SEATTLE, June 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Nordstrom partnered with Cuban designer Robert Rodriguez to host a T-shirt design competition for students currently enrolled in fashion or design colleges across the U.S. Students from the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York), Parsons, The New School of Design (New York), Pratt Institute, School of Art and Design (New York), Otis College of Arts and Design (Los Angeles), Columbia College (Chicago) and American Intercontinental University (Atlanta) were eligible to win one of three $5,000 grants from Nordstrom to continue their education in fashion or design. In conjunction with the competition, Nordstrom will also make a $20,000 contribution to the Association of Hispanic Arts, Inc., to benefit educational programs for the arts.
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Submissions for the competition focused on personal interpretations of Hispanic heritage with winning designs submitted by Lorna Mahler, Vanessa De La Torre and Elly Choi, all from Parsons. A panel of judges including Rodriguez, Project Runway's Tim Gunn, fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo, Anne Klein Creative Director, Isabel Toledo, fashion photographer Jose Picayo and Nordstrom Corporate Merchandising Manager Ana Capestany Swaab selected these winners based on the fashion and aesthetic appeal of the students' design. Winning designs will be produced by Robert Rodriguez as limited-edition T-shirts and will be sold in the Savvy department of select Nordstrom stores and online at http://www.nordstrom.com/ from September 15 through October 15, 2007.
Since 2003, Nordstrom has celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with an art exhibit featuring the work of Hispanic painters and illustrators from throughout the U.S. and abroad. This is the first year that Nordstrom has hosted a T-shirt design competition to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month.
"I am thrilled to partner with Nordstrom in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month," said Robert Rodriguez. "Through this design competition, customers will be able to purchase T-shirts designed by up-and-coming talent in the fashion industry with artwork inspired by Hispanic culture."
"We are honored to collaborate with Robert Rodriguez and the Association of Hispanic Arts, Inc., to highlight the style, spirit and pride of Hispanic Heritage Month," said Amelia Ransom Letcher, vice president of Diversity Affairs for Nordstrom.
Exhibit Locations
T-shirts featuring the winning designs will be available September 15, 2007 online or at select Nordstrom stores: San Francisco Centre, Broadway (Walnut Creek),Valley Fair (San Jose), Topanga (Canoga Park), The Grove (Los Angeles), Fashion Valley (San Diego), South Coast Plaza (Costa Mesa), Calif.; Fashion Square (Scottsdale), Ariz.; Park Meadows (Littleton), Colo.; Garden State (Paramus), N.J.; Michigan Avenue (Chicago); Barton Creek Square (Austin); Dallas Galleria (Dallas); Houston Galleria (Houston); Village of Merrick Park (Coral Gables), Fla.; Montgomery Mall (Bethesda), Md.; Downtown (Seattle) and Southcenter (Tukwila), Wash; Washington Square (Tigard), Salem, Ore.; Fashion Place (Murray) Utah.
About Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 155 U.S. stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 98 Full-Line Stores, 50 Nordstrom Racks, five Faconnable boutiques, one free-standing shoe store, and two clearance stores. Nordstrom also operates 35 Faconnable boutiques in Europe. Additionally, Nordstrom serves customers through its online presence at http://www.nordstrom.com/ and through its catalogs. Nordstrom, Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol JWN.
Editor's Note: For more information please contact Kendall Bingham at (206) 373-3031.
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Nordstrom, Inc.
CONTACT: Kendall Bingham of Nordstrom, Inc., +1-206-373-3031
Web site: http://www.nordstrom.com/
