Alumnus becomes Australian Fashion Laureate

Massey University congratulates fashion designer Collette Dinnigan on becoming an Australian Fashion Laureate. The Laureate is in its fifth year and past winners include such eminent designers as Carla Zampatti, Akira Isogawa, Easton Pearson and Simon Lock.

Ms Dinnigan was last year inducted into Massey’s College of Creative Arts Hall of Fame. She was born in South Africa but raised in New Zealand and studied fashion design at Wellington Polytechnic (now part of Massey University), completing a certificate in clothing and textiles in 1984.

After graduating, Ms Dinnigan moved to Australia and in 1990 established her label, Collette Dinnigan, initially based around lingerie. Her fashion empire is now vast. Her collections, including lingerie and bridal, are stocked in 145 stores in Britain, Europe, Russia, the United States, Japan and the Middle East. Her delicate dresses are frequently worn by celebrities at red carpet events.

The Australian Fashion Laureate award was announced last night as part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia in Sydney.

Fashion Programme Coordinator for the School of Design Mary-Ellen Imlach says Ms Dinnigan’s career is an inspiration to many aspiring young designers. “It takes huge creative talent, shrewd business sense, guts and stamina to build and maintain an international fashion brand.
We’re tremendously proud of what Collette has achieved.”

College of Creative Arts Hall of Fame Inductees:

2007
Len Lye – sculptor
Rebecca Taylor – fashion designer
Sir Richard Taylor – special effects supervisor

2008
Mark Pennington – industrial designer
Kate Sylvester – fashion designer
Gordon Walters – artist and graphic designer

2009
Grant Alexander – graphic designer
John Drawbridge – painter and printmaker
Jane Ussher – photographer

2010
Manos Nathan – ceramicist
Avis Higgs – textile designer
Fane Flaws – artist and designer

2011
John Churchward – typographic designer
Mark Elmore – industrial designer
Collette Dinnigan – fashion designer
Arthur Riley – school of design founder