In November, a University of Texas at Austin student majoring in textiles and apparel won first place in a national design competition run by Cotton Incorporated. Seihak Long's designs earned him the top prize of $2,500 and will be showcased at Cotton Incorporated's World Headquarters.
The LifeStyles in Cotton Design Contest challenged entrants to design an "athleisure" look that used at least two different fabrics from Cotton Incorporated's FABRICAST™ line. Athleisure is a term for clothes that are appropriate for either athletic and/or leisure activities.
The competition's first round required contestants to choose their fabrics and submit sketches of their designs. Ten finalists were picked from the entries to continue on to round two, where they had to physically construct the garments from their own designs.
Long designed five pieces for the contest: a backpack, a tennis cap, a cape, jogging pants and a top. He used moisture-wicking fabric for some pieces and a water-repellant cotton for the cape, so that it could be used to protect the wearer from the elements.
Unfortunately, Long ran into some setbacks along the way. His supplies arrived in Austin just as he was about to leave for his internship in New York with jeweler Alexis Bittar. Since he didn't have the resources to complete the garments while in New York, Long had to finish the pieces in Austin.
A combination of 14-hour days and express shipping allowed Long to complete and submit the garments by the deadline. His efforts were rewarded when he received notice on his birthday that he had won first place.
One area that inspires Long's ideas is architecture.
"I get a lot of inspiration from buildings and the structure, the arch or the window," said Long. He considers clothing design like "learning how to sculpt a structure on a body rather than on a physical building."
People also help to inspire Long.
"The people at Gearing Hall are so friendly and they really want you to succeed and they keep pushing me forward and that's how I am so determined and enjoy what I'm doing," said Long. "Two of my favorite professors are Ockhee Bego and Eve Nicols. They are the ones who actually have been supporting me through all my journey from freshman to senior. They are the ones who put in the hardest amount of effort and just want to see me thrive. They're just absolutely amazing people."
After graduating in May, Long plans to take some much needed rest before pursuing his career.
"I would like to take a break for three months just to backpack around southeast Asia," said Long. "After that I would love to see myself in a larger corporate company like Target or JCPenney. My dream job is to be an international buyer."
