6 design talents to take to the runway for Australia Fashion Week NextGen

’Showing at fashion week’ is likely to be written on many designers’ bucket lists, but sadly not many designers actually succeed in turning this dream into reality. In order to give Australia’s most talented, upcoming designers the chance to showcase their work at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA), IMG Fashion and MBFWA’s organisation developed the initiative Project NextGen. The six winners of the initiative were announced during an event at the stately Old Clare Hotel in Sydney: Anna Quan, Renee Sealey, Jason Hewitt, Roni Cross, Sarah Ryoko Watanabe and Merryn Kelly.

Anna Quan, the first winner of Project NextGen, is the designer behind the eponymous label. She describes her own work as “specialized in strong tailored silhouettes in luxe fabrications”. Sealey, the second name on the list of winners, is the founder of Holystone: the fashion label that established its name as a specialist in leather. Recently, Sealey started to place a stronger emphasis on silks, thereby adding a feminine touch to her label.

Project NextGen’s third winner is Hewitt: the founder of a womenswear label carrying his name. His goal is to counter the current fast fashion trend, by working with a “made to order” system, which brings an end to seasonal collections and the abundant stock that is often the result of the current fashion model. And then the next winner was Roni Cross, who impressed with her “effortless, timeless and ethical” label Kaliver. Amongst these labels, Monster Alphabets is the only one to draw on the inspiration of a foreign culture: Japan. Watanabe, who founded the label, creates items with what she likes to describe as a hint of “gothic minimalism”. Lastly, Kelly was selected to showcase her label Third Form at the upcoming MBFWA. In her work, she focuses on basic items such as textured jumpsuits and loose sleeveless tops.

The six winners were selected from a group of 50 finalists by a jury which included a number of well-known fashion insiders, including mytheresa.com buying director Justin O’Shea and Vogue Australia Editor-In-Chief Edwina McCann. All winners are set to show their latest collection during the NextGen show which will take place during Australia’s Fashion Week. In addition to this, they receive mentorship from St. George Bank Business Advisory. The one-year programme aims to provide the designers with necessary knowledge on the business side of running a fashion brand.

”St. George Bank is proud to continually offer our support to Project NextGen, by helping to launch the careers of emerging designers and prepare them for the industry by sponsoring a prestigious, yearlong mentorship programme,” said the bank’s Chief Marketing Officer Martine Jager. We are excited to see the creativity and craftsmanship that the next class of Australian designers bring to the runway, and hope that they inspire the following generation to ‘start something’ truly amazing as well.”

Image credit: Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia Facebook