Fashion Icons of the 50s Inspire Winning Dress in The Art Institutes' Passion for Fashion Competition for High School Students
 Only in high school and dreaming of a career in fashion design, 18-year-old Graehme Field is one step closer to making his goals a reality.
The Tiverton, Connecticut teenager recently won a full-tuition scholarship to study fashion design at The Art Institutes in The Passion for Fashion Competition held recently in New York City.
Open to high school seniors in the U.S. and Canada, the Passion for Fashion Competition awarded two grand-prize winners full-tuition scholarships to study fashion design or fashion marketing at one of 22 Art Institute locations with fashion across North America.
 In addition to his full scholarship, Field will attend Fashion Week in New York City in February 2007 and spend a day with the editors and staff at Seventeen magazine. Field’s winning design, a light brown knee-length dress with fitted bodice and tulle skirt, was inspired by fashion icons of the 50s, including Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn, and the woods surrounding his family’s vacation home in New Hampshire.
Said judge Stacey Monsen, Senior Designer for Steve & Barry's University Sportswear, “We were just wowed by the fact he bought all of his fabric from a local fabric store, which proves how accessible fashion can be and how important creativity and imagination is to creating a beautiful and perfectly wearable design.”
Second prize in the fashion design category went to Jasmin Abu Naba’a of Miami, Florida. Abu Naba’a won a half-tuition scholarship to The Art Institutes for her show stopping orange evening gown inspired by Latin beauty pageants. In third place, Beech Grove, Indiana teen Aaron Daniel Wardwell won a one-third tuition scholarship for his “Chicago” dress, a knee-length design featuring the skyline of Chicago in hues of dark blue.
 In the Fashion Marketing & Merchandising and Retail Management category first prize went to Nash Gilley from Des Moines, Iowa. Gilley, won for her “Fashion Savvy” entry, a “one-stop shop” for fashion designers to promote their business, including letterhead, business cards, and logo design.
 Gilley receives a full-tuition scholarship to study at The Art Institutes and will join Field in New York City for Fashion Week. The judges were impressed by Gilley’s careful thought and attention to promoting the business of fashion. In addition to her creative and cohesive concepts, the judges said the “entry was beautifully presented.”
Meghan O’Connell of Orinda, California took second prize and a half-tuition scholarship in the Fashion Marketing & Merchandising and Retail Management category for her Mother Earth’s 401K entry, an innovative approach to helping environmental organizations “generate funds and interest in their cause through the fashion industry.”
In third place, with a one-third tuition scholarship was Ashley Quinton of Auburn, Washington. Quinton ‘s entry featured “Princess Parties” for children, including every detail of party planning. In her entry, Quinton described her intention to donate Princess Parties to children undergoing treatment at Children’s Hospital in Seattle.
“Overall we were hugely impressed by this year’s entries,” said Bruce Dempsey, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs for The Art Institutes. “This is only the second year for this international competition, and we saw a tremendous increase in the number of entries from last year,” he said. The purpose behind the scholarship competition, Dempsey explained, is to encourage young fashion talent at the high school level.
The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition
Deadline for entries: The current contest entry period has expired
Find out more about The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition:
Download the Passion for Fashion Competition brochure
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