Her emotive, humorous and quirky illustrations depict a strong sense of character, through the use of pronounced poses, exaggerated expressions, and unorthodox fashion models, she break’s away from the traditional and expiated stereotypes of fashion illustration

My name is Nadeesha Godamunne and I completed my bachelors in fashion design at the Auckland University of Technology in 2008. In recent years my graduate collection ‘Trompe L’oeil’ has had great success, winning the ‘special prize’ at the I.D Emerging Designer Awards, which enabled me to showcase in Italy, at the prestigious Mittel Moda Fashion Awards (2009).

The collection also triumphed at New Zealand’s most prominent fashion competition; The Style Pasifika Fashion Awards (2009), where it received the prize for ‘Best Three Piece Collection’, and took home the Grand Supreme Award for ‘Best Collection’. ‘Trompe L’oeil’ features hand illustrated garments, which were digitally printed on shift dresses, giving the illusion of several layers of clothing. The collection challenges the boundaries of conventional clothing and embraces forward thinking by utilizing the latest technology. These I believe are important elements for creating innovative fashion that captures the spirit of the times.

Having completed the degree I continued on with post grad – Masters, exploring one of my other passions; illustration. In celebrating a decade of New Zealand Fashion Week, my Masters publication, ‘Illustration as Inquiry’ takes a sharp look at New Zealand’s fashion culture. Acerbic, attentive, and sometimes outrageous, its observations are a celebration of both the fashionista and the power of satirical illustration.

During my Masters, I was also selected to receive a teaching grant, which also enabled me to lecture illustration to under- graduates adjacent to my learning. The teaching was focused on making known the importance of visual communication in the design process (from initial working/technical drawings to final illustrations for presentations) and providing the tools and techniques to visually express ideas. I completed my Masters in Art and Design last year (2010), with First Class Honours.

This year I am continuing to lecture part time, and am pursuing illustration through collaborative and editorial work. The satirical approach I examined for my masters is an aspect I would further like to explore and refine as it incorporates humour, a powerful characteristic in my work. To date, I have been featured in a number of reputable publications such as ‘The Australian Creative’, Martin Dawber’s ‘The Big Book of Fashion Illustration’ and Sandra Burke’s new ‘Fashion Designer’ series.

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