Wintec new generation fashion graduates

Generation One: The New Generation.
WINTEC Mediarts fashion students show
Waikato Institute of Technology, 26 November 2009

Generation One heralded the arrival of the first batch of Fashion Design graduates from Wintec’s Mediarts School. Polished and professional, Generation One was an inspirational and enjoyable inaugural event, that the MC, Tony Hope, from Stretton Clothing, promised would be the first of many. The tone for the show was set right from the start, with guests provided with delicious canapés created by Wintec’s catering students, while being treated to the instrumental delights of Mr TimmyDee on piano.

Taking their seats for the runway show, guests were greeted with goody bags of Good water and gorgeous individually wrapped gingerbread T-shirts with G1 piped on the fronts. The gingerbread treats proved almost too cute to eat, although mine didn’t last the night. Once the lights dimmed, Tony Hope introduced the show, making reference to the hard work put in by the teachers, mentors and students. Tony then described the school’s holistic approach to fashion as involving designers, the media and other cultural arts.

This holistic approach was clear from the show’s opening. The first year’s group collection, Barbie Comes to the V8s, paid homage to both Barbie, the cultural icon who celebrated her 50th birthday this year, and the Hamilton 400s, one of the biggest events on Hamilton’s social calendar. While V8 girl outfits may not immediately scream ‘fashion’, the first year designers took a fun approach to the traditional ‘pit girl’ attire and injected a design edge into the pieces, which included sequin jackets and playful takes on the epiphanous Herve Leger bandage dress.

Following the year one’s collections, another icon, Michael Jackson, was referenced in a great dance performance, courtesy of the Valerie Lissette School of Dance.

The dance interlude over, we moved onto the main event, the graduates' collections. Rene Aveyard’s Femme Fatale was the first collection to come down the runway and did not disappoint expectations. Describing her collection as an “exploration of the conflict between self control and the expression of inner desire”, Aveyard presented pieces which harked back to some of Madonna’s late 1980’s looks, while still maintaining a unique flavour.

Below and intro image at top: Rene Aveyard

Alice Nicholson’s Won’t Wait for Rescue and Awhina Rauputu’s Laceless provided some wearable looks, while Marlena Martin’s Electric Energy showed beautifully tailored dresses in eye popping blues and purples, purple being ‘the colour of the year’.

Below: Alice Nicholson

Below: Annah Stretton watches from the front row as Awhina Rauputu's collection walks the catwalk.

Below: Marlena Martin

Moving away from the mainstream, Megan Signal’s Smokin’ in the Boys Room and Tamara Mitchell’s The Razor’s Edge showed pieces that many trendsetters would be happy to boast in their wardrobes.

Below: Megan Signal



The women in the audience were enjoying a diverse range of styles, but it wasn’t until Rowena Shirtliff’s Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, that a male collection was introduced. The garments shown by Shirtliff were a combination of two ranges, Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing and Distressing the Damsel, and resulted in a “controversial men’s and women’s wear collection teased by role reversal . . . . [boasting] a good girl gone bad, and a hunter becoming the hunted”. While hard to pick a ‘stand out’ collection of the night, personal preference sees Shirtliff as ‘one to watch’.

Below: Rowena Shirtliff with her three male models (photos by Elysia Shirtliff)

Harjeet Sandhu’s Holi Nights was the next to walk down the runway. Sandhu’s pieces, uniting “cocktail glam with Indian opulence”, were, in a word, beautiful. From their rich colours to their feminine form, it is a shame these pieces won’t be commercially available for 2009/2010 New Year’s celebrations.

Briar West’s Rebirth of The Cool and Pepi-Joy Gilgen’s Love Placed Liberally rounded out the show with West’s pieces being highly detailed and Gilgen’s paying homage to the beatnik culture. The show concluded with a finale featuring the designers and their ‘piece de resistance’ and the audience was invited to stay and celebrate with the graduates.

The overall impression of the show was a positive one. All the collections were cohesive and told a story, while also displaying attention to design and execution, with the standard of tailoring particularly impressive.

While Hamilton may not immediately spring to mind as a fashion incubator, this may well change after viewing the designs of Wintec’s 2009 Fashion Design graduates.

Story and photos: Shelley Gilbert November 2009