Project OR Winter Market

Project OR Winter Market 2012

Six Selected Contestants from the Nation's Top Design Schools!

Paula Lam – Senior at San Francisco State University. Raised amid the high-tech community of San Jose, Lam has a passion for combining unexpected materials for design aesthetic and function.
Julia Mangelsdorf – Senior at Kansas State University. Magelsdorf is currently a teaching assistant in aesthetics courses with a love for camping and hiking.
Lauren Mellor – Senior at Auburn University. A recent intern at Stephanie D. Couture in Portland, Oregon, Mellor balances collegiate athletics and honor roll academics.
Kelsee Morefield – Senior at University of Idaho. Morefield was recently featured in an International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) fashion show and is a member of the Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society.
Margaret Mussman – Junior at University of Cincinnati. As a former competitive snowboarder, Mussman is a life-long adventurer with an eye for a career in the outdoor industry.
Jennifer Hirsch - Currently studying Fashion Design at the Savannah Collage of Art and Design, Jenn is a designer who lives and breaths the outdoor industry and lifestyle.

About Project OR

Project OR is a design competition that celebrates the functionality, originality and design of outdoor recreation clothing. Project OR has hand-picked five design students from top design programs around the country to produce a garment prototype that is original, an innovative use of performance and eco-friendly materials, and has a practical application for the outdoor market.

Once initial garment designs are complete on the first day, contestants turn their drawings into products using the latest fabrics, zippers and other clothing components provided by participating supplier exhibitors. With sourcing complete, contestants spend the remainder of the 49-hour deadline at their work station (equipped with sewing machines, cutting tables, pressing equipment and tools) building their final prototypes.

Project OR Winter Market competitors are filmed in a reality-competition type format that begins with an initial Design Breif and follows them through the conception, sourcing, production and final presentation stages of the competition. Video footage of each day of the competition will be posted to this page by 12:00pm the next day.

Recap Project OR 2011

And the Winner is... Melaney Stevens of Oklahoma State University!

Melaney Stevens

Congratulations to Melaney Stevens of Oklahoma State University for winning the judges’ vote and overall competition during the show at this year's Project OR!

Stevens designed a stretchable, water resistant ice climbing pant to meet the specifications outlined in the Project OR design brief including flexibility, protection and versatility. Stevens' clean, feminine take on the specialized technical garment, combined with a modern look using targeted incorporation of color, won over the panel of industry design gurus judging the entries.

"My focus is in custom bridal wear so coming to Project OR was a new challenge," Stevens said. "I like being exposed to new apparel and new fabrics. It's changed my perception and I'm going to really look in this industry for opportunities in the future."

As the winner of Project OR, Stevens receives an all-expenses-paid return trip to Outdoor Retailer Summer Market '11 and a profile in Textile Insight.

Congratulations to University of Minnesota design student Silvia Guttmann for being runner up and selected for the People’s Choice Award!

Guttmann’s design, selected by OR attendees from six student designs, met the specifications outlined in the Project OR design brief for a functional women’s ice climbing pant while still providing a fashionable, attractive garment for consumers. Guttmann used Polartec and Shoeller fabric for the body of the pant, with lining from Hyperbola, reflective material from JRC Reflex and 3M, YKK zippers, pulls and buckles from ITW Nexus, and padding in high impact areas from Poron