Teen Fashion Merchandising Winner Announced

Dec. 29, 2008 - PRLog -- Yael Plaza, of Palm City, FL, and a senior at South Fork High, was recently named the local first place Fashion Merchandising winner at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition.

“My entry was created to inspire teens to be themselves,” states Plaza. “Youth is the new fashion style and teens should be able to express their individuality.”

In addition to her $3,000 tuition scholarship win, Plaza now progresses to the National Passion for Fashion Competition where her entry will be judged against other local winners from throughout North America for the Competition’s grand prize, a full tuition scholarship to The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, a VIP trip to New York City to attend runway shows during Fashion Week and meet staff at Seventeen Magazine. The panel of judges for the National Passion for Fashion Competition include: Suede, contestant on Project Runway Season 5; Eva Snopek, fashion designer at Calvin Klein; Patty Hughes, of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week; Ashley Granata, Marketing Manager at Style.com; and Bruce E. Dempsey, Vice President, Academic Affairs Specialist, The Art Institutes.

The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition was created to encourage and reward young fashion talent. For more information on this year’s Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/passionforfashion

The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, established in 1968, and now celebrating 40 Years of Creative Careers, awards Bachelor of Science and Associate of Science degrees, as well as diplomas. Programs currently offered are: Advertising, Animation Art & Design, Art of Cooking, Baking & Pastry, Broadcasting, Culinary Arts, Culinary Management, Desktop & Graphic Design, Filmmaking & Video Production, Fashion Design, Fashion Merchandising, Game Art & Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Media Arts & Animation, Photography, Residential Design, Visual Effects & Motion Graphics, Video Production, and Web Design & Interactive Media. The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale is approved for the training of veterans and eligible veterans’ dependents and is authorized under federal law to enroll non-immigrant alien students. For more information, log on to www.artinstitutes.edu/fortlauderdale.