WelCom December 2023
Three Sacred Heart College students have won several awards at a Design, Make and Model competition in Hawke’s Bay.
Year 11 students Smriti Nijjar, Adalyn Homar and Emma Ritch spent months designing and creating their garments before walking the runway at the Hawke’s Bay A & P Show, in October.
Smriti won first place in the Intermediate Section (Year 11) for her top – ‘Persian for Milk and Sugar’. Adalyn came second, and Emma third.
Smriti initially designed her top for the wellbeing category. She says the seersucker fabric she used reminded her of the milk and sugar in baking with her sisters. ‘It took me back to those fun times.’
Emma also won the wellbeing category for her entry – a blue halter-neck top – which best reflected emotional, physical, spiritual aspects of wellbeing.
‘The blue represents the ocean because it is a very safe space for me. I’ve grown up around the sea and like swimming. The laces at the back represent the people in my life that keep me together like my parents and my family.’
Emma grew up sewing with her mother and her grandmother. ‘My grandmother gave me her sewing machine that she had when she was a child, so it’s been passed on,’ she said.
Adalyn designed a pink dress with hidden pockets, inspired by the movie Barbie.
‘It was a lot of trial and error. But it was fun to be able to create something from scratch.’
All three girls found their love of design when they started doing the Textiles class at Sacred Heart College.
Teacher Anna Grapes says, ‘They did so well. I am just so proud of what they made and they looked beautiful. It takes guts to get up on the stage and they had to speak about their garments too.’
Mrs Grapes says she was blown away by the result, having not entered any students previously due to Covid-19 cancellations.
‘We have wanted to enter for a couple of years now, so this is the first year that we have been able to, and it is a fantastic result.’
