Kornit Digital and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) US, together for the third consecutive year, challenged fashion students to create designs that will be printed digitally onto the fabric, in a sustainable manner. The theme for this year’s project was ‘Wearable Water’, which provided students with first-hand insights on how Kornit Allegro is revolutionizing textile production with special emphasis on environmental concerns.
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The project focuses on encouraging textile/surface design students at FIT to create original designs with varying concepts. And, for the first time since this project began, students were able to watch in person as their designs were printed locally on the Kornit Allegro at Papilio Prints in New Jersey, US, thereby allowing them to gain industry-experience at very initial stage.
In the completion, first place was awarded to Jihee Che for her design – ‘The Sulawesi Sea: Save the Coral Reefs’. According to the designer, the piece is supposed to remind people of the seriousness of environmental pollution and endangered species. Second place went to Janisha Biyanwila for ‘Water: An Inconvenient Truth’, and third place to Rachel McGuire for ‘Blended Bycatch’.
The designs were judged on the usage of theme, digital technology; aspects such as sustainability, marketability; and overall design aesthetics, by Melissa Niederman, Art Director of The Style Council; Tom Cody of his own design company; Joe Castaldo, President of The Style Council; Nancy Fire, Creative Director of Design Works International. Representing Kornit North America were Paul Borucki, Managing Director; Jim Manelski, Business Development Manager; and Marco Paul, Strategic Accounts Manager.
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While Kornit Digital develops, manufactures and markets industrial and commercial printing solutions for the apparel and textile industry, the Fashion Institute of Technology, a college of the State University of New York, has been a leader in career education in art, design, business, and technology for 70 years.
