Nassau, Bahamas - Mode Îles Ltd., the producers of the award-winning fashion
event, Islands of the World Fashion Week, have announced the establishment
of two scholarships in conjunction with the internationally-recognized
Parsons The New School for Design, based in New York, for a promising
young fashion designer to attend one of the many summer intensive programs
offered at the institution to enhance their skills in various aspects
of the fashion industry.
The first scholarship will
be awarded to the recipient of the NextGen Designer Award competition
which is held annually during the Islands of the World Fashion Week
in November, and selected by a panel of international judges. Past recipients
of the NextGen Designer Award have been Tamiko Browne of St. Vincent
& the Grenadines, and Darcel de Vlugt of Trinidad & Tobago.
The second scholarship, named
in honor of the late Bahamian designer, Harl Taylor, who attended the
school’s New York Summer Intensive program and then went
on to graduate from the Paris program, will be established specifically
for a young Bahamian designer. The recipient will be selected by an
independent panel of judges at the preliminary fashion event dubbed
“Runway to Fashion Week”, scheduled to be held 3rd October,
2010, at Mario’s Bowling & Entertainment Palace, Nassau, Bahamas.
In a joint communication, both
the dean of the School of Fashion at Parsons, Simon Collins, and President
of Mode Îles, Owen Bethel, expressed their personal pleasure and support
for the initiative “as it displayed a confidence not only in the development
of the youth and encouragement of their creative skills and dreams,
but also hope for the ultimate contribution to economic development
and diversification of the economies of many of the island nations around
the world.”
Mrs. Beverly Taylor, mother
of the renowned designer, indicated that “it is a fitting tribute
to Harl’s legacy as he was very concerned about the involvement and
development of the youth of the country. He would be proud to see the
continued affiliation of his alma mater with the development of the
fashion industry in The Bahamas.”
Designers eligible to compete
for the award will have to show to the panel of judges that he/she has
paid close attention to creativity, expression of style, selection of
fabric and color, and quality of execution of the design. Factors such
as cohesiveness, commerciality, marketability, creativity and originality,
and practicality of the design will all be taken into consideration
by the panel, including the assessed potential of both the designer
and the garments in the international fashion market.
