By Daniar Listyasari, The Chic Sheet Intern
Kay King, Honoree
Everyone from Coco Chanel to the First Lady has worn the iconic LBD. From cocktail dresses to maxi dresses, from formal to casual, the little black dress is a fashion staple loved by all.
Judy Nyquist & Shannon Hall
No wonder that the Little Black Dress Designer (LBDD), founded by Jeff Shell of Neal Hamil Model Agency, with some help from his presenting sponsor at Momentum Audi, has become a well – known fashion competition in Texas. This year’s Little Black Dress Project will celebrate its 5th year in Houston and for the first time has changed its name to Little Black Dress Designer and expanded the exact same contest to Dallas. Houston will be held on May 14th at the House of Blues, Downtown Houston and Dallas is May 22, also at House of Blues, Dallas. LBDD gives students an amazing opportunity to showcase their designs and provides a great platform for fashion students and emerging designers to shine and compete for great scholarship dollars to further their studies in this field.
Jeff Shell announcing last year’s winners
This year’s event chairs are Shannon Hall and Judy Nyquist and the 2013 Event honoree is Kay King, founder of the fashion design program at Houston Community College. There are 16 Celebrity Judges from the Houston Fashion scene such as Joy Sewing (Houston Chronicle), Sydney Dao (Dao Chloe Dao), and David Peck (designer). From the many applicants that were received, the celebrity judges have narrowed it to the top 10 finalists in the student fashion design scholarship contest. The top 5 designers for this years’ LBDD competition will win part of the $30,000 scholarship fund to the school of choice.
Being a student myself and just starting my career in the fashion industry, I love to support my fellow colleagues in their dreams to become the next iconic fashion designer. I think that LBDD is a great opportunity for us to go and see our friends and/or colleagues for inspiration. Of course, I’ll be cheering for my friend Julio Sanchez, but there are many talented designers in the event that will amaze you.
You must definitely see these great talents yourself! Tickets range from $50 to $100 and $25 for students. Visit www.littleblackdressdesigner.com for more information on this amazing event. Who knows, we might just discover the next fashion icon!
Some highlights of last year’s competition and fashion show presentation…
