Jack Chen re-imagined the classic suit silhouette.
Each year, the best young fashion design students in the country get the opportunity to showcase their collections at AUT’s Rookie Fashion Show.
This time around, the boys stole the show with menswear proving stronger than ever.
“We’ve worked so hard, and such late hours,” says 20-year-old budding menswear designer Brendon Lee. “We’ve put a lot of money into this. It makes the degree feel like you’ve reached something. The collection is a story only you can tell.”
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Lee took an unusual concept and re-imagined it through contemporary menswear with inky blue silhouettes, exploring the concept of “personalising” faceless online hackers and trolls. “The dream is to be designing clothes for the rest of my life. The Rookie show is great to give your work that stamp.”
“In a simple way, my [collection] is an exploration of subcultures. Hackers are the punks of today, wreaking havoc. I’ve been inspired by different art forms, by street artists like Banksy and designers like Vivienne Westwood, who actually dressed the punks,” he says.
The show features a hand-picked selection of the graduating fashion class, showcasing their hours of craftsmanship to the media, AUT staff, students, family and friends. The newly-restored St James Theatre played host to this year’s crop of fresh talent.
From Elizabethan-inspired tailoring to sustainable, eco-friendly materials, this line-up offered a distinct point of difference, one that saw the classic suit receiving a well-deserved edit.
“Within my collection, I’m trying to reintroduce a new shape into society,” says Wellington-born designer Jack Chen, whose Elizabethan-inspired suits lend a structural, tailored appeal to the classic and conventional slim fit suit, typically favoured by kiwi males.
“My collection is entirely menswear; it sees men in corsets. I looked into the history of it and am still looking into the history of Elizabethan fashion. I’m making a statement,” he said. “The tailoring was tricky. I admire designers like Zambesi and local menswear brand Crane Brothers. I love the idea of mixing the [formality] of two elements, formalising a long line T-shirt.”
For North Shore-based design duo Tom Morrison-Sussex and girlfriend Marilyn Deare, the sheer scale of the show was a great opportunity to showcase their collaborative efforts. The young couple, both 21, have created an entirely sustainable line, which features exclusive menswear and crossover pieces.
“The toughest thing was sourcing the fabric, here at home. Absolutely everything was out-sourced and completely sustainable,” said Morrison-Sussex. “You have no idea how things are going to drape, working off a 10 by 10 cemtimetre square sample to select your fabric. We wanted to create a line that didn’t look typically sustainable or eco-friendly. It was great having a support person with me. If I couldn’t do something, Marilyn would step in. We worked really well together.”
The New Zealand Fashion industry, which certainly isn’t short on home-grown talent, looks to the AUT Rookie Fashion show as a booster for budding young designers. Wednesday night’s show saw hundreds of fashion folk, media and familiar faces in attendance.
The AUT Rookie show is the second largest fashion show in the country, quickly catching up to New Zealand Fashion Week. With today’s fashion rookies set to be at the helm of kiwi fashion tomorrow, the graduating class of 2015 proved we’ve still got talent in spades.
– Stuff
It"s a man"s world: AUT Rookie menswear steals the show
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