Dec 18, 2008
Media contact: Patty Wellborn
Office: 604-795-2819
patty.wellborn@ufv.ca
UFV Fashion students make the cut in national design competition
Look out Montréal, here come Kidde Itto and Emily McIntyre. The two second-year Fashion Design students at the University of the Fraser Valley submitted sketches that were selected from a nation-wide contest to land them spots as finalists in the Télio design competition 2009.
Along with the other finalists from across the country, they will be whisked off, all expenses paid, to Montréal for Fashion Week this coming spring, where their garments will be modeled on the catwalks on March 5 at 7 p.m. Competition was tough, says UFV Fashion Design instructor Deanna Devitt, as 116 sketches were submitted from 20 schools across Canada.
Télio is an importer/exporter and distributor of fine fabrics in North America. The Montreal-based Télio competition, which originally was only for Quebec residents, was opened to design students across Canada this year. Contestants are given a theme (this year, it is earth, wind, fire, and water) and must create an original, high-end design for a women’s wear for the fall season. The short-listed students receive six metres of fabric directly from Télio and must create and deliver their finished garment by February 6. The designs will be judged by professionals in the fashion industry.
The jury panel that narrowed down the original sketches included Nathalie Atkinson, National Post style columnist and contributing fashion editor; Glen Baxter, photographer and host of In Fashion on the Fashion Television Channel; Ruth Ho, buyer for the Canada by Design Department at The Bay Vancouver; and Stéphane Leduc, editor-in-chief of (Dressed to) Kill magazine. Devitt explains that the sketches were evaluated based on three criteria: creativity, technical quality, and adherence to theme. And there is more than reputation at stake, as the competition’s first place prize is $3,500, with a second place prize of $2,500, third place of $2,000, and fourth and fifth place prizes of $1,000 each.
Eighteen second-year UFV fashion design students submitted sketches, which were narrowed to seven by their instructors and then submitted to the competition. Out of 116 submissions from 20 schools, 25 were chosen, two of which were from UFV. Other B.C. schools represented in the finals include the Art Institute of Vancouver and Vancouver Community College.
McIntyre is excited, not only about the trip to Montreal and fashion week, but about her chances of seeing a childhood dream come true. After coming to UFV to study Visual Arts, her interest in textiles drew her into the fashion program. A graduate of Aldergrove Community Secondary, she grew up around horses and has done show jumping in Canada and the United States. While studying painting, drawing, and film at UFV, she worked full time as a rider.
“I have always had a love for fashion and for me, fashion is self expression and an everyday art form,” McIntyre says. “My goal as a designer is to connect fashion with art and popular culture through textiles. And the Télio competition, with its great textiles, is a wonderful opportunity to represent my school and be recognized on a national level.”
Meanwhile, Itto has a much more varied past. Her family fled Sudan when she was a child and lived in Egypt for several years before moving to Canada when Itto was 14 looking for a better quality of life. She lives in Abbotsford with her mother, two brothers, two sisters, and uncle. She brings her Sudanese background, and love of textiles, into the fashion industry.
UFV’s two-year, full-time Fashion Design diploma program is suited to students seeking a career in the fashion industry. It is designed to develop and refine students’ skills and talent, and covers all basic elements necessary to carry a marketable design from original idea to finished garment. Students can follow a number of options including design and production, marketing, or take a specialty in textiles.
The UFV Fashion Design program is now accepting applications for Sept 2009. For details, please visit www.ufv.ca/fashion .
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