Students Make A Fashion Statement With GM Vehicles At Chicago's Premier Student Design Exhibition

General Motors Awards Winners Of A Unique Fashion Design Competition At International Academy Of Design And Technology's Student Fashion Show

Chicago - The back of an evening gown inspired by the 17-inch "flangeless" designed wheel of the 2005 Buick LaCrosse . . . jacket sleeves emulating the smoothness and curves of the new Pontiac GTO . . . and pants with multi-purposed pockets based on the versatility of the HUMMER H3T. These were some of the inspirations for the winning fashion designs revealed at the International Academy of Design and Technology's (IADT) annual student fashion show - "IMAGINE 2004" - held last night, May 20th, in the Great Hall of Union Station. The designs were the creation of five students from IADT-Chicago who participated in a unique design competition created by General Motors as part of their title sponsorship of the fashion show.

"I was very impressed by the student's imagination and quality of the winning designs," said Clay Dean, Director of Vehicle Design for General Motors. "This is a true merger of the fashion and automobile industries - the latest in fashion design inspired by the latest in vehicle design."

Five Chicago Students Selected from 75 Entrants

Exclusive to IADT, this special GM contest sparked overwhelming enthusiasm from the Academy's fashion design students. Over 75 student designs for the GM competition were received, based on five of GM'S vehicles including the new Pontiac GTO, Cadillac XLR, Chevrolet SSR, Buick LaCrosse and the HUMMER H3T concept. The competition winners, chosen by a panel of experts in automotive design, marketing and fashion were:

Tina Davis - Buick LaCrosse Anna Glowacki - Cadillac XLR Victoria Tolbert - Chevrolet SSR Nadya Lowy - HUMMER H3T Horacio Nieto, Jr. - Pontiac GTO Clay Dean presented each winner with a framed copy of the original design sketch for the vehicles from which they drew their inspiration, along with a $500 monetary award from GM and a $100 gift certificate from an industry wholesale source. Kathy Embry, Fashion Design Program Director for IADT, noted: "Our collaboration with GM extended beyond a pure business alliance - it gave our students a real opportunity to venture into a new dimension of fashion design. Each creation reflects what IMAGINE is all about - using one's imagination to create a wearable work of art that captures their passion and makes a bold statement about the owner's personality."

About IADT's Annual Fashion Show - IMAGINE 2004 IMAGINE 2004 brought together student works from all IADT design and technology programs such as fashion design, advertising, visual communications, eCommerce, and merchandise management. This year, IADT celebrated the 25th anniversary of this annual student-run event.

IADT Background Located at One North State Street, IADT-Chicago is an accredited, four-year college that offers bachelor and associate degrees in a variety of disciplines based on a strong heritage in fashion and an expanding emphasis on high technology education.