Up and coming designer Quy Vu was recently honored for her fashion design achievements in “Project Red Dress,” an exciting competition sponsored by the Seattle regional branch of Fashion Group International (FGI), and cosponsored by Seattle Metropolitan magazine and Macy's, in which twelve hand-selected fashion design students recognized as the top emerging designers in the Pacific Northwest were given four weeks and ten yards of fabric to compete against one another to create the best red dress. The students met on four consecutive Saturdays at the International Academy of Design & Technology, (Academy - Seattle) www.iadtseattle.com and were given sixteen hours to design and bring their dresses to life. Quy was awarded the third place award by a distinguished panel of judges led by Nick Verreos of Bravo TV's Project Runway, as well as the “People's Choice” award, which was determined by a majority audience vote at the sold out event.

Quy Vu has recently completed her fourth quarter in fashion design at the Academy - Seattle. Her choice of schools to attend was made clear after visiting three local design schools. Quy stated, “with English being my second language this was a big concern, and the reason I choose the Academy was how helpful the staff was during my visit."

Quy Vu came to the United States with her husband and two children in 2004. In Vietnam, Quy learned to sew to by hand when she was fifteen-years-old. Young girls were taught to sew, embroider, knit and crochet during middle and high school, but fashion design was not recognized as a subject or profession in Vietnam until after the war.

Since fashion design did not exist as a career, Quy's father encouraged her to pursue a traditional degree from the university because he thought it would make it easier for her to get a job and support herself. He considered sewing an old school profession and did not take it seriously, but Quy viewed it in a different way—as what she loved to do. When her plans for attending the university in Vietnam did not work out, she devoted her time and energy to developing her skills and her dream— attending sewing classes and sewing at home on her own. After her father saw the clothes she created, he was finally happy.

uy manages to maintain a job in Nordstrom's alteration department in addition to balancing family life and school. Quy's love for fashion is what drives her to succeed. “Fashion design is the passion of my life,” she explains.

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