Sydney designer to judge fashion awards

Press, 19 August 1977, Page 7

Sydney designer to judge fashion awards

A celebrated Sydney fashion designer, and a New Zealand Wool Board promotions specialist, will judge this year’s Benson and Hedges Fashion Design Awards. The awards will be presented in Wellington on October 3 before the leading garments are taken on a New Zealand-wide tour. Italian-born. Carla Zampatti has won many fashion’ awards and is regarded as one of Australia’s out-, standing designers of sophis- ■ dcated fashions. She has! lived in Australia since 1950' and began designing in Syd-, ney 10 years ago. Her initial range of 12’ garments was so well received that her business mushroomed. The Carla Zampatti label quickly be-i came sought after by fashi o n-conscious Australian women. She now produces five col-, lections a year, each consisting of a total wardrobe, for, as Miss Zampatti sees: Mr market, "the busy, confident woman of 25 and over." Her firm sells to stores;

• throughout Australia, and has three retail boutiques of its own in Sydney. Miss Zampatti believes that accessories can give a new fashion more impact. With this i in mind she designs for Po-! laroid a range of sunglasses /to complement her clothes. I i She travels to Europe! i twice a year to keep up! with fashion trends and! I away from work her life is! around her husband,! a Sydney lawyer, and twol I children, Alexander and! I Bianca. The New Zealand judge i who will assist Miss Zampatti in choosing the winner- of the Benson and : Hedges Awards, which this , year carry total prize money /of $3750, is Mr Andrew Ste-I i vens, the Wool Board’s spe-j jcial promotions and retail: manager. Mr Stevens had extensive! iretail experience both here: land overseas, and managed a| !igroup of fashion stores in! Southland, before joining the’ . Wool Board in 1964. He re-! 1 turned last month from Eur-I ope and North America* /where he studied retail pro-!

motions and visited offices i of the International Wool Secretariat. A spokesman for Benson and Hedges (N.Z.) Ltd said [yesterday that the judges ! would make a particularly: ■ well-balanced and qualified 1 panel. Miss Zampatti was a , recognised authority in the i field of high fashion, while IMr Stevens’s background i was specially relevant to the ! new Woolgrowers’ Award |for Handcrafted Wool Fashion, the $750 prize for which had been donated by the: Wool Board. Other awards, each carrying a prize of $750, are for the gown of the year, women’s daywear. women’s or men’s portswear, and the young designers’ award for women’s or men’s dayiwear. The Benson and Hedges Supreme Award for I New Zealand fashion design [will go to the designer of | the most outstanding garjment entered in any section. [Entries close on September jl and garments must be re-’ tceived by the organisers in, (Wellington by September 21.1