The tertiary year is coming to a close, with staggered end dates for polytechnic courses over the course of this month.
At the University of Otago, second semester examinations end on November 12.At the polytech’s fashion design school, second-year students gave group presentations on Thursday in their last project for the year.
For an assignment that senior lecturer Tracy Kennedy said got them thinking about how fashion works "in the real world", students Dylan McCutcheon-Peat, Katharina Stapper and Taylor Pearce presented their designs to Void owner Neil Gaudin.
In a sort of virtual reality version of their future, the three pitched not just the clothes they had designed but marketing plans for how they should be sold.
Amid talk of high-end street wear, pleated skirts and long-sleeved tops, Mr McCutcheon-Peat raised the idea of allowing buyers to return clothing and get a discount on their next purchase, with the clothes then being sold second-hand.
The presentation and the designs clearly worked for Mr Gaudin.
"I like it.
"I like it a lot."
Mr Gaudin said he had been turning up at the polytechnic for almost a decade to listen to student pitches.
He was keen to be involved and to give back, and, perhaps, discover "the next big thing".