Emerging kiwi talent taking kiwi fashion to the world

Rising stars of New Zealand fashion, Stolen Girlfriends Club and Twenty-seven Names, last night took home the country’s ultimate fashion business prizes in the 2009 Air New Zealand Fashion Innovation Awards.

Established in 2004, the annual awards give designers the chance to win lucrative international travel to support their export aspirations. Two lucrative travel prizes were up for grabs as part of the new look Air New Zealand Fashion Innovation Awards.

Air New Zealand Fashion Week designers were challenged to bring to life their creativity and export aspirations under the umbrella ‘Taking New Zealand Fashion Creativity to the World’.

Designers had to submit a video entry to be in to win the $30,000 travel prize judged by Air New Zealand Fashion Week Managing Director Pieter Stewart, 62 Models Owner Sara Tetro and Colenso BBDO Managing Director Brent Smart.

Designer trio Stolen Girlfriends Club won with their original and innovative entry.

Brent Smart says the winning video demonstrated how Stolen Girlfriends Club would take their New Zealand fashion creatively to the world beyond the catwalk complemented by considered and well planned export and marketing initiatives.

“Stolen Girlfriends Club definitely stood out from the crowd with their striking use of mediums like film, photography and events to broaden their brand overseas. Their creative passion and export ambitions were really impressive.”

For the second competition, under the theme ‘From Runway to the Runway’, designers were invited to create an iconic outfit which must be suitable for comfortable long haul airline travel then be ready for fashion runway action.

Video entries were posted online and the public were invited to vote for their favourite entry. More than 7,000 votes were collected with Wellington duo Twenty-seven Names emerging as the public favourite. They take home the $10,000 travel prize on the Air New Zealand network.

Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe presented the awards at the opening of Air New Zealand Fashion Week last night and says the creativity and business ambitions calibre of this year’s entries is impressive.

“Air New Zealand Fashion Week is a catalyst for growing our fashion exports, and we are proud to offer the Air New Zealand Fashion Innovation Awards. Not only do the awards boost the careers of our winners – they also enable them to fly the flag for the New Zealand fashion industry as a whole, meaning everyone wins.”

Air New Zealand Fashion Week Managing Director Pieter Stewart says, “The Air New Zealand Fashion Innovation Awards offer an incredible opportunity for designers to really propel their brand into the international markets. By enabling the winning designer to travel and meet with key contacts overseas, they can truly take New Zealand fashion to the world.”