Designer gets head start on UGF field | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

Up-and-coming designers in Wanganui, and for the first time, the Manawatu region, are putting the final touches on their garments for this year's Underground Youth Fashion Show (UGF).

With this year's theme being "Kiwiana" designers have until July 23 to complete and turn in their piece, whether it is an evening trend, streetwear, high fashion, or fits into one of the two new categories - kiwi art or Aotearoa tees.

Stefanie McKnight, 21, had an easy ride to the deadline, having already designed and completed an avant garde dress for her graphic design class at Whanganui UCOL.

Students were asked to design a piece based on a chapter of the biography of Jean Dominique Bauby, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, using space, form and typography.

She decided to do a fashion piece because Bauby spent time as the editor of a fashion magazine - the French edition of Elle.

In her chapter, Bauby was waiting for a message, so she used the idea of paper and a type writer to create her look, combined with the iconography of the butterfly.

The dress is made out of silk, with the top representing the butterfly shape, and the skirt drawing on the scoop shape a piece of paper makes when it is fed into a typewriter.

Happy with the result and no stranger to UGF - she has entered twice before, once receiving a third place, she decided to enter her piece into UGF's High Fashion category.

"It's just a bit of fun, something to design for," she said.

Although Stefanie says her passion for sewing is just a hobby, it's obviously in the blood - her mother is a textiles teacher at Wanganui High School and her twin sister Iona and younger sister Savannah will also be entering pieces into the competition.

Stefanie's involvement in UGF is not just as a competitor, her creative talents can also be seen in the competitions "look".

She had a hand in designing the look of their logo, promotional video, packaging and letterheads as part of a graphic design internship for the Underground Fashion Charitable Trust.

Now in her third year of her graphic design degree, Stefanie hopes to return to Whanganui UCOL to compete a diploma in fashion.