Varvara ‘Bobby’ Diakonenkova Wins Supima’s 2025 Design Competition

Varvara “Bobby” Diakonenkova has been crowned the winner of Supima’s 2025 Design Competition.

On Wednesday night, the Tempe, Ariz.-based nonprofit hosted its latest competition at Lavan Studios in New York City. The event marked the debut of a new format merging the annual Supima Design Competition (SDC) and Supima Design Lab (SDL).

“Consolidating our annual programming formats into the SDL 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.”

Hosted by English TV personality and photographer Nigel Barker, the evening highlighted work from SDC finalists nominated by top U.S. design schools: Diakonenkova of 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, Parsons School of Design, The New School.

During the cocktail reception, the five student finalists debuted their eveningwear capsule collections crafted from premium Supima cotton fabrics, created through a months-long mentorship program led by Bibhu Mohapatra, an alum of the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Following a review by a panel of industry judges — including beauty and style correspondent Evan Hirsch and WWD news director Lisa Lockwood — Mohapatra and Midyette joined Nigel Barker on stage to announce Diakonenkova as the winner. She received a $10,000 cash prize.

“I couldn’t have done [this] without my team,” Diakonenkova said during her acceptance speech. “From construction and patternmaking to laser cutting and fabric treatments, every detail was a collective effort. I also want to thank Supima and the new friends I’ve made along the way.”

The Russian-American designer’s 2025 SDC collection, “Scarred by Wires,” examined the legacy of Soviet repression and the resilience of cultural identity.

Drawing from traditional Russian costumes, communist propaganda and industrial materials like barbed wire and cement, the collection “explored generational trauma through tactile manipulation of Supima cotton,” according to the designer.

“I knew in my head that [my team and I] did everything we could to present the strongest collection possible,” Diakonenkova said. “I’m proud that I was able to share my message about my country and what we’re going through — and that I could express hope. I have hope in fashion, in feminism, in politics. We can make this world better.”

Launched in 2008 as a local competition, the SDC expanded to Paris Fashion Week in 2015 and it evolved again in 2018 with the launch of the SDL, created in partnership with the Festival d’Hyères in the south of France — recognized as the world’s oldest fashion competition for emerging designers.

The 2025 Festival d’Hyères finalists included Noah Almonte (Switzerland), Layla Al Tawaya (Poland), Lucas Emilio Brunner (Switzerland/Chile), Idaliina Friman (Finland), Xinyi He (China), Sofia Hermens Fernandez (Germany/Spain), Adrien Michel (France), Dennis Sanders (Germany), Vanessa Schreiner (Austria) and Youssef Zogheib (Lebanon).

This year’s featured international designers were Bianca Saunders (U.K.), Charles de Vilmorin (France), AFEW Rahul Mishra (U.K.), Torishéju (U.K.) and Vautrait (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 organization 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.”