Fashion learner continues awards quest

In her first year of Fashion Design at Otago Polytechnic, Sophie Stevens is once again busily preparing for the Hokonui Fashion Design Awards, to be held in Gore this Friday and Saturday, 27-28 July.

“I love entering the awards and will continue to because of the challenge,” says Sophie, who first entered the event in 2015 while still at school in Masterton.

“There is such amazing talent at the awards. It makes me want to develop my designs further and strive for continual excellence.

“A lot of the time fabrics are what inspire my designs. I love beautiful and unusual fabrics, especially natural fibres — silk is my all-time favourite.

“I am always looking for combinations of graphic prints, plain and unusual colour combinations to spice up my love of basic silhouettes and shapes.

“My main priority is to look at proportions, shape, fit and then from there my fabric choices determine how I adapt and construct my pieces.”

Read more about Sophie’s Hokonui Fashion Design Awards experiences