2012 WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN NATIONWIDE FUR-FREE FASHION COMPETITION

Students from Orange County,Calif., Charleston and Seattle take top awards from The HSUS and The Art Institutes

(Dec. 14, 2012 Pittsburgh, PA) – The Humane Society of the United States and The Art Institutes announced Nicolle Bajgrowicz, a student in the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design program at The Art Institute of California – Orange County, a campus of Argosy University, as the grand prize winner of the eighth annual Cool vs. Cruel Fashion Design Competition. As grand prize winner, Bajgrowicz (pictured) will receive a cash prize of $1,000 and an expense-paid, week-long internship in New York City with celebrated fur-free designer Victoria Bartlett.

“The Cool vs. Cruel Fashion Design Competition encourages fashion students to make humane choices by educating them about problems in the fur trade, including mislabeling, environmental impacts and welfare concerns for the millions of raccoon dogs, foxes, and other animals killed every year for their fur,” said Michelle McDonald, fashion outreach manager of the fur-free campaign for The Humane Society of the United States.

In addition, four students from across the country in The Art Institutes’ Fashion programs received top honors. Evelyn Thompson, a student in the Bachelor of Arts in Fashion & Retail Management program at The Art Institute of Charleston, a branch of The Art Institute of Atlanta, placed second and Vu Nguyen a student in the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design program at The Art Institute of Seattle, placed third and will receive $750 and $500, respectively. Cheryl Vick, a student in the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design at The Art Institute of Houston, and Brehon Williams, a student in the Bachelor of Arts in Fashion & Retail Management program at The Art Institute of Virginia Beach, a branch of The Art Institute of Atlanta, both received honorable mention.

Cool vs. Cruel challenges fashion students at The Art Institutes schools throughout North America to creatively reinterpret and replace animal fur on runway designs by Marc Jacobs, J. Mendel, BCBGMAXAZRIA and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

“We are proud to partner with The Humane Society of the United States in the Cool vs. Cruel Fashion Design Competition, which offers our students a fantastic opportunity to support an important cause and to show their creativity and skill in a national arena,” said John Pufahl, vice president of academic affairs, The Art Institutes.

The judging panel selecting the winners included designers John Bartlett, Victoria Bartlett, Anna Fortino, Leanne Hilgart, Nary Manivong, Elizabeth Olsen, PAPER magazine editor Mickey Boardman, founder and president of Donna Salyers’ Fabulous Furs Donna Salyers, writer and reporter Nell Alk and editor of TheDiscerningBrute.com Joshua Katcher.

“I have gone down many different paths to lead me to where I am today. I could not be happier with my decision to stop studying biology and follow my aspirations of being a fashion designer. This win means everything to me because I hope it gets the word out about cruelty-free clothing,” said Bajgrowicz. “As a designer I think this is the right and responsible way to design, and I hope many more young designers will make the decision to go cruelty-free.” Photos of the finalists and their designs are available upon request or can be viewed on The HSUS Fur-Free Campaign's Facebook page.

Learn more about the competition, view the original runway looks and find out about The Humane Society of the United States fur-free campaign at humanesociety.org/coolvscruel. To learn more about The Art Institutes, visit artinstitutes.edu.

The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu) is a system of more than 50 schools located throughout North America. The Art Institutes schools provide an important source of education for design, media arts, fashion and culinary professionals. Several institutions included in The Art Institutes system are campuses of South University or Argosy University. OH Registration # 04-01-1698B; AC0165, AC0080; Licensed by the Florida Commission for Independent Education, License No. 1287, 3427, 3110, 2581. Since The Art Institutes is comprised of several institutions, see aiprograms.info for program duration, tuition, fees, and other costs, median debt, federal salary data, alumni success, and other important information.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization, rated the most effective by its peers. Since 1954, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. We rescue and care for tens of thousands of animals each year, but our primary mission is to prevent cruelty before it occurs. We're there for all animals, across America and around the world. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty – on the Web at humanesociety.org.

Above: Cool vs. Cruel Competition winner Nicolle Bajgrowicz, a student in the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design program at The Art Institute of California – Orange County, a campus of Argosy University, as the grand prize winner of the eighth annual Cool vs. Cruel Fashion Design Competition with with her winning garment.
Garment photo: "Garment photo by K. Bree Walker Photography. Bree is a student in Digital Photography Associate of Science program at The Art Institute of California – Orange County."
Headshot photo: "Photo of Bajgrowicz by Collin Cooper."

2012 Cool vs. Cruel Competition

In partnership with The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), The Art Institutes conducts an annual fashion competition for current Art Institutes students called Cool vs. Cruel. The competition challenges students in Fashion programs with reinterpreting and replacing animal fur in a garment that is inspired by runway looks created by famous designers.

Please visit the HSUS website to see the designer garments for this year’s competition from renowned designers that include Marc Jacobs, J. Mendel, BCBG Max Azria, and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Students should use key elements from one of the runway designs as inspiration for an original animal-friendly creation.

The judges are looking for imaginative and resourceful interpretations of each design, so please be careful not to merely recreate one of the garments.

See the 2012 contest rules, deadlines, and entry forms. Finalists will be judged by professionals in the fashion industry.

The HSUS and Art Institute’s Cool vs. Cruel Fashion Design Competition Celebrates Innovation in Fur-Free Designs

Awards reception held at new retail outlet STORY in New York on May 8

The Humane Society of the United States and The Art Institutes hosted a celebration on the evening of Tuesday, May 8, 2012 to recognize Johana Zara, a student from The Art Institute of Vancouver who recently graduated in 2012 with a Diploma in Fashion Marketing & Management, as the grand prize winner of the seventh annual Cool vs. Cruel Fashion Design Competition. The Cool vs. Cruel Competition challenges fashion students from The Art Institutes throughout the United States and Canada to reinterpret and replace animal fur on runway looks by famous designers. Zara earned first place with her Fendi-inspired piece using faux-fur, faux-suede, and polyester chiffon.

Among those in attendance were designers John Bartlett, Victoria Bartlett, and Leanne Hilgart; PAPER Magazine editor Mickey Boardman; and The Discerning Brute blog founder Joshua Katcher, all of whom were judges for the competition. In addition were Ed and Meryl Mandelbaum of Designers & Agents, Barbara Kramer of Designers & Agents, and Project Runway finalist Emilio Sosa, along with many other industry professionals who joined in a fun, fur-free evening celebrating Zara’s distinction.

The reception was held at STORY, a pioneering new retail model created by Rachel Shechtman, a seasoned marketing and retail consultant known for launching innovative marketing work at Gilt, Tom’s Shoes, Bliss, Kraft, AOL and others. A 2,000 square foot store located in Manhattan’s burgeoning retail corridor of 10th Avenue, STORY was a great backdrop for the fashion-focused celebration.

Above: Cool vs. Cruel Competition winner Johana Zara, a student from The Art Institute of Vancouver who recently graduated in 2012 with a Diploma in Fashion Marketing & Management, poses with her winning garment.

Above: Johana Zara, a student from The Art Institute of Vancouver who recently graduated in 2012 with a Diploma in Fashion Marketing & Management, is with a few of the competition judges (left to right): Designer Leanne Hilgart, The Discerning Brute blog founder Joshua Katcher, and Designer John Bartlett.

Above: The Cool vs. Cruel Competition Awards Reception was held at a new retail outlet called STORY in New York City.

Winners Announced in Nationwide Fur-Free Fashion Competition

Students from Vancouver, Dallas and Pittsburgh Take Top Awards

The Humane Society of the United States and The Art Institutes announced Johana Zara from The Art Institute of Vancouver as the grand prize winner of the seventh annual Cool vs. Cruel Fashion Design Competition. Matthew Vice from The Art Institute of Dallas placed second, Golden Skyy from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh placed third and Melissa Hoffman from The Art Institute of California—Los Angeles received an honorable mention.

The Cool vs. Cruel Competition challenges The Art Institutes students in fashion areas of study throughout the United States and in Vancouver to reinterpret and replace animal fur on runway looks by famous designers. This year's finalists were selected from among more than 200 entries.

"This program encourages fashion design students to make informed choices by educating them about the millions of foxes, raccoons and other animals who are killed every year for the fur trade," said Michelle McDonald, fashion outreach manager of the fur-free campaign for The Humane Society of the United States.

As grand prize winner, Zara will receive an expense-paid, weeklong internship in New York City with fur-free designer Victoria Bartlett. Bartlett has judged the Cool vs. Cruel competition for the past two years and was the recipient of The HSUS's 2010 Compassion in Fashion award. Zara earned the prize with her Fendi-inspired piece using long faux-fur, faux-suede and polyester chiffon.

"I'm amazed by the creativity of these future designers," Bartlett said. "I'm hoping that in the coming years, more designers will begin making compassionate choices and move away from the cruelty of fur."

Selecting the winners were designers John Bartlett, Victoria Bartlett, Marc Bouwer, Ally Chomer, Leanne Hilgart and Elizabeth Olsen; fashion photographer Nigel Barker; PAPER Magazine editor Mickey Boardman; and The Discerning Brute blog founder Joshua Katcher.

"This means a lot to me as I just decided to focus on fashion design this year," said Zara. "My passion for sketching and creating came out through this competition and winning makes me feel that design is the right route for me."

Photos of the finalists and their designs are available upon request or can be viewed on The HSUS' Fur-Free campaign Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/HSUSFur-Free.

"Entering competitions such as this presents an amazing opportunity for students to learn and hone their craft," said vice president of Academic Affairs at The Art Institutes John Pufahl. "They gain practical, hands-on experience and can build their portfolios of work, which will prove beneficial when they enter the industry."

Learn more about the competition and see the original runway looks at www.CoolvsCruel.org. Find more about The Art Institutes schools at www.artinstitutes.edu.

The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu) is a system of more than 45 educational institutions located throughout North America. The Art Institutes schools provide an important source for design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals. Several institutions included in The Art Institutes system are campuses of South University. See aiprograms.info for program duration, tuition, fees and other costs, median debt, federal salary data, alumni success and other important info.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 11 million Americans, or one of every 28. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the Web at humanesociety.org.