Here’s one of the last images I haven’t uploaded from the shoot in December. It’s one of favourites because it shows the detail of the garment really well, putting on show all that hard work.

In other news, it’s taken a while but here’s the link to an article RMIT published on their website- it’s always great to have your achievements recognised. This is another post I found on my travels at wonderMODE.

And finally, I’m slowly starting to get ready for the US of A. Seeing all the coverage from NY Fashion Week is making me wish I was there already- I’ll have to wait another month until I can get my New York fix! More details to come.

Hope you like.

I’m going to try and slowly update some images that have been left in the 2010 archives waiting to see the light of day.
The first round of images are from my second shoot of the year, which was my collection. After only having the one image of my first dress for so long it was exciting to see all of my work on the body. After assessment I still had a full months work to complete so I never felt that it was over. Working on the final pieces and then shooting the collection was stressful, rewarding. It’s fair to say luck was on my side because I managed to get a great team together at short notice. Photographer Viktor Nilsson, Makeup and Hair Stylist Leah Meurer and model Christina Dietze each brought a little bit of magic to the shoot and made my day, month- possibly year! We achieved a clean look that put the focus on the designs, not overly complicated styling. I can’t thank these guys enough for pulling off such a beautiful result.
A special thanks also to my friend Kasia for helping out on the day ;)

My first post for 2011! Considering how packed 2010 was, I can’t wait to see what 2011 has in store for me.

I’m back tracking a little here, but I didn’t have much time to update the blog in December. I was lucky enough to speak to Michelle Bateman from The Modernity Project before Christmas. Sometimes I forget that my blog is read by people other than me, so it was great to have a conversation about my year so far (that would be 2010). Spending so much of my time refining how I explained my project at Uni, the words can sometimes loose meaning when you constantly repeat yourself. Reading the article gave me a chance to look at my work with fresh eyes. Thanks once again Michelle!

Image source: Ragtrader

I flew to Sydney last weekend for the AINYFF finalist interviews. Selection was announced on the night at the beautiful Ivy Penthouse Suite on George St. I feel like I haven’t stopped since assessment, and the build up to this was even bigger than any assessment I have ever prepared for. Knowing the success of last year’s inaugural winner, and RMIT alumni, Georgia Lazzaro, it was hard not to be aware of how life changing this opportunity could be. For those who may be unfamiliar, the Australians In New York Fashion Foundation was established by successful expats who are based in New York. ‘The philosophy of the Foundation is that young Australians can gain world-class, hands-on experience in New York, and return home with internationally recognized training and contacts. By opening these doors and creating this platform, the Foundation believes this will not only assist these individuals but also serve to further expand and enrich the future Australian fashion industry’. This year’s judges included Julie Anne Quay, Malcolm Carfrae, Rob Newbould, Brana Wolf and Doll Wright, so to say that the stakes were high was an understatement. Having the opportunity to show my work to the esteemed panel so soon after graduating was extremely exciting.

Meeting the other finalists was a great opportunity talk about our future aspirations and look at each other’s portfolios. One unexpected plus that came out of the experience was being able to swap contacts and create our own network of young designers, photographers, stylists and writers.

Following the interviews, a cocktail event was held at the Ivy with influential industry insiders (just look at vogue.com’s coverage!). When the announcement was made that I had been awarded the scholarship I was in disbelief. No one can ever predict anything like that and after meeting the talented finalists I felt so lucky to have made it that far. Writer Mitchell Oakley Smith was runner up- he’s the author of the comprehensive Australian & New Zealand Fashion Designers. It’ll be great to see a friendly face in New York.

As I write this I still feel like I’m in this surreal state. I planned to fly to New York next year but to have this opportunity afforded to me is literally my dream! This has been a really long year and to have my hard work pay off is something I’m well aware that doesn’t always happen. I want to take this opportunity to again thank the AINYFF panel for placing their faith in me. The only way I can really repay them is to work hard and continue the reputation Georgia has built.
Vogue Australia and Ragtrader both covered the event, so you could imagine how excited I was to see my name on their websites- not to mention an article!

Thursday was the opening of the Craft Vic Fresh exhibition. It was a great to see everyones work in the space and particularly exciting to see my own work there. Congratulations to the award winners including Thomas Llewellyn, who took out the major prize, as well as all the finalists. A big thanks goes to Nella and Lucy for the success of the exhibition and all the behind the scenes work they put that made this year’s Fresh such a great show. Also to Eric for constructing and installing the work, Joe Pascoe and all the sponsors and the selection committee. If you want to find out more about the twelve graduates, our profiles are on Craft Vic’s website.

Thanks to my teachers, family and friends for coming along to support me. After spending a whole year working on the project it was great to hear such encouraging feedback. Initially I was worried about putting my folio on display at Fresh (because it might get damaged?!), but then I remembered the intention of my folio was to demonstrate and explain my process- so what’s the use if nobody sees it! Lucky I did because I received such positive feedback from it on the night. It just goes to show you that people are as equally as interested in the final product as the process. I had each on display and they worked together to strengthen my major projects aims. The Business of Fashion recently posted an interview in their Fashion Pioneer series with Nick Knight. It was probably one of the most interesting forty minuets of film I’ve seen in a while, and really just reiterated to me why Nick Knight is a true pioneer of fashion. He made one comment which stuck with me, “one of the biggest luxuries we have left is access”. SHOWstudio is based around this idea, and this was also the intention of my folio- to allow people to see my project step by step. People responded the folio because it’s something isn’t widely accessible. The same concept drives my blog- I wanted to give people that access to my creative process. I think there’s a lot to be gained from inviting people in, rather than blocking them out.

As always I recommend you take the time to get down to the exhibition, which runs until Christmas Eve.
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