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Hours spent in the fabric room at Orewa College, sometimes long after school has ended, has paid off for twins Maxwell and Geena Hutton, who recently won the college’s wearable arts competition for the third year running.
This year’s winning garment, called Sack of Flower, is made of recycled hessian sack, discarded material and old curtains. Maxwell says the inspiration began with the sacking itself, and the idea of turning it into something much finer, in a Cinderella-type way.
The pair also took first place in 2015 with a recycled Christmas tree garment and last year’s winner was Corset Tape which explored the many things that can be done when you treat VCR tape as a textile.
The 16-year-olds live in Kaukapakapa and say their home, filled with antiques and other collectables, provides a source of imaginative ideas for wearable art. Maxwell says that his fabric teacher Maya Foster has also provided a lot of encouragement and support.
There are only two boys, out of around 40 students, taking Level 2 fabric but Maxwell says he loves using the sewing machine and learning new techniques.
Both he and Geena also perform at Centrestage Theatre and so one way or another, a future in the arts seems likely.
Maxwell says he has been approached about entering his wearable art into national competitions and will give that serious thought.
