Carla Pierini wins the 2023 Supima Design Competition hosted by Jeremy Scott, with a collection of collective conscious storytelling.

Design graduate Carla Pierini has become Supima’s 2023 Design Challenge winner, by presenting a heartfelt journey of South American communities abroad, through her collection of weaving stories into garments. Presented in New York’s historical Prince George Ballroom at the very beginning of New York Fashion Week, Supima and Jeremy Scott hosted its 16th annual design competition, where eight finalists from the top design schools across the United States were given the challenge of representing their personal design language and creating their own interpretations from Supima cotton, the most versatile fabric in the world.

The finalists, in the face of Amber Kuia, Carla Pierini, Alexander Ziemba, Hee Jin Hwang, Wendy Weng, Tianze Wu, Sahara Clemons, and Mariana Espinosa all created five drastically different looks across five different Supima cotton finishes in the face of shirting, twill, denim, jersey, and velveteen. Guiding them throughout each step of the way, New York legend Bibhu Mohapatra offered guidance and advice to the graduates about utilising techniques in dying, shredding, reconstructing and embellishing their fabrics and designs.

Explore Carla Pierini’s winning looks:

Presenting to an array of judges including editors, designers, tastemakers, marketing directors, and hosted by iconic designer Jeremy Scott, finalists were all examined on their storytelling, design skills and the cohesive message of their collection, with particular attention towards the myriad of techniques used to transform the Supima fabrics within a world of their own.

As the eight designers showcased their looks into a runway show in front of industry professionals and their peers, the winner in the face of Carla Pierini expressed a heartfelt speech about her designs speaking into the immigrant experience within the United States, as the collection represents a love-letter to her family and their journey. “I would like to thank my family, my team of people for making this happen and staying up with me to work late at night, crafting away and sharing the stories of people near and dear to me, as this collection is about those very stories told through a pure artform.”

As the main award recipient, Pierini will take away a prize of $10,000, alongside industry mentorship and support.