Reader: $100 H&M prize for a YSL design contest could be the unkindest cut

While H&M fans waited for the first Colorado store of the Swedish chain to open at the Denver Pavilions on November 10, some of Denver's best designers showed off their skills in a Cut 'n' Sew competition emceed by Project Runway contestant Fallene Wells, and sponsored by the Denver Art...

By Patricia Calhoun

November 14, 2011

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While H&M fans waited for the first Colorado store of the Swedish chain to open at the Denver Pavilions on November 10, some of Denver's best designers showed off their skills in a Cut 'n' Sew competition emceed by Project Runway contestant Fallene Wells, and sponsored by the Denver Art Museum in conjunction with its March 2012 Yves Saint Laurent retrospective.

And the winner? Tricia Hoke, already a Westword MasterMind for her creative design work.

Was the $100 H&M card that went to the winner a suitable prize for such a tough contest? That's no clothes call, according to this commenter:

The prize was only a $100 gift card and some Thursday media coverage? Did an H&M shopper buying $10 sweaters even care about these designers working? I wasn't there, so I don't know about the immediate exposure these designers may have really gotten, but this $100 gift card is not enough for such time-constrained, technical work to create a "beautiful" garment inspired by YSL! I hope there were other compensations that made these designers feel really recognized for their work and not deflated.

If Denver's active design crew has its way, there should be plenty of other opportunities for recognition in connection with the DAM's Yves Saint Laurent show; Wells hopes to organize a similar challenge with twelve contestants next spring.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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