Tomas for Supima: Men's T

A little over a year ago, we posted about the Supima Design Competition - where Robin Tomas' winning mens T would go on to be produced and sold at Bloomingdale's. I meant to check this out on this past weekend during the launch but never got around to it - so I went to check it out after work this week since I'm not too far from Bloomy's.

Supima cotton is one of those fabrics that just feels right. It's so friggen soft that sometimes I wish all my clothes were made out of it. The T comes in a midnight blue outer layer and heather gray under layer - and of course it's damn comfortable!

One of the first things I noticed about the T is that it only had two layers as opposed to three in Tomas' original design. It's funny how things usually get modded during production whether it's to cut cost, logistical or whatever the case may be. While I do like the look of the three layers, I think two is adequate - three would have just added more weight to the T and upped it's retail price.

Probably what I liked most about the shirt were the raw edges. The under layer on the sleeve and the hemlines on the body were both left raw which was nice. I just wished raw hemlines on jersey would stay put instead of rolling up (like on my arm in the pic).

If you're interested in picking up one of these T's, they are sold exclusively at Bloomingdale's flagship store on 59th and will set you back $88. Considering a basic T by the Supima line will set you back about $50, I don't think this is overpriced (albeit it's not super cheap either!).

Supima Design Competition 2010 Runway Show

Last night I had the chance to attend Supima's annual design competition that is now in it's 3rd year running. They held the event and cocktail reception at The Times Center in midtown. The event space was beautiful and they had dresses from previous competitions on display where I could admire the textures and details up close & personal.

It was a full house that night, perhaps a little bit overbooked as not everyone was able to make it inside the theatre where the show was held. Luckily, I was one of the fortunate ones and thereby able to bring you inside the event.

With birch trees & cotton balls/branches as the backdrop, models made their way down the catwalk.

Canadian Supermodel, Coco Rocha, was on-hand as guest presenter and announced all of the winners from the nights event.

The first contestant was actually the twin sister duo behind Sachika, To-Tam Ton-Nu and To-Nya Ton-Nu. They created a circle skirt cocktail dress in denim, asymmetric draped gown (not pictured) butterfly halter dress with removable sleeves and a tuxedo inspired men's tee. I thought the butterfly halter dress was an especially great piece.

Next came Michael Venkers creations that featured an a-line denim dress, asymmetric jersey dress with unravelled jersey webbing, tiered shirting dress & draped men's tee.

Nadia Ivanova's Solar energy panel creations came next that utilized layers of applique & Swarovski crystals. Personally, I found the denim look to be a bit heavy but thought it worked best in the men's tee. I did however think the spiraling gown in shirting was particularly well executed.

Robin Tomas created softly sculpted super feminine eveningwear. An evening gown in denim with applique, sweeping cocktail in knit jersey and ballgown bursting with ruffles from shirting. He also created a triple layer tee for men that would go on to win for best tee shirt design.

Heber Sanchez created more sculptural silhouettes including a sheath with back zipper in denim, ribbed knit cocktail dress with side train, T-Suit tee and net skirt ballgown. I thought the ballgown's bodice featuring striped shirting worked into a chevron was quite visually interesting.

Last but not least was Gina DeSilva, who won the competition for Best in Show with her beautiful craftsmanship, attention to detail and great use of each of the different categories of fabric (shirting, knit and denim). Congratulations Gina, you definitely deserved your hard earned win.