By MIKE KELLEY
The BYU fashion design major was praised with the 'Award for Excellence' at the 1997 International Textile and Apparel Association competition, Nov. 12, in Knoxville, Tenn.
A major within the Clothing and Textile Department, BYU's fashion design major was nominated for the international award by Oregon State.
'We are really excited about the award,' said Catherine Burnham, an assistant professor of apparel design in the Clothing and Textile Department.
She said the award was presented by the American Textile Manufacturing Institute.
Mary Farahnakian, associate professor of apparel design, and four students, presented eight of their own clothing designs in the international exhibit, because they were finalists at the competition.
She said BYU's department feels fortunate to have so many designs represented in the international competition.
'We are grateful to have wonderfully talented students who have allowed us to promote their designs in an international arena,' she said.
Farahnakian and Burnham presented the student entries at the competition.
Tamara Rhoads, Janet McEntire, Lynda Larsen and Esther Allen submitted five of their designs and Farahnakian submitted three of her own designs to the competition.
'Because the designs passed the first round of the judged competition, they were put into the exhibit as a reward,' Farahnakian said. 'It is such a great honor for our department.'
The designs are mainly displayed to spread information, she said.
Esther Allen, a senior from Phoenix, said she was happy to have her design of the 'Bajoran Wedding,' a theater costume, on display at the Knoxville Museum of Art.
Every year BYU's Clothing and Textiles Department has a few students that enter designs to the competition, Farahnakian said.
'Our department is at a peak,' she said. 'BYU is internationally known and recognized partly because of this department.'
Farahnakian's design entries were 'Crown of Apparel: The Queen of Sheba,' 'The Czarina Alexandria' and 'The Princess Kinship.'
The other student designs are Larsen's 'Legacy: Hands Across Time,' McEntire's 'Ambiance' and Rhoads's 'Deer Valley Metro' and 'Sundance.'
More than 90 designs by faculty, graduate and undergraduate students from across the world will be on display at the ITAA Design Exhibition at the Knoxville Museum of Art.