Budding designer Poppy Smith to be featured at NSW TEXStyle exhibition

Narrabri High School Student Poppy Smith, the daughter of Robert Smith and Alicia Pratt, was delighted and honoured to receive the news late last year her Year 12 major textile project had been selected to form part of the 2022 NSW TEXStyle exhibition, an annual event which showcases excellence in student textile design.

“I feel extremely proud to represent Narrabri High School and show what country students are capable of,” said Poppy.

“My Japanese-inspired outfit will be showcased with other major projects from around the state at The Muse, Ultimo TAFE, Sydney from March 8-13.

“There will be a virtual exhibition of the selected projects so that people unable to attend the exhibition in person will be able to view the exhibits online,” she said.

“It is exciting to be chosen for the exhibition and I hope that other students will see my project and find inspiration for their own.”

The NSW TEXStyle HSC exhibition is an annual event that has been held in Sydney for more than 15 years.

It is designed to showcase and promote textiles and design in the broader community and seeks to encourage students to take up the subject as part of their Year 12 projects.

With more than 1200 submissions sent in from schools around NSW, Poppy is thrilled to be one of only 20 selected.

“My design represents my experience of hiking in Japan and being surrounded by nature as well as the beauty of Japanese crafts and textiles,” Poppy said.

“I created my corset and sleeves from a vintage Haori from the 1950’s.

“A Haori is a short kimono traditionally worn over other layers. Despite its age, the silk is still in perfect condition.

“I chose a corset as I am inspired by feminine shapes, and I think the corset is ultimately feminine.

“I wanted to retain some cultural history in my design, so I used the original Haori sleeves, which are attached to a choker and epaulettes for stability.

“The skirt in my project is hand-dyed with natural indigo as many clothes in ancient Japan were dyed this way.

“Its shape is non-Euclidean to represent the architecture by Antoni Gaudi that we saw in Barcelona.”

“The fabric is crushed to represent paper,” she said.

“The origami butterflies stitched onto the skirt are created from other vintage silks and represent a fusion of nature and Japanese crafts.

“The outfit is completed by an obi-style belt.

“This was created from an original silk obi.

“I machine stitched the branches and attached my representation of Sakura (cherry blossoms).

“I also created stamens from embroidery floss and seed beads.

“The project took more than 6 months to complete but I am really proud of the results.

“I would like to add a special thank you to my textile teachers at Narrabri High, Ms Wallace and Ms Bailey for their guidance and support.”