A collection of New Zealand’s youngest designers have an opportunity to present their work alongside industry leaders at NZ Fashion Week on 2 September.

Entries for Walk the Line young designers fashion show ­– a creation of YMCA’s youth development programme Raise Up – are now open.

Walk the Line is the largest event of its kind in the country and NZ Fashion Week’s only event run by youth, for youth.  It provides young designers aged 13-18 a chance to showcase their creativity on a world stage in front of some of the biggest names of the fashion industry.

Raise Up Coordinator Georgia Brodie says this year the Raise Up team is stepping it up a gear by challenging teens to find their voice through fashion with the theme ‘be who you want to be’.

“The 2018 Walk the Line event is a chance for young people to have a say in their own identities and what matters to them,” Georgia says. 

“We’re asking entrants to submit designs that express who they are and what they want to be rather than what society sometimes wants them to be.”

Design categories in this year’s event include sustainability, high fashion, street wear, an open category and a special themed category – express yourself.

More than 50 up-and-coming designers will be selected to present their designs on the NZ Fashion Week runway on Sunday 2 September.

Entries are open to New Zealand high school students aged 13 to 18. Head to raiseup.co.nz to find out more about Walk the Line, including details about design categories and how to submit designs.

Entries close 22 July.