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“LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED”
 These were the fabulously cringe-worthy words (courtesy of Her Royal Highness Carol Hirschfeld) that opened this year's International Emerging Designer Awards. For those who are unfamiliar with it, the Emerging Awards show is an annual event run as part of Dunedin’s iD Fashion Week to showcase the work of recent fashion design graduates from around the globe. The designers compete for both prizes and prestige and each year the competition is judged by a panel of respected fashion veterans, with 2011's team made up of Tania Carlson, Margi Robertson (Nom*d), Akira Isogawa, Stefano Sopelza (project supervisor, Mittelmoda) and Damien Woolnough (vogue.com.au).
  

The emerging awards show is always fascinating, not only because it’s entertainment of a type not often seen this far south, but also due to the amazingly tragic (and often drunken) hosting efforts. Carol mightn't have been a patch on last year’s boozed Samantha Hayes feat. Mayor Chin, but she definitely still had her moments.
 

Anyway, the FASHION.
 

For a competition that generally favours the avant-garde, this year's entrants seemed to have a more commercial point of view. Although this meant that the evening lacked a little in drama, it was quite refreshing to see garments that you could actually imagine wearing. Bold colour as well as intricate fabric manipulation was key to many of the collections (though while this made for some incredible moments, it has to be said that a few designers sometimes tipped the scale into terrifying).
 

Kate Bolzonella of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology took home first prize (worth $5000) with her collection “Clouded”, based on photography by Sarah Moon. Admittedly, this decision took me by surprise as I’d found the collection somewhat underwhelming.
 

Nevertheless, what was most important to the judging panel this year was, in the words of Isogawa, that they “got it”, and indeed Bolzonella's collection did successfully capture the spirit of Moon’s iconic images. Delicate sheers were layered under quilted balloon skirts and cropped jackets in a palette of rich plums, pinks and creams which gave the collection a whimsical and dream-like feel.
 

With a good deal less frivolity (and a whole load more intensity) Marie Kelly of Massey University took home the Mittelmoda award for her collection ‘Look Into My Eyes’. Models were swathed in black with their faces covered, resembling wraith-like figures - a reflection on the designer's own battle with depression.

 
In second and third place respectively were Shanaz Engineer (Queensland University of Technology) and Sarah Mok (University of Technology, Sydney). Engineer captured the audience with a bold mix of futurism and psychedelia with her collection entitled “A kaleidoscopic perspective”. Printed bodysuits of kaleidoscopic lycra were encased in both draped and structured shells that seemed to reference armour. Mok's collection “Ephemeral Reverie” gave us an interesting juxtaposition of hard and soft with cocktail dresses of a kinetic and floral quality that maintained an element of strength through scale-like sculpture.

 
One of the highlights of the evening was the Pacific Blue prize winner Julia Campbell of Auckland’s Whitecliffe College with “Ethos”, an exploration into her own fascination with insects and molecular life. Her collection was a wonderfully multifaceted mixture of different garments and textures from wild and shaggy yeti-like wool coats to slick and minimal leather waistcoats.

 
Outside of the prize-winners, there were a few gems that had so much everyday potential I was visualising them on my own back as I watched them on the runway. Marielle Van De Ven of London's Royal College of Arts gave us a moody, dystopian take on classic cuts with her all-black collection “City Nomads”. Trenches, biker jackets and shirts were taken to new lengths with garments that were very much in tune with the Dunedin street aesthetic.

 
For similarly lustworthy, yet somewhat more optimistic pieces, my last mention must go to Lucie Sutichunta of Auckland's AUT for her collection “Siamese Sweetheart”. Block colour and large-scale prints (including gold elephants) were emblazoned upon simple canvases that included kaftans and full length muumuu-style dresses. As the evening's highlight for both myself and one similarly enthusiastic neighbour, it delivered in both originality and wearability with an air of carefree fun. The collection was effective in its simplicity and I found myself leaving the Edgar Centre at the end of the evening with few thoughts beyond whether working full-length kaftans into my wardrobe was a viable decision.
 

And so the party ended and the awkward shuffling of hundreds of people trying to leave a small space at once began.

 
Although this year's event lacked some of the show stopping quality of the previous year, there was still plenty enough talent to provide the packed arena with a top quality experience. The Emerging Designer Awards are faultless in their organisation and undeniable in their contribution to the culture of Dunedin and I left the event with a stimulated mind and with plenty of great moments to reflect on.