Project Debussy At The Boston Symphony Orchestra!

Contributed by Hayley Maybury Feb 3, 2012

Last night Nicole, Jamall and I headed over to the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s fourth annual fashion design competition. Collaborating with local fashion design programs, “Project Debussy” is an annual competition that merges the world of fashion with classical music.

This event is something the Papercut team looks forward to each year. Design students from local schools in the Boston area compete to be a part of this enchanting night. Eleven students are ultimately selected to have their garments sent down the runway for the judges and audience to view. This year the competition was tough! The dresses were gorgeous and amplified even more by the sparkling diamonds supplied by “Hearts on Fire” jewelry.

Getting ready for the show to begin!

We had such a lovely time catching up with friends and bickering over which dress we thought would win. The show finally kicked off, and we quickly took our seats to watch each model sashay down the runway to the Debussy tunes that inspired their creation.

Papercut Team! Jamall Oluokun, Hayley Maybury and Nicole Bechard ( photo courtesy of Jay Calderan)

After each garment was displayed, the judging panel took a few minutes to choose the winner of the night while members of the BSO tallied up the “Peoples Choice” winner that was generated via Facebook and Twitter.

The winner of the “Peoples Choice” was Teresa Calabro. Her navy blue gown with cascading organza flowers was breathtaking and very well-constructed. Teresa best describes the gown: "The piece is delicate, yet passionate, as emotions often are in the courtships of lovers. I intend to recreate this romanticism in my evening gown."

The judge’s choice and overall winner brought home a $1,000 grant from the French Cultural Center, a full-page ad in Boston Magazine, and an exhibit at Boston’s Copley Place. And the lucky winner was...Kowoon Jeong ! Kowoon’s dress was an eye catcher from the second it stepped on the runway! Her attention to detail and careful construction made this garment flawless. "I felt that there was a true love of beauty that Debussy was desperate for me to understand. I then saw the depth of his sadness. With my eyes closed, I imagined the hundreds of thousands of individual brush strokes that an impressionist painter applies to the canvas." Kowoon says in her description of the dress.