Elizabeth Gee (B.F.A. Fashion Design ’18) has been named the winner of the first-ever Halloween costume design contest organized by Pratt Institute and vintage clothing hotspot Screaming Mimi’s. The winning costume design is on view in the Screaming Mimi’s display window, where it will remain throughout the Halloween season.
The competition, which was open to Pratt Fashion Design majors, presented a challenge to design and create a wearable and functional costume based on the theme “Under the Sea.” Eight finalists presented their designs to a distinguished panel of fashion industry professionals who judged the competition. The judges included Laura Wills, owner of Screaming Mimi’s; Lynn Yaeger, contributing editor at Vogue and Vogue.com; Mickey Boardman, editorial director and advice columnist for PAPER magazine; creative director and Pratt alumnus Aerosyn-Lex Mestrovic; Jennifer Minniti, chair of Pratt’s Department of Fashion; and Adjunct Professor of Fashion Melanie Schmidt, who also served as faculty lead on the project.
The costumes were judged according to originality, wearability, interpretation of theme, and construction. Gee was named the winner for her fashion-forward and playful lobster costume titled “The Dancing Lobster.” Sophia Roces (B.F.A. Fashion Design ’18) was recognized as the runner-up for her crab costume titled “Crustaceous.” Yadira Nelson (B.F.A. Fashion Design ’17), Deanna Parlagreco (B.F.A. Fashion Design ’17), Jean-Baptiste Riviere (B.F.A. Fashion Design ’18), Victoria Tom (B.F.A. Fashion Design ’18), Cindy Tran (B.F.A. Fashion Design ’18), and Anthony Williams (B.F.A. Fashion Design ’18) were also finalists in the costume design competition. Each student’s work will be on display in the Screaming Mimi’s store and is available for purchase until Halloween.
“With everything we do at Screaming Mimi’s, whether it’s styling Halloween costumes or curating our vintage collection, we pay tribute to the style icons of the past while keeping an eye on the innovators of the future, such as the students at Pratt Institute,” said Wills.
Image: The winning costume design, titled “The Dancing Lobster” (second from left), by Pratt Institute Fashion student Elizabeth Gee