Passion for Fashion Competition - Local Winners

Elisabeth Acosta is grand prize winner of The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition in the Fashion Design Category.  As grand prize winner, Elisabeth received a full tuition scholarship to study Fashion Design at Miami International University of Art & Design.    Elisabeth’s entry into the competition is a unique one.  It is an off-white cocktail dress made of three different silk fabrics: organza, charmeuse, and raw silk.  The main features of its silhouette are the organza bubble skirt and the ruffle that wraps al the way around the collar.  The sash and racer back are also key features.  The treatment applied to the skirt was hand-dyed using a dip-dye technique in peach.  Even more unique is the blue stain dripping down from the side of the skirt.  She purposely spilled blue ink dye down the side of the dress to give it what she calls a “whoops” effect.   Her inspiration came from the works of Edgar Degas, as well as artwork and architecture from the palace of Versailles.  She wanted her garment to reflect her life and personality which include dancing ballet for seven years, providing a strong French influence that is present in the gown.    Elisabeth plans on earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design at Miami International University of Art & Design.  She explains that fashion has always been in her life from the moment she was born, and perhaps even earlier because her mother studied fashion design as well.  Her mother took her to fashion group meetings when she was a toddler.  She can remember sitting in her carriage eating lemon poppy seed muffins as she watched the ladies sip tea and talk fashion.  However, her true interest became apparent around the age of twelve when she began sketching her own “designs” in a marble composition notebook.    She then started designing and creating her own headbands after realizing just how expensive they were to purchase.  All the girls loved her creations and ultimately started buying them from her.  She hopes that one day she will become as successful as her role model in the fashion industry, Coco Chanel.  While she aspires to be like her, Elisabeth’s goal is a simple one: to create just one woman’s favorite dress in her lifetime.  It is this sense of accomplishment that motivates Elisabeth.  Much like her role model, Elisabeth wants to be daring and try new things.  She wants to follow her heart and create not only “styles,” but “fashion.”  When asked what would be the most significant contribution  she could make in the fashion world, she replies, “I have no idea what mark I will leave in the fashion world; only time will tell.  I guess the industry will have to take a chance and see what great things I can do.”

Ivy Holland of Fredericksburg, Texas is grand prize winner in the Fashion Marketing & Merchandising and Retail Management category of The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition 2009. Ivy is currently a senior at Fredericksburg High School, a small town not far The Art Institute of Austin where she plans to earn a bachelor's degree in Fashion Retail Management. Her love for fashion developed in her early teens.  Ivy has always had an eye for fashion. Her interest in the fashion industry increased in high school when she started watching "America's Next Top Model" and "Project Runway." In her spare time, Ivy designs her own fashion garments, is a member of the DECA Marketing Club at her school and works at and art gallery.  Ivy's entry into The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition was  a line of handbags she designed herself.  All of the bags are made out of car upholstery, a durable fabric that is wasting away in junk yards all around the country. She harvested all of the material with a box cutter at a junk yard near her home. The handbags combine‘Eco Friendly' materials with a unique design to produce a useable and trendy product. After Ivy earns her degree from The Art Institute of Austin, she hopes to become an event planner and travel the world, coordinating and heading up the hottest fashion shows for the hottest designers. In her career, she hopes to be able to utilize her skills to help promote non-profit organizations.