Fashion design students celebrated at ‘Four Seasons in One Night’

FOUR seasons. Four distinctive fashion collections. Four talented student designers from Victoria and overseas. Trinh Le covers the ‘Four Seasons in One Night’ runway show as part of the 2016 Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival.

‘Four Seasons in One Night’ captured Victoria’s love for fashion and international design, and celebrated the contribution of international and local students to the fashion industry. Taking inspiration from Melbourne’s unique weather, where people could experience four seasons on almost any day of the year.

The show featured exclusive fashion pieces from four talented student designers: Yan Ho, Yanxi Chen, Connie Diamantopoulos, and Kunuch Somritutai.

Minister for Training and Skills, Steve Herbert, praised the event for its celebration of international students and their contribution to Victoria.

“Initiatives such as ‘Four Seasons in One Night’ are an innovative way of creating a positive experience for international students in Victoria, and ensuring they have the best possible time while learning and living here.”

Mr Herbert also regarded Victoria as a “multicultural community”.

“Victoria is renowned as Australia’s cultural capital for its year-round calendar of internationally recognised events, and ‘Four Seasons in One Night’ is a perfect way to showcase our multicultural community to the rest of the world.”

Executive Director for the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, Tim Ada opened the event while City of Melbourne’s International Student & Youth Project Officer, Gary Lee, also gave a speech on his sense of fashion as a former international student.

The show opened with Yan Ho’s summer collection, inspired by the five elements, and featured machine sewn quilted patterns to create a contemporary and comfortable silhouette.

“It is my dream to become a fashion designer. At high school, a friend of mine handed me a Harpers Bazaar Magazine and from there I asked my agent, ‘Where is the best place to study fashion?’ and he suggested Melbourne, Australia,” Ho said.

Ho considers herself “an independent designer who will deliver high quality collections that tell an inspirational story”.

“My design aesthetic is modern and creative, yet each piece has a pared back simple silhouette.”

The show continued with Yanxi Chen’s autumn collection. Coming from a small river town located in Shaanxi Province, China, Chen had never thought of becoming a fashion designer.

“Initially, the idea of fashion design as a career was obscure for me as there was no fashion industry in my small hometown […] Since moving to Australia I have taken a number of steps to make my dream become a reality,” Chen said.

“I completed my final year of the Bachelor of Fashion at Box Hill Institute in 2015. During my studies, I have developed as a fashion designer through my hard work and determination. A number of experiences and people have shaped my life. I believe this is where my aesthetic disposition and my design philosophy takes inspiration from.”

Connie Diamantopoulos’ winter collection explored “the notion of safety and protection within society through restricted garments”.

“I’ve used a variety of unconventional materials such as ball bearings to help weigh down the garments, which they also create a reflexology massage when wearing the garment — sort of like a pleasure is pain concept.”

Diamantopoulos says she is “mainly inspired by art and science and their relationship within design” and seeks to “re-interpret unconventional materiality within a fashion context.”

Kunuch Somritutai’s spring collection wrapped up the night with its bold designs and cartoon icons.

“The Cherry Danger collection is inspired by a young group of girls who are going to a rock music festival. They are punk-rock, like pop art and are sexy but a lot of fun! The collection’s tag line is ‘She’s hot, she’s sexy, she’s funny and she’s dangerous!’,” Somritutai said.

Somritutai knew he “wanted to be a fashion designer from a very young age” and said he chose to study fashion design in Melbourne “because it has a great combination of cultures and art”.

“Being in Melbourne, opens up opportunities to experience various cultures all in one city and be surrounded and inspired by beautiful art.”

A selection of designs from ‘Four Seasons In One Night’ will be featured from now until Friday March 11 at the Study Melbourne Student Centre (599 Little Bourke St, Melbourne).