Kering and Parsons begin 5th Empowering Imagination competition

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
May 12, 2016

Kering and The New School’s Parsons School of Design kicked off their fifth annual Empowering Imagination design competition.

 
The competition is a showcase of twelve 2016 graduates of the Parsons BFA Fashion Design program. To celebrate this year’s finalists, Vogue.com will feature each designer’s work and profile from May 11 through May 22, and the designers will be invited to a mentoring session with the editors.
 
On May 17, the finalists will present their thesis 3D collection and portfolio for womenswear, menswear and accessories to a panel of judges. This year’s judges include Altuzarra Founder and Creative Director Joseph Altuzarra, CFDA President and CEO Steven Kolb, Management Artists President and fashion talent agent Massimiliano Di Battista, Vogue Runway Director Nicole Phelps, Saks Fifth Avenue’s SVP Fashion Director Roopal Patel, Parsons’ Dean of Fashion Burak Cakmak and Head of Kering America’s Laurent Claquin.

The judges will select two winners who will be announced during the 68th annual Parsons Benefit at Pier Sixty on May 23. In addition, the winning designers will be awarded with a two-week trip to Kering’s facilities in Italy, and their work will featured in Saks Fifth Avenue New York’s windows from May 27 through June 10.
 
Past Empowering Imagination winners include Lucy Jones, the 2015 winner who appeared on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, and Jin Kay, the winner of the first Empowering Imagination competition in 2012.