On a night of colourful frocks, elegant gowns and head-turning ensembles, one St Albans Secondary College student stole the show.
Anh Hoang took home three awards at last week’s Fashion Awards Australia – year 11-12 best long gown; year 11-12 young designer of the year; and overall secondary school most outstanding garment.
Ms Hoang also came second in the year 11-12 chic day wear category.
Her teacher, Michael Bowden, said Ms Hoang had created history.
“She’s won the long gown category two years running, young designer of the year for two years running and most outstanding garment, so she’s made history on a couple of fronts,” he said.
“She’s been a champion since year 10. She works so hard – coming in at lunch, after school and during free periods – so she deserves every bit of success she gets.
“If you can’t back up talent with hard work, you’ll be left on the side of the road and Anh certainly backs up her talent with hard work.”
Ms Hoang says her award-winning gown was created during third term through hours of planning and alterations.
“I had a lot of time to design and create the gown and it turned out exactly as I’d pictured it,” she said.
Ms Hoang has long harboured ambitions to become a fashion designer and hopes her latest success will act as a stepping stone for future prospects.
“I’m very proud of my achievements so far and hope it’s helping me get to where I want to go later on. My dream is to be a fashion designer … I really want to get into the
bachelor of fashion design course that RMIT offers.”
Ms Hoang says the creative process comes naturally to her, but admits coming up with a creation from scratch can be difficult.
“For me, the hard part is coming up with the idea because I find the making part of it is pretty easy,” she says. “You have to decide what you want and how to make it stand out.”
