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New York, NY, May 21, 2003 - The winning designs of the fifth anniversary “Stretch to the Future” Design Scholarship competition sponsored by RADICISPANDEX Corporation were unveiled today during the year-end fashion runway show at Manhattan’s High School of Fashion Industries (HSFI). The event celebrated the glamour of Hollywood’s award shows with the theme “Fashion Movie Awards.” The high-energy show culminated in the presentation of $4,000 in scholarship awards to four students and the appearance of celebrated men’s wear designer John Varvatos, who was the design competition’s designer judge and honoree.
Varvatos received an engraved “Stretch to the Future” award from Kim Henley, National Accounts Representative, RadiciSpandex Corp., who presented the scholarships to the four winners. "This show continues to exceed our expectations,” said RadiciSpandex Corp. Vice President of Sales and Marketing Bill Girrier. “The students keep coming up with new and exciting ways to make stretch fabrics work. The garments this year also seem to reflect a little more serious tone than in the past. We're seeing some really high fashion here. John Varvatos has been a real hit with the students and his contribution to fashion resonates with
an image that HSFI and RadiciSpandex aspire to --- understated excellence."
This year’s competition included 55 garments submitted by 13 students. Fabric companies that donated stretch fabrics with RadiciSpandex include Cyberknit/Paul Gottlieb, Darlington Fabrics, Deer Creek, Ge-ray, Hamrick Weaving, H. Warshow & Sons, McMurray Fabrics, Milliken & Co., Sextet Fabrics, Symphony Fabrics and Textivision.
The competition was dominated by Senior Tiffany Dominguez, a Brooklyn resident who won a total of $1,750 for four awards, including the Grand Prize, Fantasy, Children’s wear, and Women’s Sportswear categories. Dominguez’s Grand Prize-winning design was a two-piece Fantasy Garment consisting of a fitted, long-sleeve top and skirt with an asymmetrical hem festooned with red ribbons. The midriff-baring top featured a stand-up collar and a criss-crossed, lace-up front. H. Warshow & Sons and Darlington Fabrics donated fabrics used in the garment.
Dominguez captured the Women’s Sportswear award with a one-shouldered mini-dress featuring a ruffled hem in white fabric from H. Warshow & Sons. Her Childrenswear garment was a colorblocked dress in white and royal blue fabrics donated by H. Warshow & Sons.
Juan Vargas, of Brooklyn, earned a $1,000 prize as the First Runner-Up for an elegant, black Eveningwear design that featured a halter top in a fabric with sheer panels donated by Ge-Ray Fabrics and a solid bottom in fabric from H. Warshow & Sons. Vargas used Ge-Ray’s sheer fabric to add a unique design detail to a leg slit on the gown.
The Men’s wear category, which saw a doubling of entries from last year’s competition, went to Xiao Jing Dong for her streetwear design of a sheer crewneck t-shirt with an intricate dragon appliqué and solid black pants. The sheer top was created with a mesh fabric provided by H. Warshow & Sons while the solid stretch fabric used for the pants was donated by Deer Creek Fabrics. Dong also won the Swimwear category and placed Second Runner-Up overall with a bathing suit design created in black fabric from H. Warshow & Sons, which she adorned with floral designs created using colored beads. Dong’s combined winnings for Second Runner-Up, Men’s wear and Swimwear were $1,000.
Canea Jones, a resident of Brooklyn, received a $250 award for her Lingerie entry, which featured a bandeau bra and slip in transparent fabric from Ge-Ray and panties in a solid black fabric from H. Warshow & Sons. The solid fabric was also used on the slip’s ruffled hem.
In addition to John Varvatos, this year’s judging panel consisted of experts from the worlds of fashion editorial and textiles --- Alev Aktar, fashion and beauty editor, The Daily News; Alexis Barnes, managing editor, MR; Virginia Borland, contributing editor, Textile World; Regina Conroy Keller, Hornwood & Lee Fashion Textile Partnership; Howard Ellis, Symphony Fabrics; Daniela Gilbert, textiles and sport fashion editor, Women’s Wear Daily; Josh Greene, market editor, ready-to-wear/textiles, Women’s Wear Daily; Petra Guglielmetti, associate fashion editor, Earnshaw’s; and Long Nguyen, founder, Flaunt magazine.
Established in 1999, the “Stretch to the Future” Design Scholarship Competition is an integral element of the HSFI annual Fashion Show that fosters the creative development of design students while educating them about the technical aspects of garment construction using fashion fabrics containing a highly technical fiber such as elastane manufactured by RadiciSpandex Corp., which is based in Fall River, MA. Every year, RadiciSpandex Corp. invites a well-known designer to lead a panel of apparel industry experts in the judging of the students’ designs. Previous designers who have served as honorees
include Betsey Johnson, Steve Madden, Nanette Lepore and Dana Buchman.
Located in the heart of Manhattan’s Chelsea district, HSFI was founded in 1926 and is the only school in the eastern United States that fully integrates a high school degree program with a fashion industry curriculum. The student body is comprised of residents from all New York City boroughs.
RadiciSpandex Corp. is a U.S. subsidiary of THE RADICI GROUP, a multi-billion dollar entity based in Italy that employs 9,000 employees in 68 factories worldwide. The company is a multi-national, multi-ethnic industry player whose integrated business activities range from synthetic fibers to chemicals, plastics, packaging and textile machinery. Synthetic fibers (nylon, polyester, polypropylene and spandex/elastane) are the core activity of the group.
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