How to apply
Founding Edition applications are open September 21-November 1, 2026. Winners will be announced the first week of December, 2026. A second national cycle will run in spring 2027, and the awards will continue annually beginning in 2028.
Shared submission package
Every entry must include:
• A design statement of 250 words or fewer explaining the idea, audience or purpose, key decisions, and the student’s role.
• Three to five final images.
• Two to five process images showing research, sketches, experiments, revisions, or construction.
• A brief image list identifying what each file shows.
• An originality and AI-use declaration, including any outside assistance, source material, purchased components, digital tools, or generative AI used.
• Student, school, grade or equivalent level, graduation year, adviser, and parent or guardian information.
• An optional video of no more than 60 seconds.
Fashion Design
Submit one design or a coordinated collection of up to three looks. Show the front and back of each look, either as clear photographs or finished renderings. Include flats or construction drawings, a color and material plan, and development work. A constructed garment is welcome but not required; concept-only entries must provide enough technical information for judges to understand how the design would be made.
Costume Design
Submit one costume concept or a coordinated group of up to three looks. Include character, performance, cultural, or historical research; front and back views; a color and material plan; and details that explain movement, function, construction, or period choices. A constructed costume is welcome but not required. Historical references must be identified, and adaptations should be explained.
Sustainable Design
Submit one design, redesign, or coordinated group of up to three looks. Identify the environmental or material problem being addressed. Include material sourcing, reuse, repair, circularity, waste-reduction, or end-of-life decisions; process evidence; and clear support for any sustainability claims. Upcycled entries should include before-and-after images. A finished object is welcome but not required.
Fashion Illustration
Submit a cohesive series of three to five original fashion illustrations. Include at least one complete head-to-toe figure, one detail view, and process work showing development from reference or sketch to final image. State the medium and digital tools used. Illustrations may depict apparel, costume, or accessories; no constructed garment is required.
File requirements
Images: JPG, JPEG, or PNG; maximum 10 MB each; 1,500–4,000 pixels on the longest side recommended; RGB preferred. Images must be clear, upright, and free of watermarks.
Video: MP4 with H.264 encoding only; maximum 60 seconds and 250 MB. Sound is optional. Do not use copyrighted music without permission.
PDF: maximum 15 MB and 10 pages. Upload a JPG or PNG cover image first. Fonts should be embedded and pages correctly oriented.
Use simple filenames such as EntryTitle_Category_01.jpg. Do not use special characters. MOV, WEBM, GIF, TIFF, and TIF files will not be accepted.
Eligibility
Applicants must be ages 14–18 on November 1, 2026, reside in the United States or a U.S. territory, and attend a public, private, charter, online, international, or home school. Recent high-school graduates are eligible if they are still 18 and are not enrolled in a degree-granting college fashion or design program. Entries are individual, free, and limited to one per student in each category.
Teacher, parent, and adviser assistance
Teachers, parents, mentors, and advisers may explain the rules, help photograph or scan work, assist with uploads or technical issues, offer ordinary instruction and general feedback, and proofread spelling and grammar. They may not create or substantially alter the design, produce submitted illustrations, photographs, construction work, or written statements, rewrite responses in an adult voice, or submit work without the student’s knowledge and approval. Entries must be submitted by the student and must be individual work.
Originality and generative AI
All submitted creative work must originate with the student. Entrants must identify any outside assistance, source material, purchased components, digital tools, or generative-AI tools used in developing the entry. Generative AI may not create or substantially alter the design concept, fashion illustration, portfolio image, process documentation, garment photograph, or written design statement submitted for judging. Standard tools for cropping, exposure correction, background cleanup, spelling, or grammar are permitted when they do not generate or replace the student’s creative work. Undisclosed or misleading use of generative AI may result in disqualification.
Consent and publication
Applicants under 18 must provide a parent or guardian name, email, and consent to participate and to have the submission evaluated. Permission to display the student’s work, name, grade, school, and approved biography will be requested separately and clearly. Photography or video releases will be requested later only from finalists, winners, or workshop participants. Applicants who are 18 complete these permissions for themselves.
Additional rules
Previous school assignments may be entered if the student created the work and it meets all requirements. Employees, judges, adult advisers, and their immediate family members may not enter. A student directly mentored by a current judge on the submitted work may not enter that judge’s assigned category.