Crowne Plaza Promotes Budding Fashion Talent with ‘Dressed to Rest' Design Contest

ESMOD Dubai Fashion students given a regional platform to showcase work and kick-start careers

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 6 January 2013: Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts has challenged budding design students from across the region to design stylish sleepwear that help to promote a good night's sleep. As part of the ‘Dressed to Rest' competition, students must create a design which combines both form and function for the traveller on the road to success.

From 6 January 2014 fashion design students across Asia and the Middle East are invited to submit a formal sketch accompanied by a description of their design and inspiration via Instagram, by using the hashtag #DressedtoRest. The submissions will be judged in the UAE by Theresa Sidhu, Director Brand Management for Crowne Plaza in Asia, Middle East and Africa; Tamara Hostal, Director and Founder of ESMOD Dubai; Denis Ravizza, Associate Director of ESMOD Dubai; and Dubai fashion blogger, Kat Lebrasse.  The number of public votes the design sketches attract on Instagram also will be taken into consideration.

Theresa Pragasam-Sidhu, Director Brand Management, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts said: “We do our best to make Crowne Plaza hotels and resorts places that are conducive to getting a good night's rest. We know that a peaceful sleep helps our guests stay on the top of their game, which is why we want to create comfortable and stylish clothing to help them rest and rejuvenate after a hard day's work.

“With the incredible talent of local fashion students and knowing how competitive the fashion world is, being able to help promote and celebrate up and coming designers is the perfect way to highlight some new and fresh ideas on how to get Dressed to Rest. Our expert partners will help provide insight into fashion and sleep ergonomics to help inspire their creations.”

The competition criterion takes into account overall design, comfort for a good night's sleep, creativity and consistency with the Crowne Plaza brand. Voting takes place via a dedicated Statigram page that will host all #DressedtoRest submissions and allow both the public and judges to review and vote for their favourites.

Tamara Hostal, Director and Founder of ESMOD Dubai, commented: “We at ESMOD Dubai are excited by this unique partnership with Crowne Plaza and opportunity for our students to showcase their design skills in sleepwear, which is a growing and high potential area of the fashion business.

“Sleepwear presents an interesting challenge for designers”, Mme Hostal adds, “as style and appearance must be balanced by comfort to truly fulfil its purpose.  I am sure that the students of ESMOD Dubai will rise to the challenge and create some imaginative, innovative and statement sleepwear designs and I look forward to seeing what they, and their counter-parts participating in ‘Dressed to Rest' in India, Japan and Singapore, create in answer to this brief.”

After the initial round of voting, 10 shortlisted students from each market will be invited to create their designs and bring them to life, with the Grand Winner being announced on 14 March, which is World Sleep Day 2014.

In each of the countries the competition is taking place in, there will be one Grand Winner from each crowned, including the UAE, Singapore, India and Japan. A winning design from South Africa has already been chosen, as part of a sleepwear competition which took place in partnership with South Africa Fashion Week, while a separate ‘Dressed to Rest' design search in Australia will begin in March. Ultimately, there will be a six-piece collection of Crowne Plaza sleepwear – one from each of the diverse markets.

The competition is only open to fashion design students from ESMOD Dubai (UAE), Pearl Academy of Fashion (India), Sugino Gakuen (Japan), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore), LASALLE College of Arts (Singapore), Raffles Design Institution (Singapore) and any accredited design institutions based in Singapore.

Students should submit their sketches with their name, country, a short description, what makes it stylish and ideal for a good night's sleep, as well as using the hashtag #DressedtoRest.

For more information on Crowne Plaza Dressed to Rest contest, please visit: http://statigr.am/contest/pyzw/crowne-plaza-dressedtorest-contest. Submissions close 2 February 2014.