This wide-eyed young, talented illustrator is bound to impress the Fashion industry in her coming years with her beautifully distinct style! I was lucky enough to catch this girl before this Saturday where she will participating in the Annual Urbis Design Day.

Out to prove a point that there is a place in the New Zealand industry for Illustration, we wouldn't put it past her that she could one handedly bring in Fashion Illustration herself. I admire her determination and passion for a career that she once thought was too undervalued to strive for, but is now pursuing full stream ahead. Aware that her strength lied in her ability to draw she strategically designed her "Tromp L'oeil" Collection which alone flew her to Italy and back, thanks to her success from the Mittelmoda iD Dunedin Emerging Designer Awards.

I am looking forward to watching her at work this Saturday at Urbis Design Day! Check out the interview with her below...

How did your involvement come about with Urbis Design Day?

They approached us, one person from each faculty and asked me if I would like to present! It's a great opportunity. My whole assignment is based on Fashion Illustration. I think there is such a large gap in New Zealand, I think it's a great way to showcase another form of visual communication. Usually they do use photography- well in promotion magazines everything is photography. The whole of last year I approached designers and editors and asked them if they considered using illustration for a spread. So I just did heaps of collaborations and I'm just really trying to get it out there. My presentation is going to be a continuation of that.

Tell us a little bit about what can we expect to see on Saturday at Urbis Design Day of your interpretation of "Off the Grid"?

Saturday is basically what I showcased last year, mine was 5 life sized illustrations of the garments that my class mates did, so it was kind of the collaboration of designer and illustrator. It puts it in all in context, you can showcase the garments really clearly. I find in a lot of art photography today it's getting quite experimental and so the garments are really subordinated- you don't see the clothes that well- so that is what I'm trying to push. While I've got those up I'll be illustrating as well, in front of everyone.

Do you feel like the clothes get lost in the photography?

It is really common now, there is so much photography around now you have to be experimental to stand out. So every photographer is trying to find their own mark. 'Maybe we'll make it grainy, maybe we'll make it this...', I don't oppose it, I think photography conveys it through a mood or a feeling just as it could convey a concept- but in doing that the clothes do get lost. In some magazines it will state the jacket in the spread- but you can't even see the jacket... and it's not really an editorial then is it?

This is the first year that AUT students have been invited to be a part of Urbis Design Day, in terms this being a perfect platform to getting your name out there... How important do you think these kinds of things are to get involved in?

Definitely, yes! We had an exhibition last year, but that was all your friends and family. That wasn't even media. This is all the people you want to make connections with and may potentially be working for, so it's very important, yes!

Do you think our generation is apathetic about putting themselves out there?

No, I don't think so. There are definitely passionate people out there. I do think that with all the technology and the computer thing it does encourage us to pull back from the essence of everything. I know people that design because it's pretty, but it's an empty design- which has no meaning.

So it's quite distracting?

Yeh, heaps of people now in my last year are doing projects that do back to hand drawing or more traditional means of doing stuff- instead of using a computer.

Speaking of competitions, you've been highly successful already. Winning the Mittelmoda Prize at the iD Dunedin Emerging Designer Awards. Allowing you to travel to Italy with your "Tromp L'oeil" Collection and also dominating the 2009 Style Pasifika Awards.
Tell us the inspiration behind your "Tromp L'oeil" Collection...

Basically it started from Cubism. I really like drawing, I looked at Art Galleries and saw these Cubist paintings. I thought it was really interesting how they made a flat surface 3D. So just playing with perspective is what I wanted to experiment with. I drew all these garments on to paper, scanned them in and them manipulated them in a way that they looked layered and then got them digitally printed. They aren't very wearable pieces, more directional, but I didn't want to make something commercial.

Do you find it amusing that 'Tromp L'oeil' has made a come back in the more commercial side of Fashion?

Oh my goodness, yes! It's everywhere, I think it is a phase, I don't think it's always there. I saw all these graduates collections' from England and they were doing 'Tromp L'oeil' as well, maybe it's a subconscious link that is sort of happening.

What was the highlight of traveling to Italy with your collection?

Everything! I think it was interesting seeing what other people your age were doing. It's a whole different perspective, compared to New Zealand because we are small. Also being so consumed within AUT, and what everyone else here is doing, you forget about what everyone out in the world is doing. It's a different league. They make everything, they make their hats, their shoes as well as their clothes. It was just inspirational, and what I want to aspire to be.

Illustration seems to be your forte, you're back at AUT doing your Masters in Illustration. What inspired you or encouraged you to go back to study further?

Truthfully, a master here is only one year, where as overseas is two years. I thought I may as well get it out of the way. It gives me the opportunity to do my own thing. If I was working now, I wouldn't be drawing. Without last year I wouldn't have been able to build my portfolio and get all the job opportunities that I did get. It's a good way to prepare yourself, and one year will go so fast!

Do you idealistically want to freelance?

Currently I am freelancing, one day I want to work in Fashion, but with more of a graphic field.

When did you realise that you love illustration?

I didn't really until my tutor was like 'Nadeesha, you should do this!  You're really good.' I always undervalued the talent, what can you do with drawing?! Really developing a distinctive style has been really awesome because people have been like 'hey I really want to do an illustrative spread...' It really opens so many more doors. This is what I really love doing, why not try and make money out of it. It wasn't until late last year when I started taking this serious. I love designing too, maybe it's something I can fall back on later.

Self Portrait Nadeesha had drawn during the Interview.

The illustration industry in New Zealand, I feel is very understated but also under resourced, what are your views on the possibility of growth here in New Zealand?

Its the whole photography thing. Designers are set in the mindset that photography is so real and how it captures the moment. Internationally, theres so much more scope because the market is bigger and there are more opportunities. Have you seen Pilot magazine? I think it's the only magazine in New Zealand that is taking advantage of photography and illustration. Also because New Zealand is really young. The Fashion industry is really young, the history of fashion illustration doesn't really exist. In England obviously they have a long history and tradition of fashion illustrators but here there is none. Here, I think editors don't know who to approach it even if they wanted to. They would be like 'what illustrators are there? Okay there is Nadia Flower, Kelly Thompson... they probably don't know anyone else.' It's also the money issue, there are only so many opportunities here. I don't think editors or magazines give themselves enough time either, with illustration it is more collaborative, you have to go back and forth quite a lot.

Apart from Urbis Design Day, where can we expect to see you in the near future?

I want to have my own exhibition- I'm aiming for that this year. I'm doing a few illustrations for Pulp Magazine. Currently I'm working in film as well. I'm working with this guy who did Narnia- he was the assistant director. He said that the illustrators that they hired didn't understand the clothing, they would design the clothes and when given to the stylists the stylists didn't know what it was- is this woven? The illustrators didn't know the fabrication, how it was finished, none of that. To have an illustrator that has done a degree in fashion, knows the texture, even where to source the fabric... It makes it so much easier for them- you're all on the same page. Even in film the fashion is still very relevant- so that is exciting. All different avenues of Fashion illustration I guess.

This Saturday the 20th of March is Urbis Design Day, why should we come!?

It's so inspirational! For $20 you get a shuttle from place to place. It definitely will not be a waste of a day, especially if your into design. It's a really good way of using every single design field, because even if your in Fashion you can be inspired by architecture.

Register for Design Day HERE. It's only $20, so cheap... You won't want to miss out!