WASHINGTON — For the second time, Cotton Incorporated will give four young designers the chance to show their collections in a joint runway show during the 7th on Sixth spring shows here.
The designers are Erik Gaskins, Sylvia Heisel, Heidi Weisel and Sophia Tezel. Their show is slated for 10 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 2, in the Josephine Pavilion in Bryant Park. Each designer will showcase between 15 and 20 outfits, said a spokesman for Cotton Inc., the promotion and research arm of the 30,000 U.S. cotton growers.
The winning quartet was chosen after interviews with about 10 designers.
Although most of the apparel will be made of 100 percent cotton, some designs might feature a small amount of other fibers.
“We didn’t want to choose someone just to have cotton featured,” said the Cotton Inc. spokesman, who added that the company spent in excess of $100,000 to produce the show. “We selected our four because they told us they had planned all along to use cotton in their creations.”
“For the retailers to start taking you seriously, you need to have a runway show,” said Tezel, who’s been in business for about 18 months. “We probably couldn’t have done something like this without help.”
To promote the event, Cotton Inc. will place ads on telephone kiosks on and around Seventh Avenue, beginning about three weeks before the shows.
During last year’s 7th on Sixth event, Cotton Inc. backed a show featuring Steven Digeronimo, Michael Leva, Zang Toi and Sarah Phillips.