Emma Joan Foley, an alumni of The New School at Parsons School Of Design, is the winner of the 17th annual Supima Design Competition. For the event’s group runway, Foley showcased a five-look collection inspired by modern art, historical silhouettes, and space perception. After her win was announced, Foley accepted her award from Supima’s Buxton Midyette and host Phillip Lim on the runway. Surrounded by her collection’s models, the young designer excitedly shared her gratitude and thanked her family and friends.
This year’s Supima Design Competition was held in the gilded halls of Manhattan’s Prince George Ballroom, two days ahead of New York Fashion Week’s Spring 2025 season. The non-profit’s event featured an in-person runway show with the work of six graduate students—including Foley—followed by a cocktail reception. Each year, the annual competition promotes American-grown textiles including cotton, denim, shirting, velveteen, and twill. All are used by graduate design students to make capsule collections. Once again, CFDA Award-winning designer Bibhu Mohapatra served as a design mentor for each of the six participating designers, guiding them through making five unique looks each.
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- Emma Joan Foley’s Supima Design Competition collection
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- Emma Joan Foley’s Supima Design Competition collection
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- Emma Joan Foley’s Supima Design Competition collection
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- Emma Joan Foley’s Supima Design Competition collection
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- Emma Joan Foley’s Supima Design Competition collection
Following her win, Foley received the competition’s $10,000 prize to help with her brand’s growth, production, and career beginnings. The designer’s capsule took cues from 15th and 16th century architecture, focusing on how fashion takes up space—with an edgy touch from innovative techniques. “Every look is the five fabrics that we had to work with, and I had developed different coatings for each of them to mimic leather and different paneling of the garments,” Foley said. “That was new for me and all new developments for all the fabrics. I feel a lot more comfortable working across cotton now.”
Before the show took place, each designer’s five-piece line was viewed up close and personal by a panel of chic industry insiders across design and media. This year’s lineup included The Daily Front Row‘s Aaron Royce, Abby Silverman, Alexandra Pijut, Avril Graham, Cipriana Quann, Danya Issawi, Emma Davidson, Fern Mallis, Freya Drohan, Gilles Denis, Godfrey Deeny, Jérôme Lamaar, Kelly Augustine, Lisa Lockwood, Mandy Lee, Mickey Boardman, Shibon Kennedy, and Violet Conroy.
Cheers until next year!
All images: Getty Images for Supima
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