THE BRIEF
URBAN AVANGUARDIA - Italian Cool is back in Vogue

Fashion Awareness Direct Graduate Fashion Competition 2003 in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute supported by the British Fashion Council

Fashion Awareness Direct is committed to helping young designers succeed in their careers and, to this purpose, organizes an annual competition for fashion students at colleges across the UK.

The 2002 competition was held at the Institut Francais with judges including Elspeth Gibson, Russell Sage and Louise de Caires. Prizes were cheques and work placements with two of the above-mentioned designers and Shelley Fox. The winners were from the University of
East London and Central St Martins.

Entrants for the competition should bear in mind FAD's philosophy: that fashion should empower the individual and enhance the dignity of the wearer. FAD supports the ideals of creativity, innovation and originality in the design and making of fashion.

Competition Brief
Urban Avanguardia - Italian Cool is back in Vogue

Background
The scene is set in the early 1900s when Mario Fortuny’s designs were collected by ladies of an appreciative society. Admirers of his clothes included, among many others, the famous dancer Isadora Duncan. Pleated, flowing garments with exquisite textiles and sculptured drapery became Fortuny’s signature, and his passion for opera led him to design both on and off set.

In 1904, Puccini’s new opera, Madame Butterfly, was first performed in Italy. Cherry blossom, the tea ceremony and embroidered kimonos provided a beautiful setting for this passionate and tragic tale.

Puccini’s dramatic work, with its haunting melodic arias, remains one of the world’s best-loved operas. And Fortuny’s designs left a clear legacy: Italian designers are renowned for their flair, colour and use of sumptuous fabrics. His influence upon international fashion
design is acknowledged in the pleated work of the Japanese designer Issey Miyake, and the use of colour by Italian designer Missoni. Their creations have been described as museum pieces that can also be worn.

In Madame Butterfly there is a palpable connection between West and East. In Fortuny’s work, there is a more tentative suggestion - yet it exists, fragile and recurring.

This year’s competition brings together Fortuny’s legacy of fashion design and Puccini’s tragic opera with an urban element - the great Italian city of Venice. Consider the archetypal Venetian palazzo: its interiors evoke a sense of rich colours and sumptuousness, of light and shade. This is also echoed by Missoni’s use of colour for the fashion and interior
designs.

The brief
For your entry to the 2003 FAD Graduate Fashion Competition, you are invited to create two garments using these ideas as the inspiration for your designs:
The Designers Fortuny, Missoni, Issey Miyake
The Opera Madame Butterfly by Puccini
The City Venice
The Era 1900-1920
The Colours Sumptuous and Luxurious
The Interiors Venetian Palazzo
The Influences West meets East

Inspired by any of the above elements, take this forward into:
1 Past Historic
An informed timeless museum piece.
2 Future Historic
Reconstruct and reform the previous ideas and project them into the 21st Century.

The Competition Guidelines
Eligibility
1. Participants must be BA or MA students at fashion college.
2. Each college is allowed up to a maximum of three applications for BA courses and three for the MA courses.

Submissions
Submissions should consist of illustrations, showing the front and the back, for Past Historic and also front and back for Future Historic and include swatches for each category.
A research sketchbook should also be included.
We require a written interpretation (max. 200 words).

Entries should be sent by registered mail to Fashion Awareness Direct,
42 Woodlands Road,
Surbiton,
Surrey KT6 6PY,
between 25th to 29th November 2002. No entries will be accepted after that date.

The names of the finalists will be announced by mid December 2002. Each finalist will be asked to make up two complete outfits, one from each category (Past Historic and Future Historic), by 14th March 2003.

A fixed allowance will be given to the finalists to help towards the costs of making the garments.

The finalists' entries will be exhibited and the made-up garments modelled at the Finalists' Evening in April 2003 (date and venue to be confirmed). The winners will then be announced and prizes awarded.

Selection Panel
The panel of judges will represent different sectors of the fashion industry, including fashion designers, journalists, consultants, retailers and artists. The judges’ decision is final.