Apparel | Friday, November 21, 2008

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SUPIMA’S OPEN CALL: The first day

By CeCe Shelburne

NEW YORK — The next Supima Design Contest for Emerging Talent is officially underway.

The first installment of the two-day open call took place last night at the Thompson Hotel here in SoHo when guest judges David Leung, a professor at Parsons School of Design as well as Kent State University’s New York-based design program, and Lisa Santandrea, an adjunct professor of fashion history at Parsons School of Design and a research fellow at the Metropolitan Museum, joined Supima’s vice president of marketing Buxton Midyette to interview dozens of applicants responding to the call.

Italian photojournalist Giulia Piccari, who will be documenting Supima’s second Design Competition for Emerging Talent, was also on hand photographing contestants and their portfolios.

Peccari, herself a winner of several photography competitions in Europe as well as a veteran of commercial work for companies like Coca Cola and editorial in major Italian publications, will be shooting the competition through the runway finals scheduled for January 14th in Gotham Hall here in New York.

The open call concludes today at the Thompson Hotel from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. when designers will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis. Contestants are asked to bring a women’s evening wear sketch, portfolio, résumé, and garment that they’ve designed and sewn. Entries will be judged in part on how they capitalize on the strength and softness of Supima cotton.

In a process coordinated by Supima’s Francesca Hermijanto, approximately 25 finalists will then be given 10 yards of a top-quality Supima fabric to execute their sketch, followed by fittings on professional models. The contest will culminate in a live runway presentation held at Gotham Hall in front of an audience of buyers, editors, and stylists. There is no entry fee or cost to the contestant.

Here, a candid look at last night’s proceedings:

Photos by Giulia Piccari