Winery Finery

Young fashion designers Thakoon, CostelloTagliapietra, Jasmin Shokrian, Mary Ping, Richard Chai and Trovata were winners of a $25,000 grant from the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation, allowing them to show their collections during New York Fashion Week in February 2005.

The annual competition is sponsored by Italian wine importer Ecco Domani USA (Healdsburg, Calif.).

“The Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation continues to grow each year and we’re thrilled with both the response from the fashion community and the success of past winners who have gone on to build strong careers in the industry,” said marketing director David Lane. Designers from across the U.S. submitted applications via the Ecco Domani website with submission criteria including questions about how many years applicants have been in the fashion business and how many retail accounts they work with. In addition to references, applicants were required to submit look books and/or photographs of their work.

From the initial pool of applicants, 25 semifinalists were judged on samples of their most recent ready-to-wear women’s and men’s collections.

The winners of the women’s design category were selected by a distinguished committee of fashion insiders including Marylou Luther, editor at The International Fashion Syndicate; Sally Singer, fashion news/features director at Vogue Magazine; Kim Hastreiter, editor-in-chief & publisher of Paper Magazine; Joan Kaner, senior vp, fashion director, at Neiman Marcus; Julie Gilhart, vp, fashion merchandising, at Barneys; and Ruth Finley, publisher of The Fashion Calendar.

The men’s category committee included Madeline Weeks, fashion director for GQ Magazine; Jay Bell, buyer for menswear design at Barneys New York; and Michael Bastian, fashion director, men’s store and decorative home, at Bergdorf Goodman.

Past winners of the Ecco Domani grants have included Zac Posen, Harmon, Libertine, Project Alabama, Palmer Jones, Proenza Schouler, Doo.Ri, Cloak, Vasseur Esquivel, Peter Som, Mark Kroeker, Tess Giberson, Derek Lam, Jeffrey Chow and the design collective, As Four.