Nigel Barker to Host Revamped 2025 Supima Design Lab

This year marks a new chapter for Supima’s competitions.
 
The Tempe, Ariz.-based nonprofit has merged its annual Supima Design Competition (SDC) and Supima Design Lab (SDL) into one “dynamic” affair. English TV show personality and photographer Nigel Barker will host the mashup—now reformatted as an immersive, presentation-style showcase—on Nov. 5 at Lavan Studios in New York City.
 
“Consolidating our annual programming formats into the Supima Design Lab allows us to celebrate emerging creativity on a global scale and to include many designers who are showing in New York for the very first time,” said Buxton Midyette, vice president of marketing and promotions at Supima. “While our roots remain in supporting the next generation of American design talent, we’re now bringing them into a larger conversation alongside international peers—creating an exchange of ideas that feels fresh, dynamic and inspiring.”
 
The revamped endeavor awards attendees the chance to get up close and personal with collections from a “diverse roster” of designers, including this year’s SDC finalists and frontrunners from the famed Festival d’Hyères of 2025 as well as select international designers. In turn, the evening will offer an “unparalleled platform for designers to present their visions in Supima’s signature fabrics,” the American-grown Pima cotton promoter said.
 
Once again, CFDA award-winning designer Bibhu Mohapatra continues his role with the SDC program, marking his 11th anniversary as mentor to the finalists. The five student finalists will debut their eveningwear capsule collections created following a months-long mentorship program with Mohapatra, an alumna of the Fashion Institute of Technology.

A panel of judges from across the fashion industry will review these collections—and select the 2025 SDC winner—to be revealed during the SDL event in November.
 
This year’s SDC finalists include Varvara “Bobby” Diakonenkova, Drexel University; Isabel Weiss, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Caroline Hill, Kent State University; Griselda Peña Candelario, the Pratt Institute, and Emma Gonzalez Pini from Parsons School of Design, The New School.
 
“Supima cotton is the world’s finest cotton—strong, soft, endlessly versatile. For young designers, it’s a canvas of infinite possibilities,” said Barker. “There’s an undeniable energy in watching this new generation transform such an extraordinary fiber into the future of fashion.”
 
Launched in 2008 as a local design contest, the SDC expanded in 2015, highlighting collections during Paris Fashion Week, evolving further in 2018 when the “Superior Pima” company launched its Supima Design Lab program in partnership with the Festival d’Hyères in the south of France, which Supima “acknowledges as the oldest fashion competition aimed at young professionals.”
 
The 2025 Festival d’Hyères finalists include Noah Almonte of Switzerland, womenswear; Layla Al Tawaya of Poland, menswear; Lucas Emilio Brunner of Switzerland and Chile, unisex; Idaliina Friman of Finland, womenswear; Xinyi He of China, womenswear; Sofia Hermens Fernandez of Germany and Spain, womenswear; Adrien Michel of France, menswear; Dennis Sanders of Germany, menswear; Vanessa Schreiner of Austria, womenswear, and Youssef Zogheib of Lebanon, menswear.
 
This year’s leading international designers are Bianca Saunders of the U.K.; Charles de Vilmorin of France; AFEW Rahul Mishra of the U.K.; Torishéju of the U.K., and Vautrait of France.
 
“By merging celebrated initiatives, Supima is ushering in a new era for its designer programs—one that honors its legacy while expanding its reach,” the nonprofit said. “The Supima Design Lab 2025 promises to be a landmark event, uniting American-grown luxury cotton with the world’s most exciting up and coming voices in fashion.”