Only a month to go and the designers have done their bit, the entries are in and being sorted behind the scenes, ready for judging in a few weeks’ time. “It is wonderful to see the creativity of many talented individuals from Central Otago, across New Zealand and internationally. What a treat is in store for those planning on attending this fashion extravaganza at the end of May says behind the stage co-ordinator” Sonia Dodd.
Many hundreds of volunteer hours go into bringing an event of this magnitude to life. It is a matter of co-ordinating lots of difference skill sets. Anne Pullar who is known for her passion around all things community says “It is wonderful that an event of this kind can bring together people from different walks of life to achieve great outcomes. It is a pleasure to see new people getting involved and see their passion for fashion and for their Central Otago community. The hours these people are prepared to put in to make this show something that their community can be proud of into the future is unbelievable. It is not just those on the committee, many others have put their hand up as sponsors, assisting with the building, video, websites, designing bits and pieces and the list goes on."
Rural Women New Zealand WoolOn Creative Fashion Event is in a phase of reinventing its show, new energy, new partners, taking the focus back to the garment, the fibre, the people both those designing and those growing the wool fibre while connecting to place. This New Zealand event held in Alexandra is a wonderful opportunity for Central Otago to celebrate its heritage of land, people and place while embracing some of our own emerging designers.
The judges for this event have been announced – they are Simon Swale a Senior Lecturer in the School of Design from Otago Polytechnic. Simon has worked for many years in the fashion industry alongside some of New Zealand’s most renowned designers. His research interests are in fashion theory, specifically focusing on socio-cultural dress practices as well as contemporary fashion visual culture.
Deirdre Hore-MacKenzie is no stranger to WoolOn with establishing the Miss Merino Wool section within the NZ Merino Shearing and then staging the first WoolOn event at Molyneux Park Stadium. Deirdre has 10 years working in the fashion industry in Australia the highlight being selling and designing for the upmarket fashion label, Liz Davenport.
And the third Judge is Jaimee Smith award-winning hairdresser and fashion designer. She has successfully established Zaibatsu Hair Art nearly 20 years ago and most recently formed Florence, her clothing line with edgy designs based on self-reflection.
“Tickets to Rural Women New Zealand WoolOn Creative Fashion Event have been on sale for the past two weeks and sales are steady” say Chairperson Clair Higginson. “There are still tickets available for the Saturday night and plenty for the Friday night.”