RMIT graduates take centre stage at the Melbourne Fashion Festival

Some of RMIT’s most talented fashion graduates will dominate the virtual runway on Friday night when they showcase their designs as part of the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

Handpicked from leading fashion design institutions and universities across the country, the annual National Graduate Showcase shines a spotlight on Australia’s most exciting new and emerging design talent.

This year, seven of the 10 graduates chosen to showcase their designs at the prestigious fashion event are from RMIT, reinforcing the University’s position as a global leader in fashion and textiles education, informed by global trends and deep industry knowledge.

You can register to watch the free online event, which will be screened on Friday at 6pm, and you can learn more about the RMIT graduates’ collections below.

Odile Zheng

Taking inspiration straight from a dystopian dream, Odile Zheng, a Bachelor of Fashion (Design) (Honours) graduate, created her collection, Escape/Dystopia, out of a world of imagination.

The Chinese-born student describes her monochromatic collection as full of emotion and uses clever textile manipulation such as shirring and pleating and airy knitwear to explore the tension in this dystopian world.

Kniter: Kate Jeffery @katerosejerrey Model: Lemack @thebadgrammar Photographer: Panashe mugayapi @nash.takes.photos

Michelle Li

In her collection, felt, dress, Masters of Fashion (Design) graduate Michelle Li explores new ways of seeing ‘dress’ with a series of felt-wrapped dresses.

Her experimental and sculptural take on felt has already seen Li named an Australian Fashion Foundation 2021 Scholarship Award winner, which will see her undertake a 6-month internship with a major US-based fashion brand.

'the very first time in a while...' Master of Fashion (Design) Graduate Show, 2021. Presented by RMIT School of Fashion and Textiles and supported by The Capitol. Look Book image at The Capitol, photography Myles Pedlar. The film and look book concept was conceived and pitched by MoFD students working closely with Ricarda Bigolin and Kate Meakin.

Kritikon Khamsawat

In his colourful and voluminous collection, Ma Void, Bachelor of Fashion (Design) (Honours) graduate, Kritikon Khamsawat addresses influential and pivotal approaches to displaying fashion and how a garment is translated through making, on the body and within space.

The result is a bold collection, featuring pinching and pleating and excess fabric to create intoxicating, billowing shapes and forms.

Photographer : Gus Meuleman MUA: Daniel Nicholson Hair: Amber Sestokas  Assistant : Indy Davy Talent :Adrain Wiley, Carolina Hegeman, Emmeline Davies, Aisya Wiley, Edie Pell, Christine Zhou

Yongbin Zhang

Masters of Fashion (Design) graduate Yongbin Zhang explores cultural speculation, taking inspiration drawn from Peking Opera – a popular form of Chinese opera – to create her exotic collection Pure Spirit.

Presented as a series of circular layered objects, the tulle-filled collection recreates the spherical silhouettes produced by the movement of Peking Opera performers.

Carolina Hegeman

Bachelor of Fashion (Design) (Honours) graduate Carolina Hegeman has used weight, texture and stretch to rediscover movement through her collection, Eros. 

Emphasising drape, stripes and knots, while pairing it with contrasting materials such as fur and metal fragments, Hegeman has achieved her vision of expressing self-movement.

Photo - Myles Pedlar (they/them) Model - Amelia Monroe

Carol Yang

Master of Fashion (Design) student Carol Yang’s collection ‘Are you procrastinating?’ explores the idea of procrastination of fashion waste in industry.

Fashion waste features prominently throughout the collection, resulting in the use of unexpected objects. While the designs maintain the function of being worn on the body, they are also designed to exist independently as an ‘activity sculpture’.

Yang believes fashion should not be limited by wearability but be presented in different ways, from a wearable item to an object you can’t explain.

Nuoqui Shen

Nuoqui Shen’s contemporary collection By Independent is a unisex range designed to transcend gender and suit a range of body types.

Shen, a Bachelor of Fashion (Design) graduate, who is studying her Honours at RMIT this year, has also designed her gender fluid collection with a strong focus on sustainability, using organic cotton and zero waste cutting techniques.

Her clever designs also feature adjustable and detachable elements to fit both male and female bodies and to transform the garments to suit multiple occasions.

model by: Megan Dou, Thai Land photographed and collaged by: Nuoqi Shen

Model : Megan Dou, Thai Land photographed and collaged by: Nuoqi Shen

The PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival runs until March 12.

Story: Taylah Borg

Art, Design and Culture

03 March 2022

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Art, Design and Culture

03 March 2022

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RMIT graduates take centre stage at the Melbourne Fashion Festival