By XAVIER SMERDON
THERE was glamour, there was music, but most importantly, there was fashion.
Some of the best fashion not only in the western suburbs, but also in Australia, was on show last week as the annual Fashion Awards Australia rolled into town.
Held at a new venue, the Lakeside Banquet and Convention Centre in Taylors Lakes, the evening brought together young designers from around Victoria to compete in different categories.
The most popular category with the audience once again was Recycled Wearable Art.
Fashion industry hopefuls amazed the crowd with their ability to turn anything into stylish clothes, including plastic bags, books, shopping receipts, melted marbles, sunglasses and even bullet cartridges.
Event organiser Heather Marcus said the award’s 16th year was its most successful.
“We were absolutely delighted with the night, considering we had to find a new venue, everyone said it was just fantastic,” Ms Marcus said.
“We had 250 people in the one fitting room, so that was a skilful act.
“We’re uncovering the future professional designers and everyone here has had a chance to see it first.”
Michael Villani won the Future Designer of the Year for his two racewear creations.
St Albans Secondary College won the school of the year award for accumulating the most points across all categories throughout the night.
A total of 320 designs were showcased at the event and Ms Marcus signalled that next year they may be a model of the year award following participant and audience requests.