VCU fashion student Soo Hyun Kim never expected that a simple class assignment would result in having her clothing design showcased in one of the world’s biggest fashion capitals.
Kim was recently chosen as one of three U.S. finalists for the Remix 2007 International Fur Design Competition. Her design of a fox fur coat will be showcased at Mifur, the international fur fair in Milan, Italy, next spring.
Assistant professor Linda Lee assigned her junior students to make sketches of fur designs that met the criteria for the competition. Of the VCU students’ designs, four were submitted to the national level of the competition. There, Kim was chosen as one of the top three.
“There were about 73 schools that participated, and about 220 students who had entered on the national level,” Kim said.
The competition is sponsored by the International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF) and has been attracting more students each year since it was established in 2003. Entries for the federation’s 2006 competition came from more than 37 countries.
“The three international finalists will receive a generous prize package that includes a trip to Milan, cash prizes, introductions to fashion and fur industry leaders, exposure in major international fashion publications and additional public relations support,” Lee said.
While the contest is an honor, it’s also controversial. Animal rights protesters have demonstrated at fashion shows displaying fur. Some acts involve protesters climbing up on the runways to express their discontentment with animal skins being turned into clothing.
“There were some professors who were against becoming involved in the competition for animal rights reasons,” Kim said.
Keith Kaplan, executive director of the Fur Information Council of America (FICA), says it is unlikely that protesters will show up at this event. “Protesters have never shown up in the past, and I don’t think it will happen this year,” he said.
But Matt Rice, a spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said there were two protests in September against designers in Milan. On Sept. 25, protesters stormed a Burberry show, and two days later they took to the catwalk at Roberto Cavalli’s show.
“We want to point out that wearing fur supports such cruelty to animals,” Rice said of the protests. “It’s no more acceptable to skin minx or foxes alive and wear their fur than to skin cats and dogs alive for their fur.”
Though Kim finds this opportunity working with fur advantageous, she doesn’t really see herself using animal skins in the future.
“In the future of my career as a designer, I would be a little bit concerned with using animal skins, but right now, I’m looking for opportunity, so anything will do,” she said.
Kim conducted research to come up with an original fur design for her entry.
“I did some research to learn about the techniques to make the fur coat because I wanted to learn how to make it. The thing that stood out most about my piece was the sleeve, which is a net-like structure. I didn’t see any net-structured designs on the Internet or anywhere else – just whole solid pieces,” she said.
Kim’s entry for the competition will be a fox fur coat with an attached fox cape collar.
“Her design, like all the designs this year, really took things to a new level,” Kaplan said. “There seemed to be a tremendous amount of creativity. keen understanding of fur fashion design and how fur can integrate into ready-to-wear.”
The four-day event in Milan is expected to draw celebrity judges, famous designers – and about 15,000 buyers from around the world.
Kaplan said the competition can help fledgling designers launch a career in the fashion industry. “It gives them international media exposure,” he said. Magazines such as Vogue and Elle often cover the event.
Kim said she has learned a lot by entering the competition.
“I never had experience with fur, and the whole thing was just a new experience – even contacting the guy in New York making the fur coat. I never knew anything about the people making the coat. I never knew about there being one person specializing in the process of making the coat,” she said.
Kim will be in good company when she goes to Milan. She will join Emily Jean Burnett, a student at the Parsons School of Design and Natallia Pilipenka, a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology, both in New York. Burnett designed a satin and mink trench and Pilipenka designed a mink jacket.
Kaplan said the U.S. students’ designs are better than ever.
“The bar has been raised from last year. There have been some tremendous designs. They are very detailed, intricate, with very advanced techniques that showed much greater understanding of the possibilities that come from working with fur,” he said.
“We are very proud of our entries this year. In the sense of competitive spirit, I think we’ve got a really good shot!”
Kim hopes the Milan competition will open doors for her future as a designer for wedding gowns – the inspiration for her fur coat design.
“My goal is to have a wedding shop and have beautiful wedding dresses. I dreamed of making wedding dresses. That was my inspiration for this piece. I hope that my future career opens because of this opportunity.”
Pat Kane contributed to this article.