FGI Seattle Member Andrew Dyrdahl - Supima Design Winner!

Sunday, January 18, 2009
SUPIMA ON THE WEB: Fashion Week Daily

NEW YORK —— Supima's second Competition for Emerging Designers is the lead story in this week's "Chic Report" on industry leader Fashion Week Daily.

Here, in a story headlined "Cotton Chic" and illustrated with a huge photo (at right) of Thommy Douglass's scarf-neck Supima gown, is what Meg Prossnitz had to say in her "Runway Fever" column: It could have been a Project Runway challenge: aspiring designers must create a complete collection using only cotton. But last night’s event at Gotham Hall was no reality tv show–it was the second annual Supima Competition for Emerging Designers. Preparation began last November, when designer hopefuls went to the Thompson Hotel armed with portfolios and prepared to face a panel of judges including Parsons professor and Costume Institute fellowship holder Lisa Santandrea. The 21 finalists selected who showed at the event were Astrid Brucker, Nikki Demoneris, Victor De Souza, Thommy Douglass, Andrew C. Dyrdahl, Ari Harris, Yin Ting Huang, Lina Gatineau-Elder, Marie Jdo, Nicole Jimenez, Kimenna, Lisa Lau, Katya Leonovich, Albert Lopez, Christine Mayes, Anna McCraney, Karen Sabag, Kurt Smith, Courtney Yates, and Prizy Sebastian.

Innovative interpretations of these traditional fabrics won awards, such as Andrew Dyrdahl, who took home the prize for best knit design for his jersey long-sleeved gown with a corset made of Supima cotton and denim (”I love the contrast of soft and rigid,” the designer explained) and a voluminous maroon ballskirt of shirting paried with a saffron jersey crop top. “I really like to do eveningwear out of non-traditional fabrics. Anyone can take amazing fabric and make a beautiful dress out of it, but to take an ordinary fabric and make something extraordinary is much more of a challenge.” Kimenna, winner of best in show, cited the architecture of Antonio Gaudi as the inspiration for her designs. Argentinian Victor de Souza, who took home the prize for best execution in denim, cited his inspiration as “Reworked classics.” He lived up to the notion with a beige evening gown that we never would have guessed was made of denim.

Supima VP of marketing Buxton Midyette stressed the versatility of the fabric. “It’s all about rethinking why luxury denim is just in jeans and why super strong knits are only in t-shirts, why shirting only ends up in shirting. There’s potential for so much more than that. The runway is no longer just the domain of taffeta, organza, and silks.” Judging from the innovative designs the new crop of designers sent down the runway, prepare to be blown away.

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