"Young Designers"

GSE level: 60 - 64 CEFR level: B2 Word count: 400 Sentence count: 17

Vocabulary above the level of your text

learned | gutsy | avant-garde | like-minded | aesthetic | seventh | imperfection | niche

| kiwi | inspired | scope | one-off | sights | growing | ironically | refreshing |

experimental | leap | continued | concept | foundation | mow | worrying | sewing

A few years ago, Ryan Turner wasn't sure where he was headed in life. Now at 23, he's on to his seventh clothing
collection and dreams of growing his business beyond the scope of his garage-based studio. Next month, the
West Harbour fashion designer will be putting out his spring/summer collection and travelling around the
country to promote it."I've tried so many different things in life - it's just the only thing that I really wake up in the
morning to be excited about doing. In his free time, he's even offered to mow lawns and clean windows -
anything to help with the production costs. Turner initially struggled to find his niche, intending to study
psychology and philosophy at university, but left the foundation course after a semester. Through finding like-
minded friends with their own individual style, he then discovered clothing and design as a form of self-
expression and way of working through mental health issues. "It was just quite a refreshing shock to my system."
Sights set on learning how to make a fully-lined men's suit, he enrolled at university again, this time to study
fashion design. But after around six months, wanting to work on his own designs and create menswear, Turner
struck out on his own again - ironically before he had learned to make a suit jacket. Despite health issues, over
the next two years he worked on his own one-off collections, supplying them to a store in K-Rd, and eventually
interned with Kiwi designer Jason Linguard. Turner helped out with collections, pattern-making and orders. The
experience also taught him how to run a small fashion business. "Without that, I would be jumping into this
blind."He also worked at the Mika Haka Foundation, creating stage costumes and an avant-garde street-wear
collection, and continued to hone his sewing skills. Turner's aesthetic is inspired by the Japanese concept of
Wabi-sabi, which embraces imperfection and impermanence. Raw edges and holes add to the deconstructed
look of the pieces, and also make their owners feel more free to wear the clothes without worrying about ruining
them, he said. Linguard said he admired the young designer's "gutsy" leap into business and unusual route,
which meant he was more experimental than most. "Design-wise, he'll give anything a try, and I think that results

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in kind of an edgier design aesthetic."

Other readability measures

ARI Coleman Liau Flesch Kincaid FOG SMOG

12.6 10.8 11.7 14.1 12.6

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GSE Learning Objectives © Pearson Education Ltd 2019