And the Melbourne Fashion Festival Graduate Showcase finalists are...

During the annual Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (VAMFF), Australia’s second-largest city becomes the backdrop for an event showcasing the finest Australian fashion. In addition to showing work from established designers, the festival also offers a selection of the nation’s most talented upcoming designers the opportunity to take to the runway for the National Graduate Showcase. The organisation of VAMFF has announced the twelve finalists selected to participate in the upcoming edition: Alexandra Lane Stephanie Frig, Ben Lalic, Hannah Kim, Liz Kim, Panayota Theodore (University of Technology Sydney), Alice Kennedy (RMIT), James Greenway (Whitehouse Institute of Design), Lauren Elise Trend (RMIT) and Rose Church (Curtin University).

The finalists are set to present their collections during the National Graduate Showcase fashion show on March 11. Their work will be judged by a panel consisting of industry members such as VAMFF CEO Graeme Lewsey, stylist Kate Gaskin and bloggers Jess and Stef Dadon of ‘How Two Live’. The winner of the showcase is set to receive 25.000 Australian dollar (17.500 US dollar), as well as the chance to design a capsule collection for Australian retailer Target.

”The VAMFF program is a launching pad for young designers which gives them an incredible opportunity to showcase their talent in front of consumers, fashion decision-makers and industry experts at the Festival,” said Target’s managing director, Stuart Machin, in an interview with Fashion Journal. The festival’s CEO added that she was “blown away” by the applications that the organisation received this year.

The graduate who wins the 2016 edition of the VAMFF National Graduate Showcase will see his or her name added to a list of twelve talented fashion designers who previously had the honour, including Vanessa Emirian, Monique Duggan and Donald Chung.