International recording artist Alexandra Alexis was a notable attendee as well as BagTrends.com founder Pamela Pekerman, Anne Fritz of The Jet Set Girls and ex-style editor of Life & Style magazine, Julia Dinardo of Fashion Pulse Daily and Michael J. Pratt of GiftGirl.com among others.
Nuvo, the world's first sparkling liqueur, provided the night's cocktails.
The winning design was submitted by Dayna Holli and was conceptualized after painting with elephants during her trip to Ayutthaya, Thailand in June of this year. A similar design was created for THE TRUNK SHOW. The ILUS dress is made of Thai silk from Ayutthaya, organic cotton and vintage beads. Nappokao is the elephant artist.
Dayna is a designer and an artist from New York and sells antique textiles and vintage garments to designers through her company Dayna Holli Textiles (http://daynaholli.com). She also works with the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project in New York City (http://elephantart.com). She was the Asst. Creative director of THE TRUNK SHOW, an eco-friendly fashion show held in NYC in October, to raise money for the AEACP, and is currently working with the AEACP to develop other projects.
Designers were invited to upload their sketches onto MyItThings.com and site users selected the top twenty-five designs through popular vote. Then, the three finalists were awarded $300 to create their garment and ship it to New York where the winner's design was unveiled at a holiday party and will now be available in exclusive couture dress rental boutique, Ilus.
Linda Pratka, Ilus President and Founder, commented on the evening stating, "In this recessionary time, people are trying to save money where they can and aren't as ready to go out and spend on a new dress just for the holidays. The idea of renting a couture dress is a compromise between looking fabulous and being budget-conscious."
This is the second contest of this type that My'It'Things has organized. Two months ago concluded the search for the next "It" Designer, which culminated in a runway show attended by top press members, designers and socialites. Visit http://MyItThings.com/
About My'It'Things:
My'It'Things is a leading publisher of user-generated content and one of the most influential online fashion communities. It offers the fashion conscious crowd a chance to wield an Anna Wintour-like power by turning their opinions into tomorrow's trends. MyItThings.com was developed by 2BrainsMedia, a New York based, Web 2.0 company.
About Ilus:
Founded by Linda Pratka in 2008, Ilus Boutique is New York's first "luxury on lease" fashion experience. Featuring both established and emerging designers, Ilus offers New York's most fabulous society clientele the perfect dress for any occasion. The entire collection of designer dresses, available to lease at a fraction of the retail price, can be selected from the boutique or from the comfort of your own home online.
