What is Fashion Prize and How Do I Compete?
Fashion Prize is a fashion design competition beginning with the opening of registrations in February 2024 and culminating at Prize Fest in October 2024. In this competition, Designers who wish to participate must register with the Fashion Prize, produce a Collection of six (6) original looks, and meet the deadlines and requirements outlined below. Registration is free. Designers may only submit one collection.
When is My Collection of Looks Due?
You must complete and deliver your Collection of six (6) Looks by Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. Central Time. A detailed explanation of what should be included when you turn in can be found in the “Fashion Collection Submission” section below.
What is the Designer Portal?
The Fashion Prize Designer Portal is an online form where Designers will upload additional materials required to compete. Th is includes Designer headshot, biography, information about and inspiration behind your collection, information about your team (if any), brand information, and more. The completed Designer Portal must be fully completed and submitted by Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. Central Time.
Your Designs Must Be Yours and the Collection Must Debut at Fashion Prize 2024.
In order to be considered for the Fashion Prize’s cash award of $2,500, Designers must be able to prove the Collection is their original creation. Each collection must debut at Fashion Prize 2024 and must not have appeared in other competitions and/or showcases (except approved student class exhibitions) prior to the Fashion Prize. Individual pieces may appear elsewhere prior to competition, but the collection as a whole must be unique to the Fashion Prize 2024 competition. Evidence of the original design process must be submitted via the Designer Portal. Types of evidence include design sketches, progress photos, and records of materials acquisition (purchase orders or receipts, for example).
Must My Collection be Hand-Made or May they be Manufactured?
Both hand-made and manufactured Looks are eligible for Fashion Prize 2024 so long as they are your designs and meet the other criteria. All Looks in a Collection must be original to the Designer, independently produced and financed — no funding by commercial clothing brands). The Collection as a whole must not have appeared in other fashion design competitions, though some individual Looks or parts of Looks may have appeared elsewhere.
Use Standard Sizing Guidelines
Designers must adhere to Universal Standard Sizing Guide. Designers are STRONGLY encouraged to design for a variety of body types — this not only makes your design more accessible to a variety of models, it also shows your versatility as a designer. https://www.universalstandard.com/pages/size-guides
Will models be provided for the Runway Show?
While Designers are allowed to supply their own models for the Fashion Prize Runway Show and Rehearsal, Fashion Prize will make available a group of models available to Finalist Designers to showcase their Collection if the Designer is otherwise unable to recruit their own modeling team. Models made available through Fashion Prize will come in a wide array of body types and sizes, so if you are planning to rely on Fashion Prize to supply models, be sure to have a variety of sizes available in your Collection.
Can I Make Changes to My Collection?
The designs that are submitted to Fashion Prize for consideration must be the designs that walk the runway during the competition. However, a Designer may elect to change the exact piece of clothing for another of the same pattern and style if it is required to fit a model. Other alterations may be made to fit your model of choice. Accessories may be added as well. The spirit of the competition is that the pieces that walk are the pieces you were selected on. Designers must communicate their intent to make changes prior to committing to those changes.
Designer Responsibilities and Communication
The Designer may assign a point of contact (POC) other than the Designer to communicate with the Fashion Prize staff – to ask questions on behalf of your project and to field inquiries from us. All decisions, questions, or concerns will be communicated with the POC only. From there, the POC may disseminate any pertinent information to the Designer and their team. This is to avoid confusion and prevent multiple calls about the same issue in or out of the office. If the POC is anyone other than the Designer who submits the registration form, that information must accompany the registration form in the field “Primary Contact” which will ask for name, email, and phone number for the POC.
Keep Your Collection Under Wraps
We ask all Designers to keep their Collection as much out of public view prior to the Fashion Prize as is possible in order to facilitate an “unveiling” at the main event. If one or more of your Looks will appear elsewhere before competition, let the Fashion Prize staff know in advance.
How are Finalists Chosen?
After each Designer’s Looks are completed and submitted for consideration, the Top 5 Finalist Designers will be chosen by the Fashion Prize Selection Committee to compete during the Fashion Prize Runway Showcase at Prize Fest before a panel of nationally-recognized judges along with a live audience. The Grand Prize Winner will take home the $2,500 cash prize!