Orion: the rising star of fashion

Te Horo's Orion Scott, wearing her City Safari Jacket, left for Paris over the weekend.

If you are 19 and have already sold up to 500 pieces from your fashion label it is pretty clear you are on the road to big things.

Throw in creative genes and innate style confidence and you are pretty much set to turn heads in the fashion industry, one way or another.

Orion Scott, of Te Horo, is preparing to do just that, having earned herself a spot at the International Fashion Academy (IFA) in Paris, France.

The Paraparaumu-born young fashion designer left for Paris on Sunday last week, after securing a scholarship at the esteemed school, which has campuses in Paris, Shanghai and Turkey.

There, she will work towards completing a Bachelor of Fashion Marketing.

With a range of specifically modified degrees, IFA's new fashion marketing degree is designed to meet the needs and demands of the ever-changing fashion industry.

"For as long as I can remember, art and creativity has been my thing," Orion said. "Art has always been my favourite subject, so it was inevitable I'd go down that path."

Taught by her grandma to sew, Orion began designing and making projects from a young age, surrounded by a family that also appreciated fashion.

"I'm very lucky to have very stylish family members and friends, which allowed me to experiment with fashion from a young age."

The Orion Kendal JEANous // OK x VINTAGE jacket, pictured, is 100 per cent New Zealand made.

Her early style influences rubbed off during her studies at St Matthew's Collegiate boarding school, in Masterton, where she used an NCEA business project to start a small clothing business, run out of her wardrobe.

The label Orion Kendal launched in March 2016 as T-shirts drawn on with a vivid pen.

Within a year, the brand had developed into a small business boasting its own website and social media following, shipping to local and international customers.

"My T-shirts are my original creations and I will forever love them.

"I wanted to develop my business further and explore the possibilities, and carry on creating unique items."

So her range of 100 per cent New Zealand-made bomber jackets emerged.

"I designed the pattern and developed the first prototype and from there, started to get them made by a professional seamstress. With school work and my business I didn't have time to make them myself and wanted them to be of a high standard.

"Each of my jackets is unique and made from fabric that will only be used once."

As she moves into into the European fashion scene, Orion is not sure about the future of her business, but is not willing to let go of it just yet. With a self-described style that is unique and adventurous, Orion focuses heavily on individualism.

"I want people to wear things that express their personality, whether it's through my clothes or another designer's.

"There are so many carbon copies in the fashion industry, which categorise people into a boring category.

"I want people to have individuality in what they wear and to feel comfortable and empowered with what they put on their skin."

Like many artists, Orion has a special attachment to everything she makes.

"It makes it hard but extremely satisfying to pass my designs on."

And, like many artists, she finds inspiration everywhere she looks, whether it is a bookstore or a tile on the bathroom floor.

"There are thousands of designers out there creating magic, so I keep loyal to my own distinct sense of self when it comes to design.

"I have a unique style that I'm very certain on, so I know what I like and what I don't."

With a love for classic pieces from international designers including Christian Dior and Coco Chanel, as well as more contemporary designers such as Olivier Rousteing of Balmain and Donatella Versace, Orion also keeps her eye close to home.

"New Zealand has some very talented people whose labels I wear with immense pride and honour. Lonely Hearts, Trelise Cooper and Stolen Girlfriends Club are some of my favourite New Zealand designers."

Now settled in Paris, Orion is staying with a local until she finds her feet.

"I'm hoping this degree allows me to get my foot into the fashion industry door and find a job I love, where I can leave an influential change."

But first, three years of head-down, hands-on study is calling.

"Paris is the most fashionable city in the world, so what better place to get a fashion degree?"

orionkendal.com.