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Posted by AA on 26th Aug 2014
It's always an exciting time of year on the millinery calendar in Melbourne, when hat making activity is well along the arc of manic crescendo leading up to Spring Racing Carnival, and needles are being threaded at a rate far exceeding any other time of year (and when the rate of thumb injuries increase tenfold!). But there is possibly no occasion that induces such a heady mix of excitement and panicked sewing than the annual Kangan Institute Millinery Soiree in Melbourne, which showcases the work of the upcoming milliners studying there.
Previously this has been delivered under the watchful eye of the late, great milliner Paris Kyne, who was always such an integral part of proceedings, but hats-off to the students and tutors - milliners Melissa Jackson, Serena Lindeman and Rose Hudson, who pulled-off an event no doubt Paris would have been happy with, especially as the French theme of this year's event "Le Chapeau" gave a little nod to his favourite city.
Chairman of the Millinery Association of Australia, Phillip Rhodes kicked-off proceedings with a humorous and candid talk on his experiences in the millinery industry and the challenges that students should expect to face in their endeavours on the way to success. It was great to hear such a frank, real and fascinating insight into a millinery career, one that has clearly seen plenty of good stories!
The catwalk show is always a highlight of the night and where the millinery really comes to life. There were some stunning headwear examples demonstrating superb blocking, trimming, wirework, flat pattern making skills as well as fantastic creative flair. But it's also good to see how that creativity is channelled into the student's display tables, as it's through these that we start to see millinery identities emerge. The real stand out tables for us were those of Olivia Schwarz, Paulina Proimos and Lys Stevens, but there were many other highly commendable displays.
Award winners on the night received generous prizes kindly donated by Torb & Reiner, Blocks by Design, The Total Package and The House of Adorn, and included:
Certificate II Display: Justine Cunningham
Certificate III Display: Jenna Goad
Certificate IV Display: Olivia Schwarz
Flat Pattern Prize: Chantelle Lauder-Taylor
Creativity Award: Olivia Schwarz
Technical Excellence Award: Paulina Proimos
Soiree Award: Katherine Cherry
Millinery Association of Australia Award: Loretta Beattie
It was a really fantastic night, with some excellent millinery on show. It's always particularly interesting to see what the Certificate IV students are developing as that final year of study is really when skills are honed and millinery voices start to emerge, and there were a few voices we can't wait to hear more of...
So congratulations to everyone involved, we look forward to next year!
xxTEHxx
The crowd await in anticipation
Millinery Association of Australia Chairman Phillip Rhodes giving a fabulous speech
We have a bit of a thing for flamingos so couldn't help but get a bit excited by this fabulous wire creation by Allyson Handley
Not sure who to credit this fabulousness with, but the orange with the black/white graphic is really striking
So eye-catching, and totally on theme! Great work from prize winner Loretta Beattie
We have a lot of love for this fantastic piece by Lys Stevens
What a stunning piece by Paulina Proimos
Award winner, the very talented Olivia Schwarz with Waltraud Reiner of Torb & Reiner
We love bows and pink + black combos, so this one by Irene Moore is a winner!
A cute little hat from Katherine Cherry