NEW YORK, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- In only four short years, the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation has established itself as one of the most influential groups in the fashion industry. Each year Ecco Domani® wines gives up-and-coming fashion designers the opportunity of a lifetime -- the chance to show their designs during New York Fashion Week. This year’s competition has been extended to award six emerging designers (five womenswear and one menswear) a grant of $25,000 to assist them in showcasing their collections during the February 2005 shows. Ecco Domani wines is proud to announce the winners of the fourth annual Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation: Thakoon, CostelloTagliapietra, Jasmin Shokrian, Mary Ping, and Richard Chai in the women’s design category, and Trovata, in the men’s design category.
“The Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation continues to grow each year and we’re thrilled with both the response from the fashion community and the success of past winners who have gone on to build strong careers in the industry,” says David Lane, Marketing Director for Ecco Domani wines. “We wish this year’s group of winners the best of luck!”
Designers from across the U.S. submitted applications via the Ecco Domani website, http://www.eccodomani.com, with submission criteria including questions about how many years applicants have been in the fashion business, and how many retail accounts they work with. In addition to references, applicants were required to submit look books and/or photographs of their work. From the initial pool of applicants, 25 semi-finalists were judged on samples of their most recent ready-to-wear women’s and men’s collections.
“Thanks to the continued support of Ecco Domani wines, six talented emerging designers will get a big boost to their careers,” says Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation judge Marylou Luther, editor at The International Fashion Syndicate. ”There were so many talented designers in this year’s group of applicants, which made the judging process extremely difficult but the six we chose are truly among the industry’s brightest stars.“
The winners of the women’s design category were selected by a distinguished committee of fashion insiders including Marylou Luther, Editor at The International Fashion Syndicate; Sally Singer, Fashion News/Features Director at Vogue Magazine; Kim Hastreiter, Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of Paper Magazine; Joan Kaner, Senior Vice President & Fashion Director at Neiman Marcus; Julie Gilhart, Vice President of Fashion Merchandising at Barneys; and Ruth Finley, Publisher of The Fashion Calendar. The men’s category committee included Madeline Weeks, Fashion Director for GQ Magazine; Jay Bell, Buyer for Menswear Design at Barneys New York; and Michael Bastian, Fashion Director, Men’s Store and Decorative Home, at Bergdorf Goodman.
Ecco Domani is proud to have helped launch the careers of fashion designers such as Zac Posen, Harmon, Libertine, Project Alabama, Palmer Jones, Proenza Schouler, Doo.Ri, Cloak, Vasseur Esquivel, Peter Som, Mark Kroeker, Tess Giberson, Derek Lam, Jeffrey Chow, and the design collective, As Four.