Newark students showcase original designs fashion reality TV show, winner gets prize worth $10,000

NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) — Students at the Newark School of Fashion and Design are ready to have their designs hit the runway on a new reality TV series.

“Newark Fashion Forward” features school students. It opened three years ago with a curriculum powered by the Parsons School of Design.

The school says “Newark Fashion Forward” is reminiscent of the famed fashion competition show “Project Runaway.”

In the series, two students host the show and present a design challenge to three teams of high school student designers who are ultimately competing for a prize worth more than $10,000.

Once the students start working, they draw, plan, cut, stitch, glue, laugh, sweat, and overcome adversity to meet their deadlines.

Students are paired off in teams that are tasked with creating an original outfit. There’s a time limit to complete it. The white team made a prom dress.

“So we have a long cape that we did. Difficult because this fabric was loose and threads kept coming out,” said Ryan Kundan, a senior, NSFD.

Another challenge was transforming one item of clothing into an entire outfit.

“We decided to make it a 2 piece outfit. This was originally one jacket. You can open the zippers as well,” said Maria Colodetti, a senior, NSFD.

Ryan even apparently cheated!

“He like, cut the other teams thread, he sabotaged them,” said Maia Shepherd, Co-host, “Newark Fashion Forward.”

There are celebrity judges, including fashion designer Marco Hall, sportswear designer Willie Esco, Fashion designer and stylist to R&B and Hip-Hop artists Misa Hylton, Director of Business Development Mitch Gambert, and Martel Francois, the founder of the Look Good, Feel Good program.

Omneya Elsoufani, who teaches apparel and textile production at the school, guides the students.

“What we see in their designs is what we will eventually see on 5th Ave or fashion boutiques,” said Havier Nazario, Chief of Staff, Newark Public Schools.

Newark Superintendent of Schools Roger León announces the winning student designers in the final episode.

“What this reality TV show does is it brings together the love and the relationships between the students and the teachers and how they support each other in their creative expression,” he said. “It also presents one of the most unique high schools in the country that not only develops students’ design skills but puts students in touch with exceptional professionals.”

“The Newark School of Fashion and Design is one of the district’s many innovative career-driven high schools, and we applaud the district’s innovative efforts of raising NSFD’s profile through an original reality TV production,” said Board of Education President Hasani K. Council. “To see our students working together to create exciting and original fashion pieces, with the help of their teachers, makes all of us on the Board very proud.”

The district commissioned the Palette Group to produce the series.

Students, family, friends, and teachers will watch the big premiere of their show at the Newark Museum of Art on Monday, September 30th at 6:00 p.m.

The first episode of “Newark Fashion Forward” airs Oct. 1 on the school’s website. Episode 2 airs on Oct. 15, and the last on Oct. 30.

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