Award Bounty at Toi Wearable Arts

Pakūranga College Year 9 student, Milly Russel, won big at the Greater Auckland Toi Wearable Arts Showcase in June, claiming a high-profile award – Star of the Night – with a garment she made with her mother.

The annual showcase encourages student designers to get creative, designing and making art as fashion. Milly’s garment, titled Mother Nature, was inspired by the environment, with its vibrant greens captivating both the audience and the judges.

The garment is a labour of love, with Milly taking just a week to come up with her concept, but two months to painstakingly cut and stitch fabric to bring the design to life. Milly did most of the garment construction but was happy to enlist the help of her mother for smaller details, making the garment a joint effort.

Milly focused on fabrics that were not only visually striking, but comfortable, as she brought her vision to life.

“I used dark and light green satin to make the dress of my garment because not only is it aesthetically pleasing to look at, but it is also very comfortable to wear. For the train and sleeves, I used organza because it created a lovely effect and it’s much easier to sew than other sheer fabrics I trialled.”

Milly has previously competed in a wearable art competition held at her intermediate school; however, this was her first time entering the Toi Wearable Arts Showcase. She decided to use the showcase as an opportunity to practise and “put [her] sewing skills to the test”.

Her practise clearly paid off, as alongside the Star of the Night award, she also took home an award for Excellent Garment Construction.

Of her success, Milly says she was “shocked”.

“I never thought for a second that I would win the Star of the Night award. I was so happy, I had tears in my eyes when I received the trophy.”

With her sights set on becoming an architect, Milly clearly has an eye for design and trends.