AOD’s Fashion Search competition returns during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 2018
Competition is now open to school students islandwide, presenting a rare opportunity to get exposure to working with international fashion professionals at Sri Lanka’s biggest fashion event
With design coming into the highlight as one of the best modern career paths, and creative thinking gaining new recognition among the top three professional skills to have by 2020, opportunities for exposure to design, innovative thinking and creative exploration are essential for today’s school-level students. This is the thinking that led AOD— Sri Lanka’s celebrated design educator— to launch ‘ Fashion Search’, a fashion design competition for school students. The competition focuses on discovering fresh talent in fashion, by presenting a series of creative thinking and innovation geared challenges designed for sixteen to twenty year olds. The winners access much more than the Fashion Search winner award and the valuable certification; they also get access to a one-of-akind fashion and runway experience at Sri Lanka’s biggest fashion event to date— Mercedes- Benz Fashion Week, working together with international fashion designers, choreographers, stylists, fashion media, photographers and producers. This exposure will go a long way for young people looking to establish creative career paths or enhance their personal sense of creativity and self- expression for other professions. Fashion Search competition briefs are now online, while the final competition dates have been announced to be on the 22nd of October.
When it was launched originally, Fashion Search became a massive success throughout schools in the island with final shortlisted entrees coming to over a hundred. The competition was hailed by the academics in schools and parents of students who took part as an unusual opportunity to get internationally relevant study experiences for creative young people. The shortlisted finalists and participants were also of the view that Fashion Search created a unique opportunity for them to realise their dreams of being a part of an international event, explore their skills and find encouragement for their creativity.
Some fantastic talent from school students around Sri Lanka was on display at the Fashion Search exhibition at AOD’s showcase at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which is a great way of supporting young dreams, creative talent, hardworking students and young people who want to use their talent and thinking for bigger things.
The number of amazing designers, fashion academics, entrepreneurs and media attend- ing Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Sri Lanka 2018 is more than double the delegation of last year and the competition winners this year get access to all this. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to any student who is interested in studying or working in fashion, or even simply being creative, sharpening their inherent talents or building an early network in a very powerful business.
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