Innovative Fashion Design is Big News

It's recycling, but not as you know it. Using old copies of Moreton Life magazine, this stunning gown was created by a Year 10 student.

Not only did the finished garment grab our attention, it also earned Murrumba State Secondary College student Santaliya Wutzke top marks.

Year 10 fashion students were asked to design and create an avant-garde garment using unusual materials for assessment. It was named The Unconventional Challenge.

From research and design through to construction, the project took Santaliya 10 weeks to complete.

“I wanted it to look like a 1950s ball gown with the ruffles (in the skirt),” she says.

The ruffles have been created using torn pieces of paper folded in half and individually machine sewn onto lining made from wedding dress material.

The design uses darker colours at the bottom, fading to lighter shades at the top.

It was created using old editions of Moreton Life magazine and supermarket catalogues.

“It worked really well. It turned out better than I thought it would,” Santaliya says.

“I wasn’t sure if the paper would hold, but it allowed for the fall (of the skirt) and held together really well. It makes me really proud that I’ve achieved something like this.”

The most difficult part was attaching the layers using the sewing machine — working from the wide bottom up, without tearing the paper.

Teacher Fiona Wake explained many of her students used paper as their unconventional material, in a wide range of designs, while others used tape, CDs and even plastic plates.

She says Santaliya’s creation was innovative and of a high technical standard. It was also the longest gown, dropping all the way to the floor.

“It had great lines and texture, and all the elements and principles of design — pattern, colour and shape,” she says.

“It is effective because it is balanced.”

Santaliya loves using her imagination, dreaming up designs and bringing them to life.

“My goal after school is to go to TAFE and study fashion and move to the US to experience the fashion brands over there and eventually come back and establish my own fashion company,” she says.