For women’s wear, the seven finalists are (from Australia) Daniel Avakian, Macgraw, Kacey/Devlin, Roopa Pemmaraju, (and from New Zealand) Georgia Alice, Harman Grubisa and Lucilla Gray. For men’s wear they are Exinfinitas, Chris Ran Lin, Shhorn and amXander, all from Australia.Yesterday the regional finalists gathered together for the first time for a day of mentoring in Sydney with industry insiders, including US consultant Julie Gilhart, formerly head of the buying team at Barneys New York.
For Gilhart, getting involved with the next generation of designers is of the utmost importance.
“I’m really into the more conscious end of fashion and always have been,” she says. “At the end of the day it’s about respect of the materials you’re using and the supply chain. And new talent goes into that, too. They’re the ones who are going to be using wool or synthetics, they’re making those choices, so it’s about giving them information and support early on.
“Also with these prizes, it’s about the process. It’s great if you win, but, as you know, some of the people who haven’t won have become stars.”