Each year, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) bestows a select number of highly competitive scholarships upon students across the United States. These coveted scholarships are granted to aspiring fashion enthusiasts based on a holistic criteria of creativity, innovation, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and sustainability in fashion. Since 1996, CFDA has given out over 360 scholarships worth a total of $3.7 million. This long-standing commitment to fostering emerging talent within the fashion industry underscores the CFDA's dedication to nurturing the next generation of creative designers and fashion innovators. For the second year in a row, a Textiles and Apparel student has received this exclusive award.
Meet Jesus Del Real, 2023 CFDA Design Scholar
Fourth-year Textiles and Apparel student, Jesus Del Real, has been awarded a CFDA x Crystal Bridges Heartland Scholar award, which included a $25,000 scholarship. This award supports student design talent born in Heartland states and/or consider the Heartland their home base – having resided there for over 5 years – as well as those studying in America's Heartland. "This is a huge honor for Jesus as well as TXA," says Gail Chovan, assistant professor of instruction. Of 370 applicants, Jesus joins only twelve other 2023 CFDA award winners.
Most recently, Jesus completed a five-week design internship at Helmut Lang in preparation for the SS24 show, where he had the privilege of being one of the first interns ever welcomed by the house label. This unique opportunity allowed him to work closely with the creative director and design team, contributing to product development, techniques, finishes, and adjustments for the runway looks. A standout feature of Jesus's internship was the collaboration with the in-house atelier, where he and his fellow interns assisted the creative director and design team with various tasks. His journey as one of three interns provided profound insights into the intricacies of a legendary fashion house. Having previously interned at Peter Do's label, Jesus's notes that his return to Helmut Lang this summer was "an honor to be part of history."
Jesus is passionate about fashion, design, and the intersectionality both have with identity.
The CFDA award is a significant achievement. Can you talk about the project or collection that led to your award? What was the concept or inspiration behind it?
The project that I submitted was a collection that I call "Rebirth. Resurgence. Reflection." Rebirth is symbolic of who I was, am, and will be. Resurgence is a reintroduction of myself & Reflection is the mark I want to leave in this world— visually, emotionally, and physically.This collection was inspired by my reaction to my life experiences, a rejection of it, and a celebration of it. Triumphant. Unapologetic. Bold. Glam. Dark. Esoteric. Queer. Fluid. Feeling constrained a majority of my life but recently feeling liberated the past few years. The balance of pulling and releasing — past memories that we carry with us… letting go and unlearning what no longer serves you. I take inspiration from both natural and man made materials; lots of fluidity or something heavily structured; representing the joyous parts of my life and the more jagged ones.
What inspired you to pursue fashion design, and how did your journey in this field begin?
What inspired me to pursue fashion design was realizing how important it was to communicate to my environment in a visual & physical way. The power behind what we choose to wear everyday and how it plays a role in our surroundings fascinated me; it is transformative and a manifestation of ourselves. By expressing myself in my truest authentic form, I was able to build community and find my tribe through self expression. Making clothes made my inner child happy, it empowered me to be authentic, and continues to be a way of building community. I would say my journey in this field began when I first traveled to New York to intern during fashion week. It was then that I got insight into how the industry works and I felt that I fit right in, that's how I knew I should continue.
How have your experiences at UT/TXA impacted your goals or approach to fashion design?
I'm very grateful for the TXA program at UT, it allows me the space to fully express myself and facilitates my journey of creativity and self discovery. The faculty within the program are so supportive and encouraging of creativity and innovation and I thank them for being so passionate and being a resource for students to learn from. I eventually found my way to TXA after trying out a couple of majors after coming into UT undeclared, so I'm very greatly appreciative of UT's resources and student organizations that allowed me to explore myself creatively which led me eventually to finding TXA.
Jesus Del Real's winning collection, Rebirth. Resurgence. Reflection.
All photos courtesy of Dé Randle, local Austin photographer and videographer.
