A Leeming student has been named as Cancer Council WA’s 2020 SunSmart Fashion Project winner for her unique garment design that comes complete with UV protection.
Curtin University Fashion Design student, Jasmine Jin, said she hoped the design would appeal to youth.
“I am absolutely thrilled the judges chose my design,” Jasmine said.
“The challenge I faced was to design a dress that would demonstrate that sun protective clothing can be both fashionable and effective.
“Young people like to wear clothing that exposes as much skin as possible, yet Australia’s extreme UV radiation levels mean we should really wear clothing which covers as much skin as possible.
“I realise how important sun safety is, which is why I wanted to create an outfit that had good body coverage, a high neck and made from quality UPF fabric.”
Curtin University’s Fashion Program Coordinator, Dr Anne Farren, who was one of the judges, said being involved in a health promotion project as significant as the Cancer Council WA’s SunSmart Fashion Project for the past five years had greatly benefitted students.
“The SunSmart program provides an opportunity for our second-year fashion students to work on a real industry brief as well as offering the winner the invaluable experience of direct engagement with industry to prepare their design for production,” Dr Farren said.
“Real-world experience is a focus of the Fashion Design course at Curtin and the SunSmart program is a great example of this.”
Our SunSmart Manager, Mark Strickland, said Cancer Council WA was impressed by Jasmine’s design.
“Jasmine’s garment scored the highest across the five criteria which include: sun protectiveness; design and innovation; fit and construction; sale/rack appeal; and practicality of manufacture,” Mr Strickland said.
“Melanoma is the most common cancer in young Australians between the ages of 15 and 39.
“Because protective clothing is so good at reducing UV exposure, young people need to know that they don’t have to sacrifice style to be SunSmart.”
Jasmine’s design has been awarded a limited production run and will be for sale at Ruck Rover General Store, 242 William St Northbridge.
The launch of Jasmine’s winning design coincides with National Skin Cancer Action Week (15-21November) which this year focuses on be being a good SunSmart role model.
Cancer Council WA’s 2020 SunSmart Fashion Project was supported by funding from Healthway.
