All the creative and STYLISH designs we saw…to answer the challenge to churn up a fashionable and versatile piece for gals…that can seamlessly go from rural mountain tops to urban streets…
...were truly fabulous. We would wear them all--- and are sure we would get boatloads of approving comments from the New York Fashion Week crowd we will soon mingle with. No doubt, all the contestants will be getting a bunch of valuable contacts via their efforts.
But this 2 day competition, modeled on the Project Runway drama on Lifetime Televison…did have a winner….
Faith Anderson, a (happy) design student from Philadelphia University.
We admired the architectural lines and slim, flattering silhouette (fitted waist) of Anderson's insulated outerwear jacket, "Pretty Straight."
Plus--- the dramatic high collar and removable hood ward off the elements as do the fabric choices… a Cordura nylon outer layer, glow-in-the-dark accent fabric from Schoeller®'s spirit collection, a Polartec® Polar Shield-lined collar, 3M Thinsulate™ anti microbial filler, Duraflex pull tabs and double zipper, and JRC Reflex pull tabs.
Calm Before The Storm...
Other participants, chosen from hundreds of portfolios submitted were John Hamilton, Purdue University; Christina Johnson, University of California, Davis; Mark Pimentel, Oregon State University and Lauren Price, Florida State University.
The judges this time out--- were a who’s who of the Outdoor Industry:
Pam Theodosakis, founder and design director of prAna; Alan Yiu, vice president, creative director and founder of Westcomb Outerwear, Inc.; Rita Nakouzi, director of Promostyl; Skip Yowell, co-founder of JanSport; Jesse Thompson of Industrial Alchemy Design House; and AnneMarie Furey, freelance designer.
SPECIAL THANKS:The presenting sponsor for Project OR Cycle 4 was 3M, with Hyperbola as the supporting sponsor.
Participating material suppliers included Brookwood, CORDURA, Cotton, King Tech, Nuwa, Polartec, Primaloft, Schoeller, Thermore, YKK and Woolrich.
Words…Judith Ecochard,
Images: Courtesy of Soars Communications and J. Ecochard