Story: Gary Fry
Judging of The Australian Wool Fashion Awards 2013 took place in Armidale last Tuesday and Wednesday. The judging panel featured stellar star-studded expertise, yet they all described the job as challenging, with over 100 entries from all over Australia paraded before them by local young models.
TAWFA Managing Director, Liz Foster, said that entry numbers were down this year but the standard is such that the judges considered all entries fit for the runway. “The competition was fierce. I’m glad I’m not a judge – they really struggled to choose between garments,” she said.
The Awards will be presented in a gala fashion parade event, to be held in the gardens of the historic Saumarez Homestead on Saturday, March 16. The theme will be “Alice in Wonderland”. Tickets are available from TAWFA’s Armidale office: 39 Hargrave Street or Turner’s of Armidale in Richardson’s Arcade. Mrs Foster is promising another unforgettable high-end fashion event.
The 2013 TAWFA judges were:
Bonnie Lythgoe – a Judge on America’s “So You Think You Can Dance” (who began her career in movies, including “To Sir, with Love”);
Peter Everett – known previously as host of “Ready Steady Cook”, currently on “Australian Celebrity Apprentice”;
Faye De Lanty – TV personality, mostly known from Totally Wild, also has a successful blog, “Fashion Hound”;
Adrian Erdedi – fashion and lifestyle blogger who TAWFA has used many times for quotes in The Land etc, re social media campaigns; and
Josephine Nathan, former TAWFA entrant, designer for Wooliwooli and Cleckheaton.
“I had not been to Armidale before and it’s an amazing place,” beamed Bonnie Lythgoe.
TAWFA was an eye-opener for the US celebrity. “I came to look at Australian fashion in wool and I had never seen anything like this before. Even though I’ve had a lot to do with fashion over many years, I’ve never seen what they can do with wool to this extent. The dresses were incredible! I’m so impressed. I’ve even seen wedding dresses made out of wool!
“The mind really boggles to think what can be achieved with wool. As far as I knew, you wore a cardigan or a sweater. Now I know that you can have beautiful dresses, with all the benefits of wool. The creativity of the young designers also blew me away,” she said. “The secondary student entries were so inventive, clever and you really wonder what they will be doing in years to come.”
Bright, vivid colours were used this year. “There were beautiful reds, pinks, mustard, aqua and burnt orange. I didn’t even know sheep came in those colours,” Bonnie said.
“I suspect there are challenges in growing as a designer from Armidale. We need to make sure that people from here can go further on in life.”
Bonnie Lythgoe fondly recalls the filming of the 1967 British film ‘To Sir, with Love’. “Sydney Poitier knew I just loved Sean Connery (who was doing a Bond movie at the time).
“So, there was this scene where Sydney walked into the classroom and I have the lid of my desk up and can’t see him.
“Only Sydney got Sean Connery to walk in and, when I put the lid down and looked up, I forgot my lines; I was speechless,” she said.
“That was one of the very special moments in my life. Another was right here, when I was taken to a farm and stood among all these sheep. I found ‘real people’ here. I work in Hollywood, LA, and a lot of those people aren’t real. Special moments are real people for me: Sean Connery, Sydney Poitier, the people I’ve met here – all real.”
One of the local models, Rebekah Clark, paraded an evening dress by Rycki Symons of the Gold Coast Academy of Design for the judges, saying it was comfortable, despite being so different.
