FASHION SEPTEMBER 2014 NEW YORK
Supima is America’s luxury cotton: founded in 1954, the Supima brand designates an elite variety of pima cotton grown only in California and the Southwestern U.S. and prized the world over by designers and retailers who value its luster, strength, and superior softness. Begun 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. For this fourth Supima Design Competition, four of America’s top design schools were asked to select two finalists from among their graduating seniors. Each finalist was asked to create a capsule collection of women’s eveningwear gowns from premium Supima denims, knits, corduroys, twills, and shirting. This year’s eight finalists: Amy Bittner and Jusil Carroll from the Fashion Institute of Technology; MaRu Jung and Dara Rosen from Pratt Institute; Rachel Pullman and Connie Weng from the Rhode Island School of Design; and Lorena Cuevas and Marlow Larson from the Savannah College of Art and Design. A prestigious panel of judges will be on hand to decide the winner: Gilt Groupe founder Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, model and entrepreneur Coco Rocha, Bloomingdale’s Vice President Kevin Harter, and designers Nicole Miller and Charlotte Ronson. The winner will be announced at the completion of the show and receive an award of $10,000.
