Recently, I had the pleasure of participating on a panel to judge a bridal gown design competition at the High School of Fashion Industries in NYC. The contest was conceived by Robert di Mauro, a member of the school advisory board, and Mara Urshel, co-owner of Kleinfeld (you all know Mara from TV’s “Say Yes to the Dress”).
Robert di Mauro with one of the finalists, and Mara Urshel with another competitor.
Students were asked to create inspiration boards and design a gown for the bride of the future. We selected five winning sketches (not an easy task!), and those five finalists will now work in teams with their other classmates to make the dresses. The five gowns will then be judged in June and one winning dress will be selected and displayed at Kleinfeld. Quite a thrilling coup for any fashion student!
I didn’t know quite what to expect, but was amazed at the level of talent these young designers (17 years old) exhibited. They had three weeks to create a design concept, look for inspiration and complete the sketches. Their teachers, Ms. Sandra Manning and Mr. Adrian Carranza, certainly deserve a great deal of credit for all of their guidance and support. Along with Robert and Mara, the other judges included Dorothy Silver, Director of Sales and Merchandising at Kleinfeld...
Dorothy mid-interview for a student-run publication.
…and renowned bridal designers Edgardo Bonilla and Lazaro (I always love their collections) and Jacques Vigneault, Creative Visual Director at Kleinfeld.
Edgardo Bonilla, Lazaro Perez, and Jacques Vigneault
We must have circled the room at least a dozen times studying the 27 easels of sketches. Every dress had a distinct look and feel, and it was difficult to eliminate any of them. They were all so uniquely romantic, chic and elegant. But only five designs could be chosen, so the numbers were finally tallied and the students called in to hear the results. Here’s a look at the happy finalists:
Four of the happy finalists showing off their sketches and inspiration boards.
Our fifth finalist, showing her design.
And take a look at some of the other students’ beautiful designs and inspiration boards.
Who knows? Maybe one of these talented young designers will have their own bridal line one day and their gowns featured in Bridal Guide. In the meantime, I can’t wait to see what these five amazing sketches will look like as dresses when we judge again in June!
—Diane Forden
- from-dianes-desk's blog
- Log in or register to post comments
