Outdoor Retailer announces Project OR students
Outdoor Retailer today announced the five students chosen to compete in the sixth edition of Project OR, the outdoor recreation industry's 48-hour concept-to-prototype apparel design competition, to be held in January during Outdoor Retailer Winter Market (20-23 January 2011). A sixth student will be chosen soon by online action sports industry job board and Project OR sponsor, Malakye.com.
The five students selected so far are: Jenna Shores, senior at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Magaly Flores, senior at Woodbury University; Melaney Stevens, senior at Oklahoma State University; Michelle McCarthy, senior at University of Rhode Island and Silvia Guttmann, junior at the University of Minnesota, College of Design.
"With each edition of Project OR the students are increasingly astute," said Kenji Haroutunian, Outdoor Retailer show director. "Among other things, they're researching previous Project OR videos for insights in hopes of gaining a competitive edge. Now in our third year of producing Project OR, we have seen the path unfold for aspiring designers, some of whom jump-started their careers in the design competition and are now working in the business. We've also seen industry brands inspired by the young design minds, and that has been the goal since day one. We'll continue to drive and expose the future of the industry through this very special program at OR."
Once on site at the Outdoor Retailer show, the contestants will be thrown into a design experience, unlike anything else in the industry. With a challenging design brief and initial sketches in hand, students will fan across the show floor sourcing the latest in garment materials from the world's most technically advanced fabric and garment component manufacturers.
Racing the clock, contestants will spend the remainder of the 48-hour timeline at their workstations (equipped with sewing machines, cutting tables, pressing equipment and tools) building their final prototypes.
Project OR's panel of judges, comprised of Outdoor Retailer-selected designers and industry trend-setters, will step in to review each stage of the contestant's work, and to offer high-level insight and constructive critiques. Following "Scissors Down," and a rigorous final presentation, the judges will determine the Project OR winner.
Undaunted by the challenge before them, contestants anxiously await next month's show.
"I love being active and have been snowboarding for 14 years," said contestant Michelle McCarthy. "Besides designing and sewing, snowboarding is my passion. This is a really great opportunity to combine the two."
Previous Project OR participating suppliers included Brookwood, Cotton Inc, DuPont Sorona, Hyperbola, Invista-Cordura, King Tech Industry, and Polartec LLC, YKK (USA) Inc.
"OR and Project OR are unique events," continued Haroutunian. "Nowhere else can design professionals, buyers and the student competitors see the current retail trends, as well as the future of materials that drive innovation for several years out in the supplier zone. The show is a real-time experience of the entire supply-chain story that makes up the outdoor industry."
