One of the missions of StyleWeek Providence is to always be at the forefront of fashion innovation. The company recently tapped into an overflowing source for innovative fashion design—the fresh minds of students. StyleWeek created a professional stage, where these budding designers can capture the attention of fashion industry insiders. SEED is StyleWeek's inaugural student design competition, open to college students in the region.

“We wanted to procure the next wave of designers and encourage innovation and stay abreast of young design. A student design competition was a perfect platform to accomplish this,” said Jonathan Joseph Peters, Creative Director and VP of Brand Development for StyleWeek LLC.

SEED parallels Styleweek’s “innovation” theme for Autumn/Winter 2012. Students were asked to support that theme by exploring recycled and sustainable fashion. Since the young designers are fresh on the fashion scene, they can fully embrace the future of fashion and avant-garde ideas about design and sustainability.

Hundreds of students submitted designs to participate in the competition, but only 16 were selected to compete at the StyleWeek event. The participating fashion scholars attend colleges and universities in Rhode Island, and nearby Massachusetts, including the University of Rhode Island, Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, School of Fashion Design in Boston, Lasell College and Massachusetts College of Art. During the show, all participating designers will plant the seed of true innovation in the minds of attendees as their creations step onto the catwalk.

“So many of the student submissions were amazing, it was very hard to choose only 16,” said Rosanna Ortiz Sinel, Founder and President of StyleWeek Providence.

Five industry professionals will judge the competition and one student will be named the true seed of fashion's future. The winning student designer will receive a $500 cash award courtesy of StyleWeek, an installation at StyleWeek Spring/Summer 2013. In addition, the winner will get to kick start his or her career with two months representation for marketing and public relations from StyleWeek PR.

SEED promises to be the place where innovation meets education and Swarovski took note. The internationally-known brand showed its sparkling appreciation for avant-garde fashion by sponsoring competition.

 

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SEED JUDGES:

BOB GRANT

Bob was recently named Director, Strategic Marketing Initiatives with Swarovski North America’s Consumer Goods Business.  This appointment marks an exciting new career direction for Bob … he has previously served Swarovski, during his fifteen year tenure, in supply chain management roles. His earlier career in supply chain management has included positions with Leach & Garner International and Waldenbooks. Bob’s involvement with StyleWeek Providence began with his volunteer work with the American Heart Association of Southern New England where he has served as a member of the Executive Leadership Team for three years and as Chair of the 2011 Heart Ball Committee. With his wife, Mimi, he is very active in the local arts & cultural scene, and serves as Vice President of the Board of Festival Ballet Providence.

LISA PIERPONT

Lisa Pierpont is the founder and editor-in-chief of Boldfacers.com. Prior to Boldfacers.com, Lisa was a three-time Emmy Award-winning producer for the Chronicle show, a nightly newsmagazine on WCVB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Boston. Over her 15 year tenure, she produced half-hour shows on art theft and autism, the death penalty, last chance schools for troubled teens, and the inside workings of the Atlantic Monthly; boarded a freak-out supersonic flight on the Concorde, and survived a tricky landing on a tiny airstrip in St. Barth; profiled a Harvard professor hunting extraterrestrials, an author in search of his homeless father, and a child of Chernobyl seeking a new start in America. For the show, she traveled to all over the United States as well as Venice, London, Paris, and the Caribbean. A graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Lisa also contributes to various publications, including DailyCandy.com, Boston Common Magazine, the Boston Globe ("Ask the Sartorialist" columnist), Improper Bostonian and continues to freelance produce for Chronicle. 

DANIELA CORTE

Daniela Corte laughs easily and lives without reservation. She wakes at the crack of dawn, and is fueled through the day by adrenaline, new ideas, good coffee, and the mad swirl of creativity around her. She loves big, thinks big, and dreams big.

That very same spirit is found in the clothes she creates. When the indefatigable designer founded her eponymous women's line in 2000, she gained an instant following among busy, discerning lovers of fashion. Corte both designs and lives by the mantra Timeless elegance in your everyday life. She is steadfast in her commitment to putting women in elegant, gutsy clothes that meet the day's challenges with flying colors everywhere from the boardroom and soccer practice to red-carpet soirees. Her beautiful creations embody fashion-meets-function bravado−that all-too-rare balance of practicality and panache.

That's been her way since she was born−in Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America's fashion capital. Her father, a men's designer there, introduced her to her first bolt of silk when she was six, and she was hooked for life. First came training in the family business, then graduation from The Boston Fashion School, followed by work with several well-known Boston designers before opening her own studio in Back Bay, the high-end retail nexus of Boston. There she established a cutting-edge manufacturing process, using the newest, most inspiring fabrics from all over the globe.

Since then, the awards have kept coming: Best Local Fashion Designer from Boston Magazine; Distinguished Alumni Award from The Boston Fashion School, among others. With her 2011 collection, Corte dives into the realms of swimwear and resort after years of custom designing such pieces for her clients.

KATE NEWTON RICHARD

Kate is Chief Operations Officer with Beauty and Main, a locally owned and operated chain of luxury cosmetic boutiques. With a 13 year career spanning all facets of the industry, it is the development of small business that Kate is most driven by. With a passion for brand development and strategy, she has spent her 6 years with Beauty and Main searching for spectacular, under the radar products that differentiate her stores from competitors. Combined with a passion for downtown commerce, local operations, and innovative company management, Kate has launched a network of like-minded proprietors and managers with a similar goal; keeping small business in America alive and well.

DOREEN SCANLON

Doreen Scanlon helps wake up southern New England every morning beginning at 5 am. Anchoring Good Morning Providence gives her the unique chance to be the first one to tell viewers about what happened overnight and what they can expect in the day ahead. Doreen also anchors ABC6 News at Noon.

In 2010, Doreen won an Associated Press Award for her reporting. Her series "Made in Rhode Island" named "Best Hard News Feature."

Before coming to ABC6 in early 2007, Doreen was the morning and noon anchor at KOAM-TV in Pittsburg, Kansas/ Joplin, Missouri.

Doreen is proud to be involved with several local charities, namely the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the American Cancer Society, and the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

She is a graduate of Boston College with a Master's degree in Broadcast Journalism from Emerson College. When not cheering on the BC Eagles, Doreen is often found out on the ocean with her husband, Parker, and her dog, Fitz.

 

ELIZABETH HOPKINS

As a woman who has stood--furrowed brow/towel-on-head, in front of an open closet on many a workday, Elizabeth Hopkins has no idea how she was tapped to judge the SEED student fashion show! Yet she presses on, delighted to encourage budding talent in some small way.  Ms. Hopkins is a member of the morning ensemble at Boston's FOX 25.  She arrived there from WPRI in Providence, Rhode Island, where she anchored the morning and noon shows and co-hosted "The Rhode Show," a lifestyle and entertainment program. Before that, she spent several years WKOW in Madison, Wisconsin, where she anchored and reported daily, where she garnered an Emmy nod. Prior to working in Madison, she anchored the evening news at KNBN in Rapid City, South Dakota.  She began her career at KAUN in Sioux Falls.  Ms. Hopkins still believes herself to be an "Autumn," despite the fact that it is no longer 1987.

 

PAUL BROOKS

Paul Brooks moved to Rhode Island in 1971 to go to the Rhode Island School of Design...and he stayed.  He's been a free lance designer and a teacher, and owned a business in Providence for twenty years. He worked for the City of Providence for eight years, and is currently the Chairman of The Providence Tourism Council, and sits on the Board of the American Heart Association.

 

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