SEATTLE (July 20, 2010) – Two talented IADT-Seattle fashion design students Rebecca Beesley and Gingerlyn Bellus walked away with all three of the top awards at the third annual Project Red Dress competition Friday, June 4, 2010. Beesley received the top honors in the competition, including the People's Choice award. Bellus was first runner up. Second runner up honors went to Jason Arrington of the New York Fashion Academy.

Rebecca Beesley's winning design. Photo by Mike Adams.

Project Red Dress is a competition created by the program chair for fashion design & fashion merchandising at IADT-Seattle, Monir Zandghoreishi. Zandghoreishi was looking for an opportunity for students to not only participate in a project with real-world outcomes, but also support a good cause. Project Red Dress invites students from design schools in the Seattle area to create a runway-worthy red dress in only 16 hours.

Proceeds from the event benefit the American Heart Association's Go Red campaign supporting heart health awareness for women. Students only have 16 hours and $200.00 of donated fabric to complete a dress of their own design. The dress can be in whatever fabric they choose, but it must all be red. The dresses are judged behind closed doors, and a final winner is selected after a walk down the runway.

In the elegant Spanish Ballroom at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Life-sized sketch of first runner up Gingerlyn Bellus's design. Photo by Mike Adams. the eleven designers presented their red dresses to an audience filled with friends, family and Seattle fashionistas. Four judges included local couture designer Luly Yang; Nicole Vogle, publisher Seattle Met magazine; local fashion promoter, contractor and fund raising consultant Rose Dennis; and Nick Verreos, designer and "Project Runway" contestant.

The winning designer received a $3,000 scholarship to their school and a three-month internship with local couture designer, Luly Yang. Their dress will be displayed in the window of Luly Yang's shop on 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle.

Life-sized sketches of all the designs also were done by Malusa Pinto of the fashion design department at IADT-Seattle and placed around the ballroom. The sketches are available for purchase by contacting Monir Zandghoreishi at mzandghoreishi@iadtseattle.com. All proceeds benefit the American Heart Association.

About The International Academy of Design & Technology Seattle
The International Academy of Design & Technology provides educational programs that are designed to prepare students for professional opportunities and career success in select design and technology fields. The Seattle campus, which opened in 2004, offers a variety of Associate of Applied Science and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in fashion design, interior design, graphic design, digital media production, fashion merchandising and game production. Both credential levels are not available for all programs. IADT-Seattle is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools to award associate's degrees and bachelor's degrees. IADT-Seattle does not guarantee employment or salary and is a member of the Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ:CECO) network of universities, colleges and schools. For more information on IADT-Seattle visit www.iadtseattle.com.