Fashion school graduate Amie Romaine has turned utility fabrics into beautiful garments for her final collection.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Fashion school graduate Amie Romaine has turned utility fabrics into beautiful garments for her final collection.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Fabrics intended for straining jam or making dishcloths have never looked as good as they do in Whanganui designer Amie Romaine's creations.
The third-year UCOL fashion student will be showing her final collection at the Whanganui Community Arts Centre as part of DNA21, UCOL Whanganui's end-year school of creative industries'exhibitions by students of art, design, and fashion.
Romaine said she chose the utility cotton fabrics because of their affordability as well as their suitability for the cutting techniques she used for her designs.
"It is a technique where you start by cutting a hole in the fabric and that dictates how the garment will hang," said Romaine.
"I love it because you can get a range of different shapes from the same fabric."
Wanting to use a hard textured material to offset the softness of the fabrics and symbolise restriction, Romaine has ventured into ceramic art this year creating accessories from white porcelain.
"I hadn't done any pottery since high school but I knew the shapes I wanted to make and I've enjoyed it."
Romaine has completed three years of full-time study as a single parent with a part-time job and has enrolled to start teacher training next year.
"I want to teach fashion design and I will be studying extramurally," she said.
Alongside Romaine's designs is a glossy booklet with photographs of models wearing her designs.
"The models are my daughter, her friends, and some first-year UCOL fashion students. A high school student took the photos as well so I'm really lucky that everyone has been willing to assist. The photos will help people see how the ceramic accessories work with the designs."
Second year art student Bowen Boswell gets a helping hand to display his work from classmate Jacob Gay.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Second-year art students and design students will be exhibiting their work upstairs in UCOL B and C blocks this year. Two years of Covid-disrupted study have inspired some of the paintings and digital designs on show.
Certificate of art and design students had completed artworks with underglaze paints on ceramic plates as their final assignments for the year.
Dylan Stanford said he used a naive art style with a touch of cubist influence for his design.
"I love music and guitars so that was my inspiration and I wanted blocks of bright colours."
Leah Paikea's design evokes peacock feathers and features a series of eyes peering from the surface of her plate.
"The theme was Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder so I went with eyes," she said.
Art and design students Dylan Stanford and Leah Paikea interpreted their beauty concepts with paintings on clay platters.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Third-year art students were preparing to hang their exhibition downstairs in the Edith Gallery. Jody Edmonds' series of canvasses feature layers of deep shades of blue with hints of green and white.
"Water is the life essence and such a vital part of life in Whanganui and I never get tired of exploring its nature in my paintings," she said.
"I don't really do much drawing in preparation for painting - I prefer to let the brush do the work."
Edmonds said she plans to retire to her studio for a while and continue with her painting before deciding on her next move.
Art graduate Jody Edmonds with her explorations of water series ready for exhibition in the Edith Gallery.
Photo / Bevan Conley
End-of-year creative exhibitions usually begin with a Friday night opening party, but Covid restrictions mean the public viewing will instead begin on Saturday with exhibitions at the Edith Gallery, the UCOL atrium, upstairs in B and C blocks, the Community Arts Centre and the Orphic Gallery in Drews Ave. The exhibitions run from November 20 to 26 and will be open from 10am to 3pm on weekdays and Saturdays. All locations will be operating under the level 2 Covid restrictions.
