UA Student Named Top Designer in National Competition

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Priscilla Kellogg, a University of Alabama senior from Pelham, was selected as one of the top 43 designers in the nation during the 2002 Arts of Fashion Competition.

Kellogg, a fashion and apparel design major in the UA College of Human Environmental Sciences (HES), will now compete at the National Arts of Fashion Competition in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Oct. 31.

A jury of eight industry, media and education professionals selected Kellogg. The theme of this year’s competition was love and fashion.

At the National Arts of Fashion Competition, 15 finalists will be selected to attend the Finale of the International Young Fashion Designers Competition in Paris. Also, a major scholarship will be presented at the Cincinnati competition to attend the international Fashion Design postgraduate program at the prestigious Institut Francais de la Mode de Paris.

The Arts of Fashion Competition aims to promote and reward creativity in young designers as well as provide opportunities to make contacts and exchanges among the fashion industry. The competition is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

“This competition is giving my work more exposure,” Kellogg said. “I believe it will open many doors for me in the fashion and design world.”

Dr. Marcy Koontz, assistant professor of apparel and textiles in HES, was part of the professional jury, which looked at full color sketches of the students’ designs and a technical sheet with sample fabrics. “It is a huge honor to be selected as one of the top 43 designers at this competition,” Koontz said. “Priscilla Kellogg will be given the opportunity to make many contacts in the fashion industry and it can open many doors for her,” she noted.

Kellogg will graduate in December 2003. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school.

“The University of Alabama’s apparel design curriculum is a great program,” Kellogg said. “The professors are hands-on, creative, fun and exciting to work with. Dr. Koontz encouraged me to enter the competition and she has always pushed me to do my best work,” she added.

The UA College of Human Environmental Sciences was established in 1917. The College is well known for its comprehensive approach to higher education. Students seeking degrees in professional service industries are served by its academic programs, classroom instruction, real-world experience and mentoring by experienced faculty. The College offers degree programs in apparel and textiles, athletic training, consumer sciences, early childhood development, financial planning and counseling, food and nutrition, family and consumer science education, health studies, human development and family studies, and interior design.