NEW YORK, Sep 6, 2019/ FW/ — Yesterday, at Pier 59 Studios Stage C, Supima celebrated its 12th Anniversary Runway show with the 2019 Design Competition finalists.
Linh La from the Academy of Art University, Gina (Zinan) Guo from Drexel University, Illene Martoseno from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Ishwari Vijh from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Shuxian Kong from Kent State University, Andrew Kwon from Parsons School of Design, Isabel Hajian from Rhode Island School of Design and Yoohyeon Kim from Savannah College of Art and Design – all recent graduates from the nation’s leading design schools filled the roster.
Their collective runway show of women’s evening wear were made exclusively with donated Supima cotton fabrics. The winner, selected by a panel of industry judges, will receive a $10,000 check from Supima to kick-start their design career. This year’s host, Blair Eadie.
Panel of judges of include:
Aria Darcella – fashion news editor, The Daily Front Row
Godfrey Deeny – global editor-in-chief, Fashion Network
Avril Graham – executive fashion and beauty editor, Harper’s BAZAAR
Jade Frampton – editorial director, ShopBAZAAR
Carmen Lilly – closet therapist and wardrobe consultant, Stylistic
Laurel Pantin – fashion features director, InStyle.com
Celestino Couture – designers Sergio Guadarrama and Kade Johnson
Mary Alice Stephenson– style and beauty expert, Glam4Good
Faith Cummings – fashion and lifestyle contributor
Sharifa Murdock – founding partner, Liberty Fairs
Fern Mallis – founder, New York Fashion Week
Tyler McCall – editor-in-chief, Fashionista.com
Returning for the fifth year, fashion designer Bibhu Mohapatra served as designer mentor to the eight finalists, providing invaluable feedback and insight throughout the process.
Started in 2008, the annual Supima Design Competition was created to give runway exposure to emerging talent and was modeled on the legendary 1954 Wool Secretariat competition that launched the careers of the then-teenaged Yves St. Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld.
Since its start, former Supima Design Competition winners have gone on to launch their own labels, show at New York Fashion Week, and secure jobs with top international labels including Michael Kors, Marchesa, Ralph Lauren and Phillip Lim.