New York City - astridland, the New York based accessories and dress company is launching two new looks at the upcoming Supima Fashion Show this coming Tuesday July 15, 2008 at 7 PM at Gotham Hall. The fashion show is a live runway event showcasing work to an elite audience of buyers, editors, retailers, and other industry heavyweights at a prestigious venue in the middle of the Garment District.
The runway way show is also a competition and the judges are Ellianna Placas, fashion director of Life & Style, stylist Samara D’Auria, Kevin Christiana from Project Runway and Buxton Midyette, the vice president of marketing for Supima. Designers ranged in experience from recent grads to seasoned professionals with resumes that included many well-known design houses. “It’s Supima’s take on Project Runway,” joked Midyette. In a matter of two weeks, the 25 designers must create a piece from a 10-yard bolt of fabric. “It’ll be the runway version of a fabric showcase,”
“This is our way of recognizing and encouraging emerging talent in the brutally competitive business of fashion,” says Buxton Midyette, the New York-based vice president of marketing for Supima, the association representing elite growers of the world’s finest cotton.
Supima, "the world's finest cotton," takes on evening wear with a design contest of reality television proportions. "[We've] been thinking about doing this for the past couple of years," Buxton S. Midyette, vice president of marketing, says of the competition the company has devised. "We license 200 manufacturers around the world to make [our] fabrics but they never receive a lot of attention. At the same time, you have an incredible pool of design talent in New York that doesn't get the attention it deserves. So we thought if we marry the two together we could really have something." If the overwhelming turnout at the open call for entries on Tuesday night was any indication, they've got something pretty big. From students to established designers, they came in droves to New York's Thompson Hotel, where a panel of judges (including Kevin Christiano of Project Runway fame) chose 25 finalists to create a unique women's evening wear look with 10 yards of fabric from Supima's leading international mills.
For a select group of lucky—and talented—young designers it will be the opportunity of a lifetime: A live runway event showcasing their work to an elite audience of buyers, editors, retailers, and other industry heavyweights at a prestigious venue in the middle of the Garment District.
Unusually for a design competition, the Supima contest requires no entry fee or other financial commitment on the part of the designer. Supima will donate up to 10 yards of fabric from its leading international mills—the very same ones that supply leading Supima designer and retailer licensees like Ralph Lauren, James Perse, Oligo Tissew, Brooks Brothers, and Nordstrom.
Gotham Hall, the venue for the live runway presentation on the evening of July 15, is in the center of New York’s Garment District and has been the venue of choice for fashion launches and celebrations including Baby Phat runway show and an event for M.A.C’s Viva Glam.
astridland founder and designer Astrid Brucker combines her extensive experience in the fashion industry as well as her many years of styling celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Faye Dunaway and Vera Farmiga. Astrid creates these special evening wear designs to complement the beauty of her clients as well as giving them timeless glamour, elegance and sophistication.
To see more of astridland please go to www.astridland.com
