Two Michigan State University Apparel and Textile Design students were winners in the International Textile Design Award Educational Foundation’s Virginia Jackson Design Competition (previously known as the International Textile Design Award), one of whom received first place and the other an honorable mention.

The Virginia Jackson Design Competition recognizes the most talented students in the field of textile design and challenges them to create a vehicle to bring new talent into the industry. Submitted designs were created for residential upholstery applications in three categories: Dobby, Jacquard, and Print.

Qi Zhang, a senior double majoring in Apparel and Textile Design and Advertising, was awarded first place in the Print portion of the competition while another ATD senior, Isabel Inchaustegui, was awarded an honorable mention for her print design.

Zhang’s award-winning design came from a classical Chinese book, which shows different myths, called the Classical of Mountains and Seas. Many organisms of the design are inspired by the myths about the ocean.

“I love art very much and I love to combine art into the clothes and let more people feel the charm of art in daily life,” Zhang said.

An international student from China, Zhang decided to come to MSU to learn more about other cultures and histories. She said she was attracted to the dynamic atmosphere and peaceful Michigan campus.

Inchaustegui’s design was a collage of multiple indigo prints that she dyed and created into one cohesive print. “It was important for me to work within a blue color story to make sure everything related back to indigo dying,” she said.

Inchaustegui decided to come to MSU to follow in her mother’s footsteps, who attended undergraduate and graduate school here. She found MSU’s Apparel and Textile Design program to be a perfect fit for her to express herself and to try new ideas.

“I have always loved fashion and art and was hoping I could find a major that had both,” she said.

Inchaustegui was thrilled to learn her work had placed in the Virginia Jackson Design Competition.

“It’s so exciting to see MSU students placing and winning awards against larger schools like Pratt, Parsons, and SCAD,” she said. “I’m so honored to be noticed for a piece I worked exceptionally hard on and to represent MSU in such a positive light and bring more recognition to our major.”

These are the fifth and sixth awards that MSU’s Apparel and Textile Design students have been awarded by the Virginia Jackson Design Competition.