Fashion designer Kate Sylvester received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Massey University this week.

The Auckland designer was capped at the College of Creative Arts’ graduation ceremony on Tuesday, the second of six graduation ceremonies for the University’s Albany campus held throughout the week.

Fashion designer Kate Sylvester received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Massey University this week.

The Auckland designer was capped at the College of Creative Arts’ graduation ceremony on Tuesday, the second of six graduation ceremonies for the University’s Albany campus held throughout the week.

She will also be talking up the benefits of tertiary education as part of the University’s new television and online advertising campaign linking its successful former students, staff and alumni with being part of “the engine of the new New Zealand.”

Ms Sylvester will be the first “face of Massey” in the new advertising campaign, which debuts on television on April 17.

Ms Sylvester says she is delighted to be recognised by the University she studied with in the 1980s and to be part of its latest campaign. “My time studying enabled me to develop the skills and focus I needed to become a designer. I had always had the dream, but Massey helped make it a reality.”

Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey says Ms Sylvester is an example of the sort of success the University aims to inspire, and her honorary doctorate is in recognition of her impressive contribution in putting New Zealand’s fashion design on the world stage, and the qualities needed to achieve this.

“We recognise the astounding contribution she has made over the years in taking New Zealand fashion and design to a whole new level,” Mr Maharey says. “Kate’s triumph in elevating New Zealand design to a world-class, lucrative industry with a distinctly Kiwi flavour very much reflects what Massey stands for as a university. Making an impact, making a real difference to the way we do things in this country and globally – that’s what we aspire to.

“Fashion design is perhaps one of the more glamorous things you can do at university. But the flair, innovation and creative drive Kate has demonstrated in getting her collections shown on catwalks and sold in boutiques around the globe is what links her to other top achievers Massey has produced – whether they are devising new systems for cleaner water and affordable electricity in developing nations, creating new protein products to combat malnourishment, or researching sustainable farming techniques.

“We see Massey as being pivotal to building a new future for New Zealand. The world needs creative, connected, capable people and Massey prides itself on producing people who fit this description – people like Kate Sylvester.”

Ms Sylvester studied Clothing and Textiles at Massey University (then the Wellington Polytechnic) in the mid 1980s. She worked in Europe for three years, before moving back to New Zealand to launch her first label in 1993. In 2002, her label, Sylvester, was launched in Australia and New Zealand.

She has grown a globally successful business – following sustainable practices – that today boasts three internationally distributed lines stocked in Europe, Britain, Australia, South East Asia and the United States.