The process to select this year’s National Designer award winner was one of the most contentious in recent history, with one judge describing the result as a missed opportunity.
Established in 1997 at Melbourne Fashion festival, the award is widely regarded as an important step on the route to becoming a legacy Australian designer, with past winners including Toni Maticevski and Romance Was Born.
By the end of a hotly debated two-hour meeting, no consensus could be reached by the award’s seven judges. The conflict centred on whether the award has a duty to champion creativity over commercial appeal, and whether the prize should favour labels with an established track record.
In the end, an emerging but commercially focused label won: the Brisbane-based label Joaen, run by creative director Grace Kelly and her mother, Mandy Kelly.
Of the 10 finalists, two other brands, Haluminous and Beare Park, both based in Sydney, were seen as worthy winners by some.
Megha Kapoor, a creative director and a member of the judging panel, championed Haluminous, whose futuristic jersey tops and lace-up dresses are reminiscent of early Sass & Bide or past winner Christopher Esber.
“The whole point is that you find a talented designer with that creative spark and a unique point of view. They don’t have to be perfect because you’ll give them the support to become a commercial brand,” said Kapoor.
“Sometimes the most original voices sit just outside the mainstream ecosystem. So for me, a missed opportunity to bring a creative into the fold.”
The award winner receives a $20,000 prize and a business development package provided by sponsor David Jones.
Melvin Tanaya, a member of the judging panel and co-founder of the Sydney label Song for the Mute said “usually there’s a clearcut winner, but this time it was so hard”.
“We won the award in our first year of business. It was the first time we believed we might be able to make it,” said Tanaya, who now has more than 60 international stockists.
“I know how much it means to the contestants and how much it can help their business and their confidence.”
He said he wanted to “back someone with longevity”.
“For me, creativity is good but if someone is not ready and you push them, it could backfire.”
After the award was announced, Tanaya reached out to Hannah Teresa Kim, the designer behind Haluminous, to offer mentorship outside of the award structure. “I feel like if she was mentored a little bit, she would be amazing,” he said.
Designers are judged across five categories: the first two – brand vision and business strategy – are given the least importance; followed by sustainability; quality manufacturing and garment construction; and finally an “innovative, creative and cohesive design aesthetic”, which is worth 40% of the total score.
“From my perspective, the outcome leaned toward commercial readiness,” Kapoor said. “I would have loved to see more emphasis on design innovation.”
The prize includes the opportunity to be stocked by department store David Jones. Another judge, Chris Wilson – an executive general manager at David Jones who oversees menswear, childrenswear, home and food – said he does look for “hanger appeal” when judging, alongside a range of other factors.
He puts the contentious judging process down to the high-quality field this year. “Sometimes the outcome is clear, I’ll be honest, and sometimes it’s not,” Wilson said. “So, you have some pretty rigorous debates … The judges are quite heavy hitters within the industry and come from different backgrounds.”
Of the past five National Designer award winners, only Alémais is currently stocked at David Jones.
This year’s judging panel was made up of two senior executives from David Jones: Wilson and Bridget Veal who oversees womenswear; Melbourne Fashion festival CEO Caroline Ralphsmith; sustainability expert Courtney Holm; and accessory brand Oroton’s creative director Sophie Holt, alongside Kapoor and Tanaya.
Last year’s winner Amy Lawrence was not a commercial choice. Her eponymous label is built on bespoke dresses the designer makes herself, a structure that challenges traditional ready-to-wear business models.
“I think we probably didn’t have the equivalent of an Amy Lawrence in the mix this year,” Ralphsmith said. “Last year there was a fairly consistent thread amongst the judges that … the vision was so holistic in everything Amy did. The quality of it was just extraordinary. It was easier to rally around.”
Beare Park, founded by Gabriella Pereira in 2021, was also among the finalists. The brand, which focuses on tailored womenswear, has a similar look and feel to Joaen, with significantly more commercial runs on the board including a flagship retail store, wholesale experience with David Jones, tens of thousands of followers on social media and celebrity clientele.
Tanaya said the choice to award Beare Park was viewed as “too easy” by some members of the panel.
When asked to reflect on why, Ralphsmith said: “I think whether you are commercially successful now is less important than the opportunity for commercial success in the future.”
The Australian fashion industry is at a crossroads. Local manufacturing is in peril and Australian Fashion week is undergoing a second transformation in as many years. For younger brands struggling to achieve the commercial stability of their predecessors, the National Designer award offers a rare foothold.
Kapoor, who is the former head of editorial content at Vogue India, is a voice with a global outlook. “The panel members are coming at it from a completely different perspectives,” she said.
“We’ve got to think about what the kids will wear, it’s not just about what we find palatable and whether we would wear it. It’s about what is reflective of this moment in fashion.”