The Far North is producing a new, young wave of fashion designers.

We may be hundreds of kilometres from our state’s capital city, thousands from the country’s primary couture centres and tens of thousands from leading global fashion houses, but make no mistake, the Far North is producing a stream of talented, high-energy designers. They’re hungry for success, each of them eager to make their glittering debut on the world stage.

It all started with Mareeba-raised Stacey Cotter and her acceptance into Polimoda, one of Italy’s most prestigious fashion institutions, on a five-month scholarship. Her ensuing work with some of the world’s top couture houses including London designer to the stars Timothy Everest (known for dressing names such as Pierce Brosnan and David Beckham) also sealed her status as a rising star.

Stacey’s achievements were soon followed by Port Douglas designer Karlie-Jay’s successful establishment as a local fashion aficionado. In addition to gaining a reputation as a master of evening and raceday couture, she has been busy setting trends for the region as a stylist for cairnseye magazine and with the launch of her own label.

More recently Grace Lee’s acceptance into exclusive design school RMIT University in Melbourne has set tongues wagging, as did the young designer’s fortuitous win in the fashion stakes at Flemington. Her outfit, complete with hat and parasol worn by Melbourne socialite Nina Egan, took second place in last year’s Oaks Day Fashions on the Field, launching Grace as a talent to watch.

In the latest coup for the local industry, first-year design student Channon Laird has started laying the foundations for a promising career with her selection to attend the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival in Brisbane in August and learn the ropes from some of the country’s best.

Channon, who is still buzzing from the news, says the chance to get backstage at the state’s most prestigious fashion event is an opportunity of a lifetime for any aspiring designer.

“To come across something like this is great. I’ll basically be backstage talking with designers and learning how their collections end up on stage,” she enthuses. “They’ll teach us the process of how it all works, pinning clothes on models, how to assemble clothes to go back to the store … it’s a great opportunity. I’ll be there for two days and will get as much as I can out of it.”

For all these budding Lisa Hos and Collette Dinnigans there is one common thread drawing them together – they are all products of a local design course that is developing a reputation for breeding promising talent.

Tropical North Queensland TAFE’s Certificate IV in Applied Fashion and Design Technology may not sound like a course famous for launching careers but, as one of its long-term tutors explains, there is something in its make-up that is working. “I think it’s because we offer such a one-on-one atmosphere,” fashion co-ordinator Yvonne Turnbull, who has worked with big names such as George Gross and Harry Who, says.

“We have a maximum of 20 students put through with us five days a week. We spend much more (time with them) than other groups would. In other courses they might be one of 400 first-year students. I think that oneon-one makes a difference.”

The course originally started at Innisfail but began operating permanently out of Cairns seven years ago when the demand for such training became apparent.

Yvonne, who has been with the course for six and a half years and likes to keep abreast of graduates’ developments once they leave, says she enjoys hearing about their accomplishments.

“Grace is doing well, she’s now studying at RMIT. It’s quite hard to even get shortlisted for that course so she is very fortunate. She was also accepted into East Sydney Technical College as well,” Yvonne says.

“She said to me, without having done our course she would not cope with her studies. By doing the program she had the opportunity to do her portfolio and show some of her talent and learn the skills required (for a career in design) like how to pattern make and manufacture garments.”

In fact, it was in that course Grace pieced together her show-stopping Oaks Day ensemble.

“I remember that outfitm,” Yvonne says. “They altered the skirt and turned it into a strapless dress. We don’t mind a bit of extracurricular activity, it’s stimulating for the students. I remember getting a call from Grace telling me she’d won. She was so excited.”

Other well-known local style makers who started out as TAFE design students and went on to make a name for themselves in the region include Mareeba’s Liana Alba, who is known for her distinctive racing couture; Rebecca Buck, who designs her own range of swimwear (including custom-made prostheses suits) sold through her business Hot Summer Beachwear; and Keegan Hodges whose menswear designs, according to Yvonne, are “killing it” on the Brisbane fashion scene.

“We’re very fortunate that a lot of our graduates do get work in their chosen field,” Yvonne says. “It can be a bit tough these days, more so than 20 years ago,  because designers are competing with mass imports. But if they’re smart about it, it shouldn’t be that challenging. We’re fortunate in Cairns because we’ve got the Amateurs and that’s good exposure for designers.”

Yvonne, who inspired the idea to arrange access for Cairns TAFE students to the behindthe-scenes world of Brisbane’s annual fashion festival, says ready access to this side of the industry is the only thing lacking in Cairns. “It opens their eyes to the possibilities and to a whole new potential of what they can do with their careers,” she explains.

Despite the Far North’s isolation, Yvonne says students are showing high levels of skill and determination.

“From what I can see they are certainly on par (with southern students) and in some areas, because of the one-on-one (training), they actually come out just a little bit better,” she says.

Yvonne says expanding the experiences of students is important in improving their chances of success but also insists that students don’t need to head for the big city to make a name for themselves in the industry.

“They’re only limited by their imagination,” she says. “They don’t have to be in Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney to make it big time.”

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