With A Designer-Stacked Judging Panel & Bumper Prize Pool, It’s An Exciting Year For These Historic Fashion Awards
7 min readJuliette Hogan, Huffer’s Steve Dunstan and Twenty-seven Names’ Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett are all heading south for this year’s Mataura Licensing Belief Hokonui Trend Structure Awards.
The designers will sit on the judging panel for the historic function, which has a extended, wealthy record of supporting budding designers and operating with the industry’s main figures (prior judges include things like Karen Walker, Liz Findlay of Zambesi and Doris de Pont).
It’s a big occasion in the Southland calendar, the awards can trace its roots back to 1988, building it one particular of the longest-managing fashion occasions in the place. MLT Hokonui Style Style and design Awards is an integral element of Gore’s inventive community, and the style scene of South Island — bringing people from all around the place to Gore.
The 2022 awards will be held throughout two nights at the Gore Town & Country Stadium, Tickets are open up to the general public — on sale from July 6 — and there are two events on the agenda: Strictly Style on July 29 and the Gala Awards on July 30.
This year’s types include menswear, collections, all-natural fibres and avante garde. In a change reflective of the instances, the definitions for the glamour, daywear and upcycled sections have been up to date. Clothes are judged on elements including style and design, slash, finishing, innovation, and how perfectly they replicate existing developments and ahead-pondering.
Designers who location initially and next in every category get a income prize, and there are extra awards for garments in every single of the eleven sections, as perfectly as awards of excellence for the Open Area and University Area, and the Young Designer Award. This yr also sees the start of a new People’s Alternative Award.
Thanks to event associates like the Mataura Licensing Have confidence in, there is a prosperity of prize funds on provide. Totalling $42,000 (up from $34,000 final yr) across the several awards, successful can be match-modifying for younger talent.
Last year’s awards were received by Christchurch’s Ari Terekhova. Preceding entrants and award-winners have absent on to sizeable good results — together with Charmaine Reveley and Donna Tulloch. Jojo Ross won the 2012 streetwear class, and has considering the fact that absent on to present a solo present at NZFW in 2019, and has highlighted in Viva and Vogue Italia.
Read through: The Mataura Licensing Have faith in Hokonui Vogue Layout Awards Places A Highlight On Southern Style
Attending the Hokonui Vogue Structure Awards is a distinctive working experience, and a prospect to see clean, new design contemplating from all over the country in just one position.
With tickets on sale now, Viva spoke to chairperson Bronnie Grant about what to assume at this year’s awards, and why you need to be there.
What is new and interesting about this year’s awards?
As a committee, we are constantly functioning really hard to build on the show from the calendar year just before and showcase the designers in a specialist and constructive way. 2022 has found us significantly maximize our prize income for Award winners and runners-up in all groups both equally Open and Educational facilities.
Our designers are the single most vital aspect of the Awards and it is important to the committee that their time and effort and hard work in generating these awesome garments are recognised. We have also released a tiny number of goods goods into the present to see if this is an location that we could grow further.
2022 has seen a focus for the committee on escalating recognition all around the MLT Hokonui Fashion Layout Awards for our university-aged college students in phrases of coming into clothes, volunteering in the Function or Wardrobe component of the awards, and the whole style procedure from commence to complete. It is terrific to be putting time, strength and methods into potential-proofing the function in our local local community.
What can attendees count on to see at the clearly show?
The HFDA organising committee is constantly reflecting and evolving the display to integrate present-day worldwide themes and tendencies into the clearly show. Our manufacturing workforce does a wonderful occupation of weaving amusement, dance and theatre showcases about the remarkable clothes that grace the catwalk. The exhibit guarantees to be as partaking and glamourous as prior decades.
We have also launched a People’s Selection Award for 2022 which will inspire the audience to decide on their favourite garment offering one more avenue to showcase our designers. We are really fired up about the Cardrona Distillery People’s Alternative Award and hoping to boost participation throughout both equally the Strictly Style show on Friday evening and Gala Night on Saturday evening.
How has the present developed by means of the previous couple of years?
It is actually uplifting as a team of volunteers to see the exhibit develop and improve from year to year. The good quality of garments and new suggestions from our proficient designers of all ages across Aotearoa never ceases to amaze the folks functioning driving the scenes, judges and audience.
We are actually fortunate to appeal to higher-good quality judges who convey their have sense of trend and a diverse factor to the awards every single 12 months. This year’s large-profile judges contain – Steven Dunstan, Juliette Hogan, Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett, who we are looking ahead to web hosting and showcasing all the MLT Hokonui Manner Awards has to offer.
The production workforce carries on to improve the lighting effects, sound and over-all wow element of the display every 12 months which is a fitting tribute to the challenging function in the wardrobe spot. We are extremely privileged to have Katrina Bristow working with our models, who every single year with no fail turns our wonderful youthful men and women into classy, sassy, assured models displaying off the garments in a professional manner.
We are fortunate to have superb local neighborhood assist in terms of volunteer time and sponsorship – without having both the Hokonui Vogue Structure Awards would not go ahead. The Mataura Licensing Believe in are our Naming Rights Sponsor and we are extremely appreciative of their economical help enabling the exhibit to proceed with certainty just about every yr. Our excellent sponsors make it possible for us to continue to mature from calendar year to 12 months and permit our group to discover new ideas bringing a unique knowledge to the viewers just about every 12 months.
Is it often quick to uncover such wonderful judges, and why?
We are extremely fortunate that our good name precedes us and when approached judges frequently say yes which is great. I certainly would not say it is uncomplicated but satisfying and fascinating when we get these great individuals to just take time away from their people and enterprises to judge and be a section of the MLT Hokonui Fashion Style and design Awards.
We are amazingly grateful to all of our judges, previous and present, who bring their point of view to the Awards desk and give us feed-back for the pursuing yr which enables us to carry on to grow our event and preserve that high typical, high-quality function.
What does the future seem like for the awards?
Amazing – the variety and good quality of the garments are escalating and we are shut to total potential with our audiences for both of those shows. We have a hard-operating committee and volunteer crew with audio succession preparing in area to guarantee there are men and women willing, and capable to action up to the problem of organising this sort of a massive event each calendar year. With continuous help from our sponsors and seem financial management of previous committees, the long term is seeking very vivid for the Awards.
What is actually one of a kind about Southland manner, and why should it be on Viva readers’ radars?
The MLT Hokonui Manner Design and style Awards are the longest operating and only vogue present of its type supplying a aggressive platform for aspiring trend designers to showcase their patterns in entrance of nicely-regarded field leaders. It presents an prospect for any person in New Zealand to design and style a garment and have it modelled on a specialist catwalk which is distinctive and really exclusive.
The Hokonui Vogue Design and style Awards is not just about showcasing Southland vogue, it is showcasing trend on a nationwide scale with designers from all around New Zealand. It is a platform to be witnessed and recognised and who knows — a successful portion picture that Viva publishes one particular 12 months might be the future significant factor in New Zealand style a few a long time later on — you have found it in this article 1st!
Why is supporting rising designers so crucial to you?
It is all about sustainability of the industry — if you never have emerging designers inevitably you really do not have designers. In all factors of everyday living, there needs to be a system for rising talent and the fashion marketplace is no exception. The MLT Hokonui Fashion Structure Awards has supplied that system, nationally, for the final 34 a long time and we are actually excited to carry on to give this option and see wherever the following 10 several years usually takes us.
Tickets are readily available from July 6 from Iticket.co.nz, and from Gore’s personal St James Theatre.
