Fashion Student Abby Beaton "Inspirational Freak"

Abby Beaton with her models at the New Zealand Fashion Techfashion show; her Distort Me collection.

FASHION MULTI-TASKING is invaluable - something talented young designer Abby Beaton has learned early.

The 22-year-old turned heads with sheer silks, sculpted shapes and leather as models took to the catwalk in her Distort Me collection, but it was her beautifully crafted hats, pony skin bags and bracelets that caused a ripple of whispers.

Each item was carefully hand made and showcased skills far beyond simple sewing ability.

"I grew up among creative people in Hawke's Bay like my Mum and brother - I couldn't draw as well as them so I turned to fabric," Beaton says. "My grandparents bought me my first sewing machine while I was at high school, and I still thrash it today."

A distortion of human bodies and their exploitation in sideshows spoke to her creative side, with the film Freaks providing dark inspiration, which translated in high fashion pieces.

"It is about a group of travelling sideshow players. I found the human shapes fascinating and beautiful. I quilted pieces of my collection to represent the imprisonment of the sideshow."

Three years studying at New Zealand Fashion Tech in Wellington has given her confidence in garment construction and pattern-making.

"I already had a strong vision of what my style was, but now I can execute my ideas a lot better ... I would like to develop my leather skills and continue to learn and grow as part of the New Zealand fashion industry," Beaton says.

A part-time job with one of her work-experience placements meant she was able to keep a finger on the fashion pulse.

"I am a fan of Nom*d, Zambesi, company of strangers, Deadly Ponies and Jimmy D. I still wear the first Nom*d piece Mum bought me to celebrate making it into fashion school. They are a beautifully intelligent company and I have huge admiration for the way they create innovative and versatile designs."

Academic Director Val Marshall-Smith described this year's collections as a triumph.

"As the fashion industry expands its export horizons and moves some production off-shore, the demand locally for broadly based, highly tuned skills to create world-beating collections increases," she says.