BT Financial Group together with the Australian Fashion Chamber is pleased to announce labels Haryono Setiadi, macgraw and Pageant as the finalists for the 2016 BT Emerging Fashion Designer Award. With the first prize valued at $50,000, the winner will be announced at the BT Runway for Success event on 7 April 2016, with all three finalists presenting their collections alongside some Australia’s most successful designers.

2016 marks the fourth year for one of Australia’s most prestigious fashion design awards and this year’s winner will join the ranks of previous recipients Emma Mullholland (2015) Michael Lo Sordo (2014) and Christopher Esber (2013).

2015 BT Emerging Fashion Designer Award winner Emma Mullholland said: “It’s been an exciting year for me since winning the BT Award. It has raised my profile in this highly competitive industry and the financial advice I’ve received from BT has given me the confidence that I am building a solid business for the future.”

This year’s Award provides the winning designer with a $10,000 cash grant, two years of financial planning services provided by BT Financial Group; two return flights to Los Angeles courtesy of Virgin Australia to further their fashion ambitions; backstage hair services for one major fashion event and two look books by TONI&GUY; a one year subscription with new media content business Flaunter; an Australian Fashion Chamber membership and a mentoring session with a fashion industry icon provided by the Australian Fashion Chamber, bringing the total value of the prize to $50,000.

The award has been an important initiative for BT Financial Group, providing it with a platform to support emerging talent to reach their full potential by investing in and mentoring the growth of Australian designers. BT has been assisting Australians establish and grow their businesses since 1969 and has supported its clients by helping them become better investors, showing them how to grow and protect their wealth to secure their future.

BT is proud to continue their partnership with the Australian Fashion Chamber as an organisation that promotes the growth of Australian design talent and the strengthening of the Australian fashion economy on a local and global scale.

The judges for this year’s award include a host of industry experts including Vogue Australia Editor-in-Chief and Australian Fashion Chamber Chairman Edwina McCann; Designers Sarah-Jane Clarke and Lee Mathews; Entrepreneur Lindy Klim; and Westpac Chief Compliance Officer & Group General Counsel Rebecca Lim.