so it runs in my blood,” Henderson said. “I started out studying business at university but during my holidays, I studied several short courses at the TAFE NSW Fashion Design Studio and chose to follow my passion, enrolling in the Bachelor of Fashion Design.”
“Through my studies, I’ve been able to develop my own aesthetic inspired by my cultural identity. I’ve collaborated with Victorian-based Peek Whurrong artist Bayley Mifsud of the Maar nation. Working with like-minded artists in this space is so rewarding.”
Samara Darling
Samara Darling’s ‘Who Am U’ collection uses waste fabric offcuts and biobased materials and is designed in collaboration with musicians.
“Living sustainably has always been a part of my thinking,” Darling said. “In designing my collection, I’ve used dead stock, discarded upholstery samples and swatch fabrics that would otherwise go to landfill.”
“The TAFE NSW Fashion Design Studio's Bachelor of Fashion Design course was very hands-on and practical. I learnt so much and the teachers have been so supportive and encouraging.”
Darling’s work is to be exhibited in The Powerhouse Future Fashion exhibition.
Sara Marta
Sara Marta collaborated with textile artisans in India to craft embellishments and feminine textiles, taking on a slow fashion approach with locally made pieces in Sydney, using dead-stock fabrics and low-impact dyes.
“Fashion design runs in my blood,” Marta said. “Both of my avós (Grandmas in Portuguese) were seamstresses and they were the ones who allowed me to hold a needle for the first time, guiding me as I sewed my first button.”
“There’s now a general social movement towards planning for a sustainable future. Within my design practice, it’s an automatic thought – how can I reuse and reduce waste? I want to reverse the modern ideas of fashion consumption and bring us back to a time when the relationship between clothes and their owner was precious, and pieces were loved and preserved for life.”
Isabella Hoyle Davies
Bella Davies’ collection is influenced by her parents' background in fine arts, with designs featuring unique prints and embellishments, as well as textured organic fabrics.
“Each garment has an organic, artisanal feel with handwork a central part of the Bella Davies design signature,” Davies said. “This includes hand painting on fabric and leather, hand dying, hand embroidery and hand-drawn elements used within digital prints, screen prints and cyanotypes are all signature techniques explored within the collection.”