A tribute to fruitgrowing was a fitting winner at a wearable art awards held in a fruit cool store.
The second Teviot Valley Wearable Tartan Art Awards, held in Ettrick on Saturday night in the T&G Pipfruit cool store, attracted a capacity crowd of about 350.
The event, held as part of the Tartan Time festival, drew entries from more than 50 designers throughout Otago and Southland. Gill Booth and Beryl Tomkin, of Ettrick, won the supreme award as well as People’s Choice and the Canny Celtic Kiwi Creation category.
Their outfit, called Teviot Glory, was made from hessian, vine, ribbon and other recycled materials and featured an abundant fruit harvest.
Committee member Teresa Bennetts was delighted with the success of the evening.
"We had great feedback. Everyone loved the new venue and thought that the garments were up another level again. The models were fantastic and we’re grateful to all those designers who supported us and to the judges who had a difficult task."
The show had outgrown its original venue at the Roxburgh Town Hall.
The cool store’s usual purpose was highlighted in the decorations and the ambience was described by organisers as "industrial elegance."
"We had a vision of what it would look like and we pretty well created that vision," Mrs Bennetts said.
The judges were Lindy Chinnery, of Lawrence, Raewyn Baguley, of Roxburgh, and Jann Robertson, of Tapanui.
Garments and accessories ranged from a tartan and feather cloak through to a sporran sporting antlers and a tartan outfit made from recycled records and redundant videotapes.
Planning for the next wearable arts show, in 2018, would begin straight away at the debrief of this year’s event, she said.
A seven-strong committee organised the event along with the rest of the Tartan Time festival — a mufti day on Friday and Kilt Canter yesterday.
The festival was started to recognise the valley’s Scottish history.
• Results of the wearable arts contest.— Supreme award: Gill Booth and Beryl Tomkin ( Ettrick), Teviot Glory. Peoples Choice: Teviot GloryLads and Lassies: Jessamy Wales (Knobby Range, Roxburgh), New Zealand Native Tartan, 1; Stacey McKinnel (Ettrick), Going Bush and Holly Pringle (Ettrick), Cosy Celtic Comfort, highly commended. Sportie Scottie: Viv Tamblyn (Gore), The Power of Red,1; Julie Morton (Cromwell), Highland Saucie, highly commended.
Business House: 103 The Store (Roxburgh), Loyal — Tea, 1; Ettrick Gardens, Ettrick Celtic Gardeners and Lyn Brenssell ( Moa Flat) and Denise Gow (Dunedin), Plastic Fantastic, highly commended. Bra Design: Denise Gow (Dunedin ), Me Old China, 1; Denise Gow (Dunedin ), Metallic Maiden, highly commended.
Sporran Design: Kevin Tansley (Dunedin), Tossie,1; Sarah Macdougall ( Millers Flat),Tartan Tracker, highly commended.Canny Celtic Kiwi Creation: Teviot Glory, 1; Fay Kennedy (Roxburgh), From Mountains to the Sea, Julie Morton (Cromwell), Redundant, and Janet McDonald and Colleen Parker (Roxburgh East), Shakespeare Scottish Hags, highly commended.
Performance on stage: Michelle Shortall for Roxburgh Medical Centre,The Flapper Bird Flu Dress, 1; Niamh Glassey-Latta (Roxburgh), Roxburgh School’s been punked, highly commended.Best school entry in open section: Georgia Buchan (Roxburgh), Feather Ballerina, 1; Junior Room, Millers Flat school, Feathered and Tartaned Cloak of many colours, highly commended.
