Tessa Drysdale

10 www.ecuguild.org.au harambee Issue 07 Designers hit the runway By Tessa Drysdale Award-winning designs from the Australian Fashion Designer of the year competition were on parade recently to raise money for the Asthma foundation. Two shows were held in the city. The third show on Wednesday, September 15, was held at the Bayview Shopping Centre in Claremont and was a special tribute to the late Linda Kelleher, who used to work at Spiers Model Management. WA’s young designers again showed the state’s flair for fashion and picked up two of the three coveted awards in the national contest. Aswell as awardwinning gowns, the Bay View Centre show included parades of designs by Carla Zampatti, Liz Davenport, and other stores at the centre.WA’s Ashleigh Hunt and Jonothan Phang were the winning partnership in the Student Eveningwear section of the national fashion design awards. They won two round-theworld tickets. Models strutted down the catwalk, to groovy songs, such as ‘Beautiful Girl’ and ‘Cream’. Floral designs, chunky jewellery and hats all flooded the runway, mesmerizing their audience. Gary Angel Model of the year By Desley Coleman The Belle’s and whistles of the Perth Fashion Festival were on parade last Friday night for the final competition of the Festival, U! Model of the Year competition. Held at Leederville’s swanky Niche Bar where poses and pouts were the only accessory required. The competition is renowned for being a launching pad for our WA models into the heady world of international super-model dome. Last year’s winners, Gemma Ward and Melissa Moyle have gone on to strut overseas catwalks and grace big league magazine covers like Vogue and Vanity Fair. Instead of the clichéd beauty pageant sash being present, the first round of strutting for the models consisted of tiny pastel green hot pants and matching singlets with each girls name and modelling agency written on their back. Then the red-hot bikini section, where the audience became more vocal backing sentimental and personal favourites. Notably the majority of the models were brooding brunettes and they cast their spell over the crowd. Big hair, red lipstick and a whole heap of attitude were applied to each model setting a styling theme of “you must strut”. Stylist, Pricilla, said that each model had been worked on since 2pm, hair and make up, then touched up at 6pm for an 8pm start. A long day for the team of six, who worked under head stylist, Bec Clarke. “It is a really tiring day but this is the most exciting part of our job, we get a real buzz out of transforming the models and seeing them look so great,” said stylist Pricilla. Out of their bikini’s and into frocks. Each of the stunning girls looked amazing in these seasons’ pastel-girliecoloured-shorter-thanshort-whiplash-causing gowns. The average age of these young women is sixteen, with the oldest; Sophia Ward just nineteen years old and a couple of youngsters were fifteen. Hot New Talent category, Sonya Kukainis, fifteen, only started modelling last year, but the undisputed star of 2004 Perth Fashion Festival, Amy Finlayson, sixteen took out the coveted U! Model of the Year. The winners of the competition were from Vivien’s modelling agency and the only two blondes in the entire parade. Does this mean that, it’s true, blondes really do have more fun? lawfod