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History of $100,000 Townsville Fashion Bash
  In 2001 at the Burdekin Grower $100,000 Annual Race Day a $5000 Model Search competition was added to the program of entertainment with the aim to give one North Qld teenager the opportunity to hopefully become a professional model. This inaugural event proved very popular attracting over 20 entrants. The winner 15yr old Ayr High School student Amy Jane Luke won over $3,500 in prizes and a trip to Brisbane to complete a model-training course. Amy's visions to become a professional model have quickly become in a reality, as she is now a successful Gold Coast based model having appeared in many national magazines, television commercials and leading fashion shows.
After this immediate success prize money was increased to $10,000 the following year with the model challenge quickly expanding into a two - day event, which attracted 27 North Qld entrants. In 2003 after the sudden loss of the annual Tropical North Qld Fashion Design Awards in Townsville we were asked by a northern designer to add a fashion design competition to our now very successful young model challenge event. After months of fundraising the inaugural Home Hill $25,000 Fashion Bash was born and the search was on in earnest to find the North's most talented models, fashion designers and television presenters. The fashion bash again proved to be an immediate success attracting a record 80 North Qld entries. |
Career Education Program
To ensure these winners future benefited from this immediate success we quickly developed a very rewarding Career Education Program that offered the winners of our Model, Television Career & Fashion Design Challenges to attend professional training programs & to enter the Qld Heats of the Australian Fashion Design Awards then held in Brisbane. Our Super Gown design winner Townsville designer Hester Jarvis won two trips to Milan Fashion Week. The knowledge she quickly gained from this unique opportunity inspired her to design an haute couture entry during her stay that later was a selected finalist in the 2003 televised Australian Fashion Design Awards in Brisbane.
After this national exposure in 2004 we quickly expanded our competition boundaries to cover all Regional Qld offering even more future career opportunities to the 100 entrants who entered Australia’s richest fashion awards event & High School Career Challenge competition. The Alliance Airlines $70,000 Fashion Bash was staged over 3 evenings between 1 – 3 April @ the Memorial Hall, Home Hill. Winners came from Cairns and all way down to Yeppoon & Gladstone. Our Career Education Program sponsored 7 students to attend professional training courses in Brisbane & Sydney + 2 students & 2 fashion design winners to travel to Brisbane to enter the 2004 Australian Fashion Design Awards.
The latter resulted in 2 of our designers making 3 televised finals. In the new design category Fashion of the Field Hester Jarvis, Ja Delle Designs, Townsville won 3 Aust Fashion Design Awards inc Supreme Award. With this new found national success we completely revamped our 2005 program of events adding even more entertaining events for our student designers like Masks & Out-Rage –Us Wearable Art Designs, The Cutting Edge & Vintage Voyage, Fashions of the Field for our older designers & a TV, Film & Stage Career Challenge. |
Fashion Bash relocates to Townsville
 We staged the 2005 Fashion Bash for the first time during the Qld Easter school holidays @ the Burdekin Theatre in Ayr which proved very popular with 30 regional Qld high schools being represented. Overall 130 individual entries were received & the quality of both the model & design entries on the catwalk was far superior to previous years. Our Career Education Program sponsored 8 student professional training courses & scholarships in Brisbane & Sydney + 2 free entries into the Australian Fashion Design Awards for our 2-winning race wear designers. 2 of our student models were selected to model in the nationally televised finals + 2 of our designers contested 4 finals.
Due to poor public attendance in the Burdekin Region & in order to make the Fashion Bash financially viable it was decided to stage the 2006 Fashion Bash in Townsville @ Jupiter’s Townsville Hotel & Casino with its entry boundaries expanded to cover all Qld residents. With the aid of a new web site, 30 minute DVD In - Schools video & a record $100,000 in sponsorship prize a 3 - day fashion bash was staged after the April Qld Easter School Holiday. A record 350 entries were received, 40 Qld High schools were represented & our attendance figures also increased 100%. Our Career Education Program sponsored a record 14 students to attend professional training courses in Townsville, Brisbane & Sydney + 2 designers to enter the 2006 Aust Fashion Design Awards. Today, since its creation our Career Education Program has now sponsored some 60 students & young adults to attend professional training courses at some of the best training institutes in this Country. We have also sponsored many students to attend the Australian Fashion Design Awards as well as study trips some as far away as Milan Fashion Week. |
| Entrants Career Success |
 Today this program has achieved so much global success. It has now developed so many successful careers for many of it very young benefactors. The success of our models and young designers is truly amazing. In 2005 Hollie Tickner, then a year 11 student from Yeppoon, won 3 of the 5 major prizes in the Miss Teen Australia Pageant as well as appearing in several national advertising campaigns for Qld Brides & SUPRÉ. Many other students have appeared in many national magazines & advertising campaigns for SUPRÉ while Karin Williams, Charters Towers & Rachael Anne Finch, Thuringowa have modelled at the nationally televised finals of 2005 Aust Fashion Design Awards. Karin was the first of many of our models to go overseas having successfully modelled in Hong Kong & China.
Rachael Anne Finch & Gemma Scott, Cannonvale quickly followed and have now modelled in New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Milan, New York, Germany & Greece. Gemma was also our first model to win 2006 Tamblyn’s Young Model Discovery Best International Model Title. Ashlee Creber, Mirani & Sarah Todd, Walkerton via Mackay were the next two models to go overseas having now modelled in New Zealand & Tokyo. But to really pop the champagne corks Kimberley Busteed, Gladstone, whom was judged our best Surf Swim Wear model at 2006 Fashion Bash went on to win 2007 Miss Universe Australia Title in Perth & then flew to Mexico City to contest finals. In 2009 Rachael Finch was crowned Miss Universe Australia & was awarded 3rd runner up in Miss Universe Pageant in the Bahamas topping the swimwear judges scorecard. In 2010 Jesinta Campbell gave us our 3rd Miss Universe Australia title & was awarded 2nd runner up & Miss Congeniality in Miss Universe Pageant in Las Vegas. |
| Our designers have also been making their mark both nationally & overseas. To date past fashion bash entrants have won 7 Aust Fashion Design Awards Inc the 2004 Supreme Design Award. Katelyn Aslett, Townsville, is now selling her designs throughout the world. Mossman designer Karlie Jay, our best designer for past 3 yrs is now selling her designs everywhere. Bernadette Ede, a year 12 student from Townsville, now has her own 2 design labels. Sian Pole, a year 12 student from Proserpine, has now gone on to win major fashion design awards from Townsville to Gladstone & at the 2006 Aust Teenage Fashion Design Awards in Melbourne as well as at the famed 2006 Auckland Boxing Day Races in New Zealand. Others talented student designers like Mandy Thao, Innisfail & Elmie Van Der Westhuizen, Cannonvale are now also quickly making their mark having already won many design competitions from Thuringowa down to Gladstone. |
 
In order to better manage the best future interest of all our Youth Fashion Programs that we had in place an incorporated association was formed after the staging of 2007 Fashion Bash. After experimenting with the introduction of several new events it has completely transformed its 3 day event program. Terminating many non performing program events like its Fashion Design, Fashion Hair, Dance + Drawing & Design Challenges & introducing 2010 Miss Fashion Aust Awards & 2010 Rising Star Awards. It’s Tamblyn Young Model Challenge is the only original 2003 program event that still exists today. No doubt its discovery of 25 international models is the reason for its continual popularity & survival.
We created our own piece of history last year when Miss Universe Australia 2010 Jesinta Campbell & Miss Fashion Australia 2010 Catriona Gray competed against each other in the Rising Star Awards & Miss Fashion Aust Awards. They together then went on to present Tamblyn Young Model Challenge on stage during 2010 Townsville Fashion Bash. However perhaps one of our biggest successes has come through the way we have continued to improve the way we have promoted & marketed this event as well as the way we have introduced new scouting programs in a quest to secure more quality finalists. Our web site has just recorded it 5 successive year of growth recording a record breaking 92,000 Visits + 3.5 million hits in 2010. The introduction of Face Book scouting & promotion + a much improved monthly e-newsletter & a new theme “Hooray for Hollywood” & venue in Jupiter’s Hotel & Casino to present the 2011 Townsville Fashion Bash.
We hope this History of the $100,000 Townsville Fashion Bash has given you some idea as to what has now been achieved over this incredible 9 year journey especially for so many talented students many who today are public figures both in this country & around the globe. We are confident with your continued support this success will continue well into the future & it will only be a matter of time before we do discover our first Hollywood or New York Broadway star as well as securing our first Miss Universe title winner.
Henry Petersen – President Youth Fashion Expressions Inc |
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