Strengthening the symbiotic relationship between academia and industry, the School of Architecture and Design partners with external entities to expose its students to real-life industry applications.

A recent collaboration with OMT presented a new challenge for third-year fashion students to produce the next OMT professional outfit. The competition culminated in a show and an award ceremony for the winners on May 29, 2024, at the Gezairi building.

Dean Elie Haddad, representing LAU President Michel E. Mawad, inaugurated the event and thanked OMT’s management for taking this initiative.

According to Silia Abou Arbid, interim director of the fashion design program, the initiative was instrumental in meeting the school’s objectives of bringing real-life applications to the studios, and enhancing students’ preparedness for the industry’s challenges, “ensuring their adaptability and relevance in a dynamic professional landscape.”

Fifteen students were invited to submit silhouettes of the new costumes, from which five finalists were selected. The finalists then worked under the guidance and support of the school’s faculty and staff on creating their prototypes, which were showcased at the award ceremony.    

“We specifically chose third-year fashion students to compete because they have already completed their tailoring course,” said Assistant Professor of Practice Elie Baroud. “It is a nice exposure and challenge for them to reinterpret tailoring into functional designs with a classic element.”

The five designs were evaluated for the quality of the work, reviewed by juries and finally assessed by the company based on vision, aesthetics and functionality.

Commenting on her first-place win, Nour Ezzedine said she closely followed the company’s brief and considered their needs, which helped her hybrid design—combining sportswear and corporate wear—get selected as the official uniform for OMT.

Hadi Saleh and Serine Kobeissi were announced as the second and third-place winners. All three also received financial rewards “intended to help them fund their fourth year’s final project runway,” said Dr. Rudy Keyrouz, part-time economics faculty and senior marketing and communications manager at OMT.

“Your creativity, dedication and hard work have brought fresh and innovative designs that our staff will wear with pride,” he added.