(1888PressRelease)
October 20, 2009 - SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. – Outdoor Retailer today announced the students selected to participate in the fourth cycle of “Project OR” during Outdoor Retailer Winter Market at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, January 21–24, 2010.
The 2010 Winter Market Project OR participants are Faith Anderson, Philadelphia University; John Hamilton, Purdue University; Christina Johnson, University of California, Davis; Mark Pimentel, Oregon State University and Lauren Price, Florida State University.
Project OR is a 48-hour concept-to-prototype student design competition that provides a forum for exhibiting suppliers and future designers to collaborate and showcase creative winter outdoor apparel designs using the market’s most innovative materials.
“The high-caliber students selected for Project OR’s fourth cycle are going to be challenged with a completely new concept in the design brief under development now,” said Kenji Haroutunian, Outdoor Retailer show director. “The process of Project OR gives the students the opportunity to design, source and create amidst the industry they hope to work in after they graduate, while at the same time exposing the industry to the students’ fresh interpretations of outdoor apparel using innovative materials from our supplier exhibitors.”
Project OR invites one student from five of the nation’s top design schools to participate in each cycle of the competition. Each design school selects one student from its program to represent the school at Outdoor Retailer. While each school has its own vetting process, Florida State University, alma mater to Summer Market Project OR winner, Lindsey Schuyler, evaluated its potential Project OR Winter Market representatives based on their self confidence as much as their creativity and ability to execute a design.
Wanda Brown, associate design instructor at Florida State University, said, “Project OR teaches the students the reality of meeting demands which is important to understand because the market is so fiercely competitive right now.”
Brown uses Project OR videos from past cycles as part of her classroom instruction to prepare her students for the variety of demands they will face as designers.
“Project OR is enriching our program because I can use the videos from past cycles to better teach about functional outerwear,” Brown said. “Before I had the Project OR videos to teach about jackets, it was hard for students sitting in the classroom to grasp design concepts because we mostly wear bathing suits in Florida. I remind my students that they might go into an industry that cares about outerwear.”
The Project OR Summer Market 2009 video is available at OutdoorRetailer.com.
Project OR is a prime opportunity for raw material providers to put their innovative story in the spotlight, and for top design students to stand out in a competitive marketplace.
Mark Pimentel of Oregon State University said he jumped out of his seat when he learned about the opportunity to participate in Project OR. “All of my enthusiasm about Project OR comes from being an end user, having a relationship with and depending on my outdoor clothing. I’m excited for Project OR to give me greater confidence in my design abilities and better understanding of the story behind the innovative and sustainable outdoor products created for people, like me, that have a passion for the outdoors.”
The 2010 Winter Market Project OR competitors bring a breadth of skills and experience to the fourth cycle:
• Faith Anderson- Senior design student at Philadelphia University and intern for the Laboratory of Engineered Human Protection where she learns about outerwear jacket and pant performance, comfort, construction, fit and durability for military application and is responsible for patternmaking, sewing and timing/costing garments
• John Hamilton- Purdue University senior studying apparel design and technology, liaison with the university’s professional development council and former design intern in London while studying at the American Intercontinental University
• Christina Johnson- Design student at the University of California, Davis who grew up sailing, hiking, camping, kayaking and sewing with her family in Southern California
• Mark Pimentel- Oregon State University apparel design and merchandising management double major and 2009 Columbia Sportswear intern with a native’s understanding of the Pacific Northwest’s wet-weather and outdoor adventure apparel needs
• Lauren Price- Undergraduate student at Florida State University earning degrees in apparel design and merchandising and member of Fashion Inc., the university’s collegiate merchandising association, with a special interest in product development
The participants’ expanded biographies are available on the Winter Market Student Participant page.
Past sponsors and contributing suppliers of Project OR have included 3M, CORDURA® Brand Fabrics, Concept III Textiles, Coville, ITW Nexus, JRC Reflex, Lenzing, Lunabrite Inc., Nüwa Textiles, Outlast, Polartec, PrimaLoft, Proctor & Gamble, Schoeller Textil AG, Sympatex Technologies, United Knitting, Vermont Organic Fiber Company and YKK.
For more information about Project OR sponsorship opportunities or becoming a Project OR supplier, please contact Marisa Nicholson at marisa.nicholson ( @ ) nielsen dot com dot
About Project OR
Project OR, produced and recorded live at the Outdoor Retailer trade show, is a 48-hour concept-to-prototype student design competition meant to inspire innovative outdoor concepts.
Filmed in a reality-competition type format, Project OR begins with an initial Design Brief that challenges the students to create a garment that is original, an innovative use of performance and eco-friendly materials and has a practical application for the outdoor market.
Once initial garment designs are complete, contestants turn their drawings into product using the latest fabrics, zippers and other clothing components provided by participating Outdoor Retailer supplier exhibitors. With sourcing complete, contestants spend the remainder of the 48-hour deadline at their work station (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, review each contestant's final prototype and presentation on the last day of the show, to determine a winner. The winning student receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Outdoor Retailer Summer Market '10 and a profile in Textile Insight (see most recent winner profile here).
Show attendees are encouraged to follow the students' progress in designated areas throughout the show and via streaming video on the OR Web site. Attendees can submit their vote, via a ballot box by the contestant work stations, for the Project OR People's Choice Award.
About Outdoor Retailer
Outdoor Retailer (OR), produced by Nielsen Business Media of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., is a full service trade show company that creates, markets and produces high-quality expos and educational conferences. OR is the leading outdoor industry business-to-business event management company, bringing together manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of outdoor recreation. Now celebrating more than 25 years of successful events, Outdoor Retailer (www.outdoorretailer.com) gathers approximately 40,000 attendees on a semi-annual basis for its Winter and Summer Market shows.
The next opportunity to preview the future of the outdoor industry will start at the All Mountain Demo at Snow Basin Ski Resort in Ogden, Utah on January 20, 2010 followed by the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market at the Salt Palace Convention Center from January 21-24, 2009 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Maura Lansford, SOAR Communications, 801-523-3730 (wk), 817-929-8123 (cell), mlansford ( @ ) soarcomm dot com or
Chip Smith, SOAR Communications, 801-523-3730 (wk), 801-597-7515 (cell) csmith ( @ ) soarcomm dot com
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