Show judges Tanya Carlson, Tara Viggo and Margi Robertson spent yesterday selecting the finalists for next year’s iD International Emerging Designer Awards from a field of 124 international and national entries.
Ms Carlson said there were a lot of references to playfulness and childlike nostalgia in the entries.
"There's lots of references around grandmother's wardrobes or memories of grandparents or family dressing or heirlooms.
"Which can be quite standard for a lot of people when they're looking quite inward and examining what they feel about clothing."
A longtime judge of the show, she was always impressed by the calibre of the entries.
"It's great to see a solid group of contestants post-Covid.
"The fact that we're back here doing that is fantastic.
"As always we are looking for something that makes people say ‘wow’."
Eighteen New Zealand designers have entered their portfolios and 11 of those were from Otago Polytechnic.
The iD Dunedin Fashion Show is to be held at the Dunedin Railway Station on April 4 and 5.
Fashion ID event manager Victoria Muir said people from 26 countries had entered for their chance to be a finalist.
"There seems to be a few countries that we haven’t had entries from before."
The week of fashion, running from April 1 to 6, includes exhibitions, runway shows, talks and films.
