Texas Tech students win Denim Runway 2012 design contest

01 May '12

3 min read

Four Texas Tech students took top honors Saturday in the Denim Runway 2012 design contest sponsored by Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA) and Cotton Council International (CCI) in collaboration with the university's College of Human Sciences, Department of Design's Apparel Design and Manufacturing (ADM) program. The winners were announced during the annual TECHstyle Senior Fashion Show.

Jovita Lektzian, a senior from Panevezys, Lithuania, won the women's jeans category with a design for the "Missy" market. She described the garment as "a simple, slightly relaxed fit jean with a painted and embroidered detail of the Lithuanian national stylized flower motif."

Kimberly Berry, a junior from Pleasanton, California, won the men's jeans category with a classic, straight-leg jeans design. The garment also featured "commodore blue topstitching and a pirate pattern on the pocket lining. Lektzian and Berry will receive an expenses paid trip to Guatemala to attend a major apparel sourcing show and visit PCCA's Denimatrix jeans facility.

Caitlin Moore, a sophomore from Rowlett, Texas, won the casual category where contestants were given the opportunity to design and create any denim garment other than jeans. Her entry was a dress with a fully-lined, mid-thigh circle skirt accented with a gold zipper and striped chiffon treatment on the sides, back and flutter sleeves. Darlene Araiz, a sophomore from Post, Texas, won the Trend Board category. Moore and Araiz received cash awards for their entries.

"This past year, we continued to give these students a field-to-fashion overview of the denim apparel supply chain, starting with a visit to a cotton farm and ending with a tour of our American Cotton Growers denim mill in Littlefield," said PCCA President and CEO Wally Darneille. "As these students begin their careers, they will take with them the knowledge of cotton and denim they gained from this Denim Runway contest," Darneille said.

"I have helped judge all three Denim Runway contests, and I have seen the quality of the designs and the level of competition increase each year," said David Collins, assistant executive director for CCI. "It is a testament to the ADM program and its faculty and staff," Collins added.

"We are so excited to partner with PCCA and CCI on this project," said Cherif Amor, Ph.D. and chairman of the Department of Design. "We have such talented students in our department who regularly receive national design awards, and the Denim Runway competition gives them another design opportunity beyond their wildest dreams," Amor added. "This is a rewarding partnership between academia and industry whereby students amply benefit from learning and application."

PCCA, with headquarters in Lubbock, Texas, is a farmer-owned cotton marketing cooperative with the only fully vertically integrated supply chain for denim apparel in the Western Hemisphere.

CCI is the National Cotton Council's export promotions arm and carries out programs in more than 50 countries globally under the COTTON USA trademark.

Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA)

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