Graduate fashion hits the Tonsley runway
Fresh on the heels of the Adelaide Fashion Festival, aspiring South Australian fashion design students are putting their final collections on show.
The public is invited to support the HomeStart SA Fashion Graduate Parades at the Tonsley Innovation Precinct, Clovelly Park (under the modern industrial setting of the former Mitsubishi main assembly building) today and tomorrow (2 and 3 December).
This year’s showcase heralds the first graduating class of the dual Flinders University and TAFE SA Bachelor of Creative Arts (Fashion) program.
A spectacular 40-metre runway will be created in the heart of the Tonsley Innovation Precinct to present the creativity and innovation of the South Australian fashion industry’s bright new stars.
Tonight’s parade, called “One,” features the work of the 29 inaugural graduates of the three-year university degree.
“Our graduates not only create cutting-edge designs, they understand each component of this competitive industry, from concept to completion,” says TAFE SA’s Fashion Design and Technology Principal Lecturer Helen Jansson.
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“They venture into the job market understanding that fashion is more than drawing a pretty design – it’s understanding a whole industry.”
The new degree program – the only Bachelor-level fashion award in South Australia and the newest in Australia – builds on the skills needed in the highly competitive fashion industry with:
- Business and entrepreneurship skills, including how to make garments offshore.
- High-tech training, including use of 3D printers and laser cutting at the fabrication laboratory at Flinders University’s Tonsley facility.
- Environmental studies – with clothing manufacturing and waste one of the largest polluters on the planet, designers need to develop more sustainable practices in future.
- Event management – to run big parades and events for big companies.
- Innovation in design – to promote new techniques, fabrics and styles and build capacity and employment in the fashion and related sectors in South Australia and the domestic market.
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Ms Jansson says the graduate parades demonstrate how all elements of the students’ learning contribute to them leaving as skilled, job ready graduates.
On Saturday 3 December, an afternoon parade called “Revolve” will feature designs by students from the three-year TAFE SA Advanced Diploma of Fashion Design and Technology.
The runway show, “Elysian”, on Saturday night puts the spotlight graduates from the two-year TAFE SA Advanced Diploma of Fashion Design and Technology will be in the spotlight with their own
Melanie Flintoft, co-founder of Adelaide-based international company Australian Fashion Labels, now employs more than 25 of the fashion graduates and plans to keep an eye on this year’s parades.
“It takes a lot of sweat and tears to succeed in this industry but TAFE SA and Flinders University are providing the right training to support this growing industry that is so vital to South Australia’s economy,” Ms Flintoff says.
Tickets are on sale at www.flinders.edu.au/fashion-parade
Social media: Instagram @safashiongraduateparades #safashiongraduateparades
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