New York student wins High School Fashion Design Award

model
Robert Barker/University Photography
Maylian Luo '11 models the design by Sarah Song, winner of the first High School Fashion Design Award from the fashion design program in the Department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design.

Sarah Song, a student at Tappan Zee High School in Orangeburg, N.Y., is the winner of the first High School Fashion Design Award from the fashion design program in the Department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design (FSAD). The competition, judged by a panel of FSAD faculty and three alumnae, attracted entries from more than 200 high school designers nationwide.

As the first-place winner, two Cornell students used Song's winning sketch to fabricate an asymmetric chiffon gown with sequined that appeared on the runway of the 26th annual Cornell Design League Fashion Show. Song, her teacher and her parents looked on as the dress debuted.

"We were amazed by the imagination, the creativity and the skill that we saw in the entries overall, and deciding on just a few winners was a very difficult task," said Susan Ashdown, the Helen G. Canoyer Professor in FSAD. "The future of our industry is in great hands with these talented young designers."

Other winners attended the show, including Yea Weon Kim (second place), of Washington, Conn., who won an iPod and a rendering of her sketch by a Cornell design student; and third-place winners Jing Yang of Potomac, Md.; Tiffany Dang of San Jose, Calif.; Madeline Jones of Pittsburgh; and Yael Wiesenfeld of Scarsdale, N.Y., who each won $100 gift cards for art supplies.

The finalists and their guests received a backstage tour during the show and were treated to a reception beforehand and a brunch with students on Sunday. In addition to the six winners who came to campus, the judges awarded 22 gold and 31 silver honorable mention certificates.

Ted Boscia is assistant director of communications in the College of Human Ecology.

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