Empowering Imagination
Kering and Parsons The New School for Design have announced the two winners of this year’s “Empowering Imagination” student design competition. Harim Jung has been selected for her women’s ready-to-wear designs, and Yunxiang Zhou has been chosen for her men’s ready-to-wear designs. In addition to being awarded an internship at one of Kering’s 19 luxury and sport & lifestyle brands, Jung and Zhou will also take part in a closed mentoring session with Style.com and will have their work showcased at the flagship Barneys New York on Madison Avenue, in the 8th Floor Co-op from May 28 – June 10. Their collections will also be on view as part of the Parsons Fashion Benefit, taking place May 22.
The 14 Parsons BFA Fashion Design graduate finalists in the competition presented their thesis collections to a panel of fashion industry insiders, including Eco Age’s Livia Firth, Style.com’s Dirk Standen, Barney’s New York’s Dennis Freedman, Kering’s Laurent Claquin, Paper Magazine’s Mickey Boardman, and Parsons’ Simon Collins. The panel selected the two winners based on quality and conceptual vision of their thesis collections, as well as their ability to communicate the idea behind the collection. As part of a special partnership this year, Style.com has been featuring the 14 finalists on their website since May 2.