Garden-loving Sophie chose a striking floral fabric for her jumpsuit, accessorising it with a headpiece shaped like “a giant rose”.

Gardens were what inspired EIT fashion student Sophie Brown to design a vibrantly colourful jumpsuit – an outfit she will be modelling at Hawke’s Bay Racing’s Fashion in the Field.

The 19-year-old has always loved fashion.  Like most little girls, she played dress-ups and, aged four or five, would pretend she was a model, using the hallway as her runway.  A year or two later, Sophie was creating her own makeshift jandals, tracing the soles onto cardboard and tying the cut-outs onto her little feet with ribbon. 

The passion continued at Hastings’ Girls High School, where she learnt to sew and studied textiles technology.  Now enrolled in the Certificate in Fashion Apparel programme – “the best decision I’ve ever made” – she will progress to the New Zealand Diploma in Fashion, which EIT is launching next year.

Along with her classmates, Sophie is entered in the Young Designer section of the Spring Carnival event.  Responding to the avant garde theme, she spotted a fabric she loved while shopping in Palmerston North.

“The blue background reminds me of a clear blue sky,” she says, “and the floral print reminds me of tropical islands.  I have always loved the islands and their culture and way of life.”

The students evolve their design projects as part of their classwork.  Sketches for Sophie’s Garden of Gethsemane design show modifications that include cuffs at the wrists and ankles, details that work in well with the gathered waist.

While she doesn’t see the design in itself as remarkable, she says “it’s unusual enough for it to stand out, especially because of the bright florally fabric”.