NEW YORK — The Gen Art international design competition made its debut only three years ago, but it’s quickly become a hot ticket for young designers. The competition awards $5,000 to winners in five categories, including Women’s Sportswear, Eveningwear, Avant Garde, Menswear and Accessories. And this year’s winners proved to be an unusually imaginative bunch.
Take DJ Gramann 2nd, the winner in the “Avant Garde” category. He took newspapers and fashioned them into two over-the-top artsy evening dresses. Another name to watch is Doris Josovitz, the Eveningwear winner. Josovitz was inspired by the story “The Princess and the Pea” and it showed in her voluminous green dot-print dress with a plaid coat overlay.
The winner in the Sportswear division was Allison Barr, who did diamond-print skirts. Another noteworthy designer who competed in this category was Idil Vice, who created a playful Elvis sweater and trompe l’oeil postman’s shirt, complete with U.S. Post Office logo. Finally, Gretchen Hambly of Mads & Mads nabbed the Accessories award with her handbags with cutout handles.