FASHION DESIGN JUNIORS WIN TOP PRIZES IN FIFTH ANNUAL PRATT AND GOLDSMITH COMPETITION

Competition Challenges Students to Create Dresses and Illustrations for Goldsmith Mannequins
 

Center L-R: Angel Ho and Kate Wilkoff's second- and third-place dress designs, surrounded by the work by other competition finalists displayed in the Goldsmith showroom

Pratt fashion design juniors Dana Hurwitz and Angel Ho were awarded the top prizes for their design and illustration work as part of an annual competition held between Pratt Institute's Department of Fashion Design and Goldsmith, a premier designer and manufacturer of mannequins, to design looks for Goldsmith mannequins. Hurwitz received a $1,000 prize for her cocktail dress and Ho received a $500 prize for her fashion illustration. The competition, which is in its fifth year, represents the first time that students work with a critic from the industry.

Hurwitz and Ho were among the 12 finalists selected by Dan Evans, president and creative director, Goldsmith, to have their garments and illustrations displayed at the Goldsmith mannequin showroom at 601 West 26th Street in Manhattan. All finalists were students in the fashion department's Cocktail and Special Occasion studio class led by Adjunct Professor Linda Sands and were challenged to create an architectural look or a dressy romantic look using a color palate of camel and/or white. Each of the finalists received a Goldsmith mannequin shipped to his or her home.

Dana Hurwitz's prize-winning cocktail dress displayed in the Goldsmith showroomGoldsmith clients, including visual merchandisers and buyers from stores all over the country, voted on the competition winners during market week in December 2010. The three top prizewinners for dress design were Hurwitz, Ho, and Kate Wilkoff. Hurwitz's cocktail dress features combination silk bodice and a hand-sewn ostrich skirt with an asymmetrical sheer drape that can be worn over one shoulder or left loose over one side of the skirt. She is a native of Chappaqua, N.Y. Ho's design incorporated three shades of woven and hand-sewn golden sand ribbons that capture the iridescent beauty of koi fish scales. She is a native of Hong Kong. Wilkoff's design entailed a one-shouldered, hand-sewn embroidered strap with hand-fluted white bodice and a layered white to camel organza knee-length skirt. She is a native of Cabin John, Md.

Ho and Wilkoff also took first and second place, respectively, in the illustration part of the competition. Juan Pozo, of Ocala, Fla., was awarded third place for his illustration that accentuated the geometric angles of his dress design and left the figure blank in reference to the classic Goldsmith mannequin.

Designs from the annual competition will be on view to the public from 10 AM to 5 PM., Monday through Friday at the Goldsmith mannequin showroom at 601 West 26th Street through September 5, 2011.

Photos: D. Oscar Horner

Event Celebrates award-winning Pratt Chair

L-R: Alvaro Uribe (B.I.D. ’10), Tim Richartz (B.I.D. ’86), Interior Design Editor in Chief Cindy Allen, Mark Goetz (B.I.D. ’86), Ashley Thorfinnson, (M.I.D. ’11), Cabot Wrenn President Ryan Stites A gathering at the Pratt Manhattan Campus earlier this month celebrated the new Pratt Institute Chair, named Best-of-Year by Interior Design magazine.

The chair was designed by a creative team led by faculty member and furniture designer Mark Goetz  (B.I.D. ’86), which also included faculty member Tim Richartz (B.I.D. ’86), and industrial design students Alvaro Uribe (B.I.D. ’10), and Ashley Thorfinnson (M.I.D. ’11).

The designers were introduced by Cindy Allen, editor-in-chief of Interior Design magazine, and spoke about the process of creating the chair, which was designed to give physical form to the perspectives and multi-dimensional talents represented at Pratt, while upholding Pratt’s mission of sustainability.

Cabot Wrenn, a premiere furniture manufacturer with a strong environmental mission, manufactured the chair, meant to be a timeless, beautiful, and functional piece.

Proceeds from chair sales benefit Pratt's academic programs. For information on purchasing the chair, visit www.cabonwrenn.com.

Photo: Kevin Wick

ALMOST 2,000 CHILDREN ATTEND AMERICA READS/COUNTS COSTUMED READOUT AT PRATT

President Thomas F. Schutte reads to children at the America Reads/Counts annual costumed readout. Click here to see more pictures from the event.Pratt’s America Reads/Counts program hosted its eight annual Costumed Readout in the gymnasium on the Brooklyn campus on March 4. The five-hour event featured Pratt faculty, administrators, students, and community members serving as volunteer tutors to 1,800 children at 27 stations set up for reading and related activities.

America Reads/Counts is a federal program designed to address falling literacy scores by offering tutoring. Pratt has offered the program since 2000, and now has about 70 Pratt students who tutor about 5,000 children a week at more than 40 schools and other sites across New York City.

Photos: Kevin Truong

RECENT GRADUATE WINS IPAD IN ALUMNI association RAFFLE

Office of Alumni Relations to Offer More Chances to Win at Upcoming Events
 

Kristan M. Karwacki (M. Arch. ’10) displays the iPad she won in a raffle of alumni business cards, when her card was pulled from the box. The raffle was held by Pratt’s offices of Alumni Relations and Corporate Relations, which have invited graduates at every Pratt alumni event in recent months to leave their business cards in a raffle box to win an iPad tablet computer. This practice will continue, affording more opportunities to enter the lottery at alumni events for a chance to win this handy and stylish device.

The next raffle will take place April 4, when alumni in the Philadelphia area will have a chance to enter at a special event at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens. Stay up to date at alumni.pratt.edu.

Photo: Amy Aronoff

BAP Holds 18th Annual Career Day

L-R: BAP Event Manager Denise Wiggins, BAP President Gerri Brown (B.F.A. ’76); architect Darius Somers (B. Arch. ’08); artists Derrick Adams (B.F.A. ’96) and Mickalene Thomas (B.F.A. ’00); and fashion designer Samantha Black (B.F.A. ’05) at BAP’s 18th annual Career Day for area high school studentsThe Black Alumni of Pratt (BAP) held its annual Career Day in Higgins Hall Auditorium on March 10. Students from high schools throughout the New York metropolitan area attended the event, which—for the 18th consecutive year—invited distinguished alumni to present their work and discuss their careers with secondary school students. Career Day encourages students to stay in school and pursue higher education. The program has served nearly 30,000 students representing 30 secondary schools since its inception in 1993. 

Photo: Margot Jordan