Here’s a name to commit to memory: Carla Pierini was named the winner of the 16th annual Supima Design Competition after winning over judges with her moving collection which spoke to themes of immigration and identity. While accepting her first place honor from host Jeremy Scott and Supima’s Buxton Midyette, the Drexel University student passionately thanked her family, who had relocated from their native South America temporarily to join her in the studio for late nights to help her bring her vision to life.
The finale of this year’s Supima Design Competition took place at The Prince George Ballroom in Manhattan during NYFW, with a live runway show and celebration. Pierini was one of eight finalists enlisted by the non-profit luxury brand, which promotes the use of American-grown Pima cotton around the world, to create a capsule collection created entirely with five types of Supima fabric: shirting, twill, denim, jersey, and velveteen. CFDA Award-winning eveningwear designer Bibhu Mohapatra was once again on hand to guide the talented next-gen designers through the process of creating their five looks, which proved incredibly difficult for the judging panel to critique and evaluate due to the undeniably exceptional standard.
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- By Carla Pierini
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- By Carla Pierini
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- By Carla Pierini
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- By Carla Pierini
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- By Carla Pierini
As part of her prize, Pierini will receive $10,000 to invest in her career, as well as the priceless industry recognition and visibility that comes from taking part in the competition. You can read more about this year’s additional finalists here.
The judging panel of 20 industry professionals and tastemakers for this year was comprised of Abby Silverman, Angel Nemov, Ann Caruso, Avon Dorsey, Avril Graham, Cipriana Quann, Danya Issawi, Edward Barsamian, Emilia Petrarca, the Daily’s Freya Drohan, Godfrey Deeny, Jeffrey Taylor (the 2016 SDC winner), Jerome Lamaar, Jill Manoff, Jonathan Cohen, Kelly Augustine, Laurel Pantin, Lisa Lockwood, Mahoro Seward, Mandy Lee, Mickey Boardman, Shibon Kennedy, and Victoria Brito.
Congratulations Carla Pierini! See inside the event below:
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- Buxton Midyette
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- Nigel Jones
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- Mickey Boardman
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- Kelly Augustine
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- Godfrey Deeny
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- Jeremy Scott, Buxton Midyette, and Fern Mallis
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- Buxton Midyette and Jeremy Scott
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- Mandy Lee and Abby Silverman
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- Nicola Formichetti, Laird Borrelli-Persson, Avon Dorsey, and Nigel Jones
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- Avril Graham, Ann Caruso, Jerome Lamaar, and Victoria Brito
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- Abby Silverman
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- Fern Mallis
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- Avril Graham, and Ann Caruso
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- Bibhu Mohapatra
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- Kelly Augustine (R)
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- Fern Mallis and Bibhu Mohapatra
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- Danya Issawi, Emilia Petrarca, and Mandy Lee
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- Mark Lewkowitz
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- Freya Drohan and Lisa Lockwood
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- Fern Mallis, guest, Bibhu Mohapatra, guest, and Buxton Midyette
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- Jeremy Scott, Mickey Boardman and Godfrey Deeny
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- Lisa Lockwood, Bibhu Mohapatra, Fern Mallis, and Avril Graham and Ann Caruso
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- Avril Graham, and Ann Caruso
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- Danya Issawi, Emilia Petrarca, and Mandy Lee
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- Mark Lewkowitz
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- Supima
Images: Courtesy
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