Supima Design Competition Features Top New Talent...and Rachel Zoe

 
Supima, the trade organization that promotes the use of pima cotton, held it's fourth annual design competition in Lincoln Center for the first time this year. The competition was co-hosted by Rachel Zoe and judged by Coco Rocha, Charlotte Ronson, Nicole Miller, Alexandra Wilkis Wilson founder of Gilt Groupe, Kevin Harter VP of Bloomingdales and Buxton Midyette VP of Marketing Supima. For the eight design students who were chosen to be finalists, this was a dream come true as it takes many designers years to gain the prestige (and the capital) to show at a major Fashion Week venue, not to mention getting the attention of some of fashion's powerhouses. 

Four of the major design schools were represented, RISD, SCAD, FIT, and Pratt, with each of the designers showing a collection of five pieces made largely of pima cotton. The finalist varied greatly in aesthetic and skill and no matter how hard a person may try to be democratic when dealing with students, it was hard not to have a favorite. A nice surprise for me was that every designer included at least one denim dress in their collection...as they should. Not to be self-important about it, but denim is one of the largest drivers of cotton consumption.

At the end of the presentation, Jusil Carroll, an FIT senior from Busan, South Korea earning a BFA in Fashion Design was chosen to be the winner. She came from backstage both giggly and shy, to recieve praise from Rachel Zoe, who watched the show intently and later announced that she would be willing to hire some of the designers. Jusil I hope you took her card.

The other designer finalist were Lorena Cuevas Restrepo of SCAD, Amy Lynn Bittner of FIT, Maru Jung of Pratt, Connie Weng of RISD, Rachel Pullman of RISD, Marlow Lawson of SCAD and Dara Rosen of Pratt