Farming fashion with a twist

In a corner of Matamata College’s textile classroom, the sun acts as a spotlight on the Iron Maiden. Rays of light reflect off the punched out sheet metal that makes up her silver bodice. The Iron Maiden drapes over the headless plastic model that wears the metal as a dress. Dog chains connect the sheet metal giving an agricultural bite to the design.

Year 12 Matamata College student Ashleigh Andrawartha merges work with play as she designs her Iron Maiden under both NCEA and National Fieldays Ag Art Wear guidelines. With the help of her school teacher and head of textiles Melody Priest, Andrawartha is allowed to earn NCEA credits for her Ag Art Wear entry.

The popular Ag Art Wear competition is a show at Fieldays of catwalk entertainment featuring a collection of garments from farming to fashion. It showcases a collection of creative and innovative garments that are inspired by everything rural.

Ashleigh, 16, is entering Iron Maiden in the Designer Traditional category. The event invites designers to create wearable art that uses only materials sourced from the farm, rural industries or the natural environment.

Ashleigh says she chose her materials because they were cheap. “The dog chains I got from the two dollar shop and the sheet metal was from Kaimai sheet metal. We got it punched out from an engineer in town. The rest is just from Spotlight.”

Her garment was inspired by a dress made of discs she had seen in a fashion magazine.

With over $12,000 in the prize pool, the competition challenges entrants to create thoughtful, interesting and unique designs. Ashleigh says if she wins she will spend the money generously. “I’ll probably buy gifts for all of the people who helped me first, and then go shopping with the rest.”

Iron Maiden will be worn by professional models from Nouveau Management. The models will parade a wardrobe full of weird and wonderful creations that give ear tags, wire fencing and bird’s feathers a new meaning of elegance. Judging is based on appearance, innovation, ingenuity, artistic element and the overall impression of the garment.
Mystery Creek Event coordinator Adam Reinsfield says the aim is to build the profile of the show.
“In the past, it’s been very much a farm show. My grand idea would be that it’s something similar to World of Wearable Arts, but held locally.”
The show will make its first appearance in Hamilton city this year with a night of live catwalk entertainment featuring a collection of the winning garments at the Atrium, Wintec. Nouveau Management models will wear the winning collection at the Rural to Runway gala dinner. The $185-ticket entertainment will include a three-course dinner, pre-dinner drinks and wines.
Reinsfield’s most memorable design from last year was Waikato Diocesan School for Girls’ student Alle Peterken’s under 21 runner-up design, Dairy Fairy. As he tells the story of his favourite design, Reinsfield’s hands mime the outlining of butterfly wings made from weed matting.
Alle last year won the Avant Garde award with Semi Precious, which was also the people’s choice winner. Semi Precious was made of perspex, air canisters and water. Alle, who is entering again this year, modelled her design pulling the rip cord down the cat walk to cue bubbles that floated inside her plastic skirt. She looked like she was walking on water as blue LED lights highlighted the floating bubbles.

This year, she will enter the Designer Traditional under 21 section with Light as a Feather and Tough as Nails. She says the emphasis is on the tough part. The young designer ditched her original idea after finding a wearable art garment with the same materials that followed similar construction techniques and themes. “I believe in originality and I think people would have thought I had copied the design when I hadn’t. I am a very individual designer, so I produce ideas and the actual garments on my own.”

The 15-year-old entered her 2012 garment five days before entries closed. She and her family spent hours plucking ducks and pheasants for their feathers, taking advantage of duck shooting season. Luckily, Kingsclere Stables and Fisher Farriers donated Alle the horseshoes. It is the true definition of one man’s rubbish being another woman’s treasure.

With her design experience, Alle says the show is a great opportunity for young designers. “It gives you the chance to just go wild with your ideas.”

Designer/creator at Love Lucy clothing, Jenna Mclachlan, was most impressed with the creations she judged at last year’s show. “The creations the designers come up with just blow my mind. Where the normal person would walk into a farm shed and see frost cloth, tubing, feathers and various other bits of farm equipment, these people see creatures, characters and creations.”

Audiences can expect something different this year. As always, Ag Art Wear 2012 will introduce never before seen designs and materials. Iron Maiden designer Ashleigh Andrawartha, entering for the first time, can only hope to take out the competition with an iron fist.