Nationwide Fur-Free Fashion Competition Winner Announced

Related: Apparel

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.

"The Cool vs. Cruel Fashion Design Competition encourages fashion students to make humane choices by educating them about problems in the fur trade, including mislabeling, environmental impacts and welfare concerns for the millions of raccoon dogs, foxes, and other animals killed every year for their fur," said Michelle McDonald, fashion outreach manager of the fur-free campaign for The Humane Society of the United States.

Cool vs. Cruel challenges fashion 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.

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.

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