- Posing with her model and other participants.
Yona with a model showing her recycled material dress
Yona's recycled material dress won her an "Emerging Designer of the Year’ award.
The talented Yona Yuliani Hutari, a Limkokwing University Fashion and Retail Design student from Indonesia won the ‘Emerging Designer of the Year’ award at this year’s Stylo Fashion Grand Prix.
The Stylo Fashion Grand Prix is one of the most awaited events in Malaysian fashion industry. The event is presented by Mercedes-Benz, and it coincided with the beginning of the Formula One Grand Prix weekend.
This year’s competition, entitled, ‘Wearable fantasies’, was held at Hap Seng Star, from 24th -29th March, and it had in attendance big names like the well renowned shoe designer, Dato’ Jimmy Choo.
The competition required designers to use recycled material to make their collection, submitting two avant garde designs and one ready to wear design.
Yona selected the concept of ‘Salvaging’ for her collection, and she used ‘thrown away plastic bags’ as the main material. She made all the three dress out of black and blue plastic bags fused together through ironing.
“I was pleasantly surprised when they told me I was the winner,” she said, about winning the competition.
She won RM15,000 in cash, and she also gets an opportunity to showcase her designs at the Mercedes-Benz Stylo Asia Fashion Week at the end of the year.
“The university always give us real life experience of things, so when you go to events like this, you know what to expect.”
She says having an experience of her designs on the runway, through Limkokwing University’s various fashion events, like the fashion shows held at the University plaza every Thursday helped her to be confident in her designs and also gave her an idea of what to expect at a fashion show.
“The university always give us real life experience of things, so when you go to events like this, you know what to expect,” she said.
She also said that studying fashion at Limkokwing University was a thrilling and unique experience, as the University offers many opportunities that are not offered elsewhere.
“We are the only University with a fashion brand, that is very exciting for a fashion student,” she said.
Limkokwing University promotes creativity and innovation, and actively encourages students to enter competitions in and out of campus. The University is also currently celebrating victory at the Malaysia International Shoe Festival 2014, where fashion students; Nor Ira Putra Hidayah Bin Mokhter won the first prize for the men’s category shoe design, and Gan Siad Hong won the ‘Most Promising Designer’ award.