In any normal year, the Resene Colour of Fashion designs would open four Resene Designer Runway shows at New Zealand Fashion Week.
Like light through a prism, sixteen models would grace the gate. They would step onto the runway wearing the season’s newest Resene colours, head to toe.
But 2020 is no normal year.
After Covid-19 caused the country’s 20th New Zealand Fashion Week to be cancelled, the project needed to find another way to help launch the careers of this year’s batch of fashion industry recruits.
Instead, the 2020 Resene Colour of Fashion collection will debut on the runway in front of an audience of industry leaders, the young designers themselves, their tutors, families and friends at the 2020 Whitecliffe Fashion Shows in Auckland and Wellington.
The 2020 Resene Colour of Fashion finalists include fashion student at Whitecliffe Fashion Tech Michael Day who is from Pakuranga and went to Pakuranga College.
“My thought process for this design was inspired by the deconstruction of garments used to create a unique, innovative yet fashion-forward outfit,” Day told the <ITALICS>Times.
“I also took inspiration from my personal feelings during the lockdown and turned the negative emotions into a positive feeling which is what my design reflects.
“Throughout lockdown there was a shift in fashion from luxury to comfort, however, with my garment, my vision was to have the person wearing it still feel beautiful and confident despite the hardships that we have all dealt with this year.
“To be a finalist in this competition is an honour and I’m proud that my design has been recognised by the Resene team. I’m excited to see where my future in fashion goes as this is just the beginning.”
The first show is at the Auckland Town Hall on Thursday December 3 and the second at Pipitea Marae in Thorndon Quay, Wellington, on Friday December 4.
The 2020’s winner will be announced on the night and presented with a prize gifted by Resene: a sewing machine, pair of engraved shears and fabric vouchers valued at $1000.
In addition, the sixteen finalists’ garments will appear on posters, giving a splash of colour to Auckland and Wellington streets in the lead-up to Christmas.
The 2020 brief asked students to follow the design theme New Beginnings. It read: ‘bring the positive emotion you felt as we emerged out of lockdown to your design; moving out of darkness into light; entering a slower, kinder, gentler, lighter world; appreciating connection with others; and looking towards brighter days ahead.’
Next month, 25 fashion students graduating with a Diploma in Apparel and Fashion Technology from Whitecliffe Fashion Tech will showcase their fashion design and construction skills to the industry.
