Gastonia, N.C.-based RadiciSpandex Corp. recently feted the winning designs submitted in three
categories by students from The Fashion School of Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, for the
company’s 2008 “Stretch to the Future” Design Competition, as well as designer Marc Bouwer as
honoree judge for the competition. The event was held May 20 at the Italian Trade Commission’s
offices in New York City.
Eighteen junior-class design students at the school submitted eveningwear, swimwear and
lingerie designs using stretch fabrics made with RadiciSpandex fiber and provided by Brookwood
Cos., Charbert Fabrics, Darlington Fabrics, Guilford Performance Textiles, McMurray Fabrics,
Milliken & Company, Sextet Fabrics, Startex and Symphony Fabrics. Competition winners included
Jenni Smas, Grand Prize/Eveningwear; Andrew Spargo, Swimwear; and Sydney Sustarsic, Lingerie. Smas
used Stretch fabrics from Milliken for her floor-length evening gown. Spargo’s one-piece swimsuit
and cover-up ensemble was made with black fabrics from Darlington and Sextet. Sustarsic designed a
two-piece intimates ensemble using fabrics from Milliken and Startex.
Luciano Radici, regional director, Americas, for RadiciSpandex’s parent company, Italy-based
The Radici Group, presented the 2008 Stretch to the Future crystal award to Bouwer. Marty Moran,
CEO, RadiciSpandex presented scholarship awards to Smas and Spargo for their winning entries. Barry
Ross, president of Lingerie Award sponsor The Underfashion Club Inc., a Clinton, N.Y.-based
lingerie industry trade association, presented the Lingerie Award, which was accepted by Dr.
Elizabeth Rhodes, director, The Fashion School of Kent State University, on behalf of Sustarsic,
who was not able to attend.
May 27, 2008