There was a display of fabric, talent and creativity at the inaugural Australian SHEIN R.I.S.E. Student Designer Challenge competition runway final in Melbourne.
Elian Yang from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology came out on top of the competition, securing her place in the SHEIN X Designer Incubator Program, the brand’s program to support aspiring designers.
Through the SHEIN X Designer Incubator Program, fledgling designers leverage SHEIN’s industry-leading on-demand supply chain, wide-ranging fabric library, marketing and publicity support, extensive global logistics system, and engaged global audience, to empower their journey to launch their own global collections.
Yang is on her way to a successful career which will also benefit from the other competition prizes including mentoring from leading Australian designer, Alice McCall and a $10,000 cash prize.
Priya Maharjan from Stott’s College took out second prize of $5,000 and Cute Souls from the University of Melbourne was awarded third prize of $3,000.
The runway show followed a series of masterclasses where the 20 finalists were able to develop their designs to be catwalk ready under professional mentorship. The Retro-Futurism theme was brought to life by the 20 finalists who were tasked with creating wearable looks that merged past, present and future.
The judges included leading Australian fashion designer, Alice McCall, fashion program head at LCI Melbourne, Angelo Pantalone, and leading commentator, author and advocate for arts and culture in Australia, Esther Anatolitis.
“The judges were impressed with the creativity and vision of the students and, as expected, the decision was extremely difficult,” McCall said.
“It was wonderful to see so much enthusiasm and passion among these young designers. I’m sure all of them will have benefitted from the experience and the support they received as they brought their designs to life and saw them paraded at the runway show. The night was just not about winning, it was about creativity.”
The R.I.S.E. Challenge, which highlighted characteristics of Resilience, Inspiration, Support and Empowerment, was open to any student over 18 years old enrolled in tertiary education across Australia. The 20 finalists were chosen by public vote after tertiary students submitted their designs.
“The SHEIN R.I.S.E. Student Designer Challenge was set up to empower the next generation of Australian Fashion designers and help cultivate their talent through the sharing of critical industry knowledge, experience and connections,” a SHEIN spokesperson said.
“The runway show was a magnificent display of young Australian talent and demonstrated the creativity and technical skills of the finalists. In only the first year of the competition, the variety of talent and skills displayed on the night were remarkable.
“The runway gave insight into the potential future talent of the Australian fashion industry, with the competition giving students a platform to shine.”