Arts Thread

DUNEDIN, NZ: 30 finalist collections from 16 countries have been chosen for the iD International Emerging Designer Awards 2023 in partnership with Otago Polytechnic.

ARTS THREAD is proud to be a media partner to this event for the 5th year!

Entries to the awards came from 33 schools in 14 countries and the 30 finalists represent a strong cross-section of those courses. The schools represented for 2023 are:

Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand (3)

Central Saint Martins & Royal College of Art, London, United Kingdom (1)

Fashion Design Studio, Ultimo TAFE, Sydney, Australia (4)

Institut Francais de la Mode, Paris, France (1)

Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom (5)

Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand (2)

Naba - Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, Milan, Italy (1)

Otago Polytechnic, Dunedin, New Zealand (2)

RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia (4)

Shih Chien University, Taipei, Taiwan (2)

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina (1)

University of Technology, Sydney, Australia (2)

Whitecliffe College of Art and Design, Auckland, New Zealand (2) 

Whitehouse Institute of Design, Melbourne, Australia (1) 

The collections will appear in the second half of the iD Dunedin Fashion Show, on Friday 31 March and Saturday 1 April 2023 . The winners of the awards will be announced at the Friday show.

A day spent poring over 128 entries to the iD International Emerging Designers Awards resulted in a very optimistic outlook on the future of fashion design globally.

The selection panel included three of New Zealand’s prima fashion designers, Tanya Carlson, Charmaine Reveley , and Tara Viggo . 

Tanya Carlson , who is also a member of the iD Dunedin Fashion Inc board, commented, “One of the overarching themes I saw was dystopianism but within it there was a lot of positivity and hope that I was impressed with, given the high level of self-direction that these students accomplished. They’ve been schooled through a pandemic and no doubt spent a lot of time out of classic classroom situations and I thought the standard was incredibly high.”

Tara Viggo , herself a finalist in the first Awards in 2005, says, “ Being part of this event can be a huge turning point for a graduate - my own career took wing, partly due to the confidence I gained, but also because my collection was presented in front of some of the industry’s key people.”

The iD International Emerging Designers Awards, which are sponsored by Otago Polytechnic, are one of only a couple of similar events in the world, making it a fixture - and an aspiration - on fashion school calendars everywhere.

Learn more about the iD International Emerging Designer Awards 2023 in partnership with  Otago Polytechnic .