Fur Free Competition Grand Prize Winner
Cool vs. Cruel Competition Grand Prize Winning Design – Nicolle Bajgrowicz – The Art Institute of California – Orange County

DALLAS, Dec 14, 2012/ — Entitled “Cool vs. Cruel Fashion Design Competition,” this fur free fashion design contest challenged fashion design students at The Art Institutes schools throughout North America to creatively reinterpret and replace animal fur on runway designs by Marc Jacobs, J. Mendel, BCBGMAXAZRIA and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Today, The Humane Society of the United States and The Art Institutes announced Nicolle Bajgrowicz, a student in the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design program at The Art Institute of California – Orange County, a campus of Argosy University, as the grand prize winner of the eighth annual Cool vs. Cruel Fashion Design Competition.

As grand prize winner, Bajgrowicz will receive a cash prize of $1,000 and an expense-paid, week-long internship in New York City with celebrated fur-free designer Victoria Bartlett.

In addition, four students from across the country in The Art Institutes’ Fashion programs received top honors. Evelyn Thompson, a student in the Bachelor of Arts in Fashion & Retail Management program at The Art Institute of Charleston, a branch of The Art Institute of Atlanta, placed second and Vu Nguyen a student in the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design program at The Art Institute of Seattle, placed third and will receive $750 and $500, respectively.

Cheryl Vick, a student in the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design at The Art Institute of Houston, and Brehon Williams, a student in the Bachelor of Arts in Fashion & Retail Management program at The Art Institute of Virginia Beach, a branch of The Art Institute of Atlanta, both received honorable mention.

The judging panel selecting the winners included designers John Bartlett, Victoria Bartlett, Anna Fortino, Leanne Hilgart, Nary Manivong, Elizabeth Olsen, PAPER magazine editor Mickey Boardman, founder and president of Donna Salyers’ Fabulous Furs Donna Salyers, writer and reporter Nell Alk and editor of TheDiscerningBrute.com Joshua Katcher.

Learn more about the competition; view the original runway looks and find out about The Humane Society of the United States fur-free campaign at www.humanesociety.org/coolvscruel.

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