New sustainability prize at Hokonui Fashion Design Awards

Otago Polytechnic and iD Dunedin are collaborating to present a new sustainability-focused fashion award for high school students at the upcoming Hokonui Fashion Design Awards.

The Otago Polytechnic iD Dunedin Sustainable Excellence Award will be awarded to a high school student who demonstrates excellence in sustainable fashion design. The judges will consider students’ discussion of how their work incorporates sustainability in their design and entry information.

The prize is an exciting opportunity for the winning designer to show on the catwalk at the iD Dunedin Fashion Show in April 2025, along with a cash prize of $750.

The ongoing relationships between Otago Polytechnic, iD Fashion Week, and the Hokonui Design Awards create new opportunities in the fashion sector, showcasing and supporting current and future talent.

“We are delighted to be partnering with iD Dunedin to launch the Otago Polytechnic iD Dunedin Sustainable Excellence Award at this year’s Awards,” says Megan Pōtiki, Otago Polytechnic Executive Director. 

“The connection with future designers and us as educators, strengthens our commitment to ensuring our graduates are sustainable practitioners.”

The Otago Polytechnic fashion programme has long demonstrated a commitment to sustainable fashion, producing graduates who innovate in the field. The new award is intended to get young designers thinking about sustainability from the start of their careers.

Otago Polytechnic Professor of Fashion Margo Barton, who is also co-chair of iD Dunedin, highlights the intention of the new award:

“We’re so pleased to be supporting the awards and our future designers in this way – it’s such a fantastic way for these two organisations, that are so critical to our fashion sector, to collaborate and uplift our emerging talent, especially those who have sustainability at the forefront of their creative process.”

The Hokonui Fashion Design Awards will be held in Gore on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July and tickets are available at https://www.hokonuifashion.co.nz/attend-2024.