Kering and the Parsons School of Design have announced Ya Jun Lin and
Tiffany Huang as winners of its fifth ‘Empowering Imagination’ fashion
design competition, which sees twelve 2016 graduates from the Parsons BFA
Fashion Design course compete for the chance to visit Kering’s Materials
Innovation Lab.
The winners were announced at the 68th annual Parsons Benefit, following
all finalists presenting their thesis 3D collection and portfolios, across
womenswear, menswear and accessories, to a panel of fashion insiders
including Altuzarra founder and creative Director Joseph Altuzarra, CFDA
president and chief executive Steven Kolb, Management Artists president and
fashion talent agent Massimiliano Di Battista, Vogue Runway director Nicole
Phelps, Saks Fifth Avenue’s SVP fashion director Roopal Patel, stylist Mel
Ottenberg, and head of Kering America, Laurent Claquin.
The panel selected two winners based on the “conceptual vision and
creativity” of their thesis collections, as well as their technical skills
and ability to communicate the unique point of view behind the collection.
Commenting on the competition, Claquin said: “Parsons’ students have,
once again, exceeded our expectations during this year’s “Empowering
Imagination” contest. Ya Jun Lin and Tiffany Huang exhibit considerable
talent.
“Their creative design and craftsmanship qualities are very important at
Kering. We are happy to offer them a fantastic learning expedition at a
number of Kering facilities in Europe.”
The winners will undertake a two-week trip to Kering facilities in Italy
in June, where they will visit Kering’s Materials Innovation Lab, which
houses more than 2,000 sustainable fabric options available for use to all
Kering brands, and many other brand locations in Milan, Vicenza, and
Florence.
The winning designers’ thesis collections will be also exclusively be
featured in Saks Fifth Avenue New York’s windows from May 27 to June 10.
Additionally, the twelve finalists were granted invaluable visibility on
Vogue.com and will be hosted for a mentoring session with Vogue.com
editors.
Burak Cakmak, Dean of the School of Fashion, added: “I am proud of the
work that the finalists presented, and thrilled that Ya Jun Lin and Tiffany
Huang will be able to experience this wonderful opportunity.
“Kering is a leader in the fashion industry, and they continue to push
past barriers into the future. At Parsons, we teach our students to think
for real world problems, and I know the winners will learn and grow from
their trip to the excellent Kering facilities in Europe.”
Images: Tiffany Huang