'Stretch to the future' winners announced

01 May '09

3 min read

RadiciSpandex Corporation has announced the five winners of the 2009 “Stretch to the Future” Scholarship Design Competition held with the junior class design students of The Fashion School of Kent State University. Staged at Kent's Manhattan design studio on April 24, the judging session also feted designers Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai, founders of the popular contemporary womenswear label Vena Cava, as this year's honoree judges leading a diverse panel of apparel industry experts. The respected charitable organization The Underfashion Club (UFC) returned for a second year as sponsor of the contest's lingerie award.

After opening remarks from Kent State University Fashion School instructor Paula Dancie, RadiciSpandex Corp. Marketing Manager Kim Hall presented Mayock and Buhai with the 2009 Stretch to the Future honoree awards and the young design duo expressed their appreciation for being recognized as role models for Kent's design students. The judging panel then selected scholarship winners in the categories of eveningwear, activewear, swimwear, lingerie and a Grand Prize Overall.

Alexandria Kakoules, 21, of Canton, OH, won the Grand Prize for her one-piece swimsuit constructed in fabrics donated by Darlington Fabrics. Activewear award winner Christine Barbas created her three-piece design consisting of a zip-up vest, a long-sleeve top and leggings using fabrics from Darlington, Gehring Textiles, Paul Gottlieb and Sextet Fabrics.

Chelsea Paskvan won the swimwear category for her swimsuit and cover-up designed in fabrics from Sextet. Brittney Sampsel took the lingerie honors for a bustier and panty featuring Sextet and Cyberknit fabrics while Jenna Weickert won the eveningwear category with her gown designed in black stretch fabric from Darlington.

This year's winners were selected from a field of 30 students, nearly double the previous year's entrants. The students competed with garments designed in stretch fabrics containing RadiciSpandex RadElast spandex donated by Brookwood Companies, Darlington Fabrics, Gehring Textiles, McMurray Fabrics, Paul Gottlieb, Sextet Fabrics, Starensier, and Symphony Fabrics.

In addition to Mayock and Buhai, the judging panelists included RadiciSpandex Corp. Marketing Manager Kim Hall, Don Allen, VP, design, Warners; Jade Frampton, market editor, Elle Magazine; Roslyn Harte, president, Lances Harte; Maria Hinchcliff, director of raw materials development and R&D, Maidenform; Helen Mears, design director, Wacoal America; Brian Meck, general manager, Fessler USA, Lesley Pfitzenmayer, textiles design manager, Amoena; Barbara Randall, director of The Fashion Center; and Barbara Ross, president, Sextet Fabrics.

Created in 1999, the “Stretch to the Future” Design Scholarship Competition inspires the creative development of design students while educating them about the technical aspects of garment construction using fashion fabrics containing a highly technical fiber such as RadElast by RadiciSpandex.

Each year, RadiciSpandex invites a well-known designer to head up the “Stretch to the Future” judging panel of apparel industry experts. Previous recipients of this honor include Betsey Johnson, Dana Buchman, Nicole Miller, Nanette Lepore, Carmen Marc Valvo and Marc Bouwer, among others.

RadiciSpandex Corporation

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