AUT Rookie show a success
AUT University’s Rookie show last night delivered on its promise to be unlike any other.
The show, held in underground car park Shed 15, included a 100m runway, a ‘wall of sound’, music from Electric Boutique and Voom as well as plenty of collections that had the crowd talking.
The collections ranged from commercial to the outrageous, and AUT’s Head of the Fashion Department, Andreas Mikellis could not have been more pleased.
“We wanted the show to highlight our new philosophy that promotes a far more experimental response to the idea of what fashion design is, and I think we did that.”
Twenty-nine collections were shown over the course of the evening, and this included four postgraduate student collections.
Petra Benton’s womenswear collection, inspired by the juxtaposition between being strict and precise and being completely off-kilter, was well regarded, as was Joshua Fache’s beautiful, feminine work that opened the show.
Menswear from Paige Mackie and Jesse Lolo were inspired by their heritage and highlighted the diversity of the group that showed on the runway.
Frida Kahlo inspired womenswear, sustainable materials and pieces that begin from thinking about science fiction also kept the audience’s attention throughout the night.
Mikellis says the students have completely embraced the department’s new vision and are setting themselves up well for the international stage.
“Many of the students now see their career paths from a broader, international perspective. We have growing numbers of graduates working for design companies overseas and others taking a very entrepreneurial approach by setting up design businesses in New Zealand but with a focus on an export market.”
Students had worked on their final collections as part of the Bachelor of Design in Fashion course, with the announcement of who would show at Rookie made on October 19 and the show last night, November 8.
The hair and makeup for the show was done by D & M Hair Design and The Makeup School.
Photos are up at www.autrookie.co.nz and for media queries or images please contact Caitlin Madden, Caitlin.madden@aut.ac.nz or 021 241 4705.