New Zealand’s fashion students to showcase designs in India

Fashion students from New Plymouth, New Zealand will be showcasing their

designs in India coming November. Te Aroha Goodwin and Tori Green have both won Prime Minister's Scholarships for Asia, in a unique New Zealand-India fashion education collaboration. The scholarship was awarded to 15 Kiwi fashion students, who will get to learn about the heritage of Indian textile production.

The group of fashion students was selected after 45 students from NZ Fashion Tech were asked to design and make a contemporary look from 50 silk saris. Some of those garments were displayed at New Zealand Fashion Week in August. The same ensembles will now be recreated in India using hand-woven silk saris made by villagers from Doddampalayam, South India.

Goodwin, 30, and Green, 20, are students at NZ Fashion Tech's Auckland campus. Former’s love for skydiving led Goodwin to turn to designing jumpsuits and aerodynamic clothing. For the said saree project, she designed a red dress which drew inspiration from Empress Theodolinda of Monza and ancient Roman gowns. Second student Green’s grandmothers were skilled seamstresses.