The fashion designers of tomorrow

It's the biggest fashion event on Dunedin's calender, and all over the world young people are putting the finishing touches to their frocks in preparation. Thirty one young designers from New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Ireland and China were announced over the weekend as the finalists of the iD Emerging Designers Awards, which is part of iD Fashion Week, an event held in the southern city in March. 

Chosen from a pool of more than 100 entries from some of the world's best fashion schools, the finalists will present their designs before a panel of judges, as well as an audience of thousands, on 14th of March.

This year's selection committee - consisting of fashion designers Tanya Carlson, Margi Robertson (NOM*d) and Mickey Lin (MisteR) were impressed by the high standard of applicants displaying incredible new technologies and creativity.

"It was a really difficult process to take the huge number of entries and select the finalists as there were so many applicants who were of a very high standard," says MisteR co-founder Mickey Lin.

Prizes include NZ$5,000 for first place winner, $3,000 for second place, $1000 for third place, with other special prizes yet to be announced.

Highlights from the 2013 iD International Emerging Designer Awards will feature on the runway at the iD Dunedin Fashion Show on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 March. Tickets are still available for the iD International Emerging Designer Awards on Thursday 14 March and the iD Fashion Show on Friday 15 March, and there are still limited tickets for the iD Fashion Show on Saturday 16 March.