Get ready to dress for success, because the results are in for CTAHR’s Design Contest!
This past February, Dean Nicholas Comerford invited Fashion Design and Merchandising majors and minors to participate in a clothing design competition. With so many FDM students submitting their entries—and a total of $3,600 on the line—the competition was fierce. The judges, a panel of established fashion designers and FDM faculty, had a tough job deciding how to rank each category.
Why hold a contest? Dean Comerford had three goals in mind: to recognize the amazing talent in the state’s only B.S. program in fashion design, support budding fashion leaders toward a career in haute couture, and spark some fresh and creative visual ideas for CTAHR’s new line of merchandise.
“CTAHR faculty and staff have public-facing roles. We meet regularly with legislators, industry executives, trade associations, and UH leadership. We work hand-in-hand with farmers, ranchers, and nonprofits,” says Dean Comerford. “Our shirts show who we are and support the idea that CTAHR and UHM are in the community, across the state, helping people where we can.”
The most diverse college in the UH system, CTAHR covers everything from agriculture to family services, from pre-veterinary care to human nutrition, from bioengineering to textiles. The college needs distinctive designs that represent faculty, researchers, staff, and students in all sorts of clothing applications.
For this reason, the competition had three categories: “Business” (tasteful and professional, à la the Aloha shirt), “Action Jackson” (hip and cool, à la James Bond), and “Open, No Limit” (encouraging our designers to let their creative juices flow). Some of the winning designs will adorn polo shirts more suited for professional events and T-shirts for wearing “in the field.” There are also whimsical designs for hats, baby onesies—even dog sweaters. The sky’s the limit!
Congratulations to our up-and-coming student designers! and a big mahalo! to everyone who helped make this contest possible. Andrew Reilly, who runs the program, says the contest has “strengthened the ties between FDM and the rest of CTAHR.” He gave a special thank you to Dean Comerford for providing this opportunity for the Fashion Design and Merchandising program.