Brisbane designer Bianca Mavrick has been chosen to take part in a two-year international exchange program with South Korea.
Three up-and-coming Australian designers have been chosen from a large pool of applicants to take part in the new Australia-Korea Foundation Emerging Designer Exchange Program.
Brisbane’s Bianca Mavrick crafts contemporary jewellery from sterling silver, resin and wood; each handmade piece is intended to serve as a totemic keepsake that embodies the feeling of a Queensland summer. Her current collection has been picked up by popular American retailer Anthropologie.
She joins fellow Australian winner Alice Sutton from Canberra, who aims to set a new benchmark for sustainable design with the unique, multifunctional garments she releases through her label, Edition.
Melbourne’s Clea Garrick — whose contemporary womenswear, lingerie and jewellery label, Limedrop, stands out for its bold colours and exclusive prints — will round out the trio.
Three South Korean designers — Se Hyung Kim, Kyung Jin Uh and Eeunhee Lee — have also been chosen to participate in the program.
The DFAT-funded Australia-Korea Foundation Emerging Designer Exchange Program grant links Queensland University of Technology with Seoul National University, and is also supported by the Australia-Korea foundation.
The six designers will all be given opportunities to collaborate with international talents and explore new techniques and methods of manufacture.
All six designers will head to Seoul for Seoul Fashion Week in March, and Sydney for Australian Fashion Week in May, where they’ll participate in a range of workshops and industry visits in each country.