By Assunta Ng
Models for the Newspaper Fashion Contest Parade (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)
It is to some participants who were in the Northwest Asian Weekly’s Newspaper Fashion Contest. A few were disappointed when we announced the results of the contest, with three winners picked by our parade’s sponsors, last Sunday at our award reception at the Bush Asia Center.<!–more–>
What about the fun, excitement, and enjoyment of creating art? It seems that some contestants have lost sight of those significant aspects.
“The joy is in the making,” said Belinda Louie, a contestant, who along with members of the Tacoma Chinese Church, submitted three wedding-themed garments made from our newspapers. She said her team loved the whole process of collaborating, designing, and making the paper outfits. Their team won second place.
Dennis Su (driver), Yolanda Eng and Publisher Assunta Ng wearing newspaper hats made by the newspaper contest contestants (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)
Controversy at the fashion show
Deng Bo and her cake dress (Photo provided by Deng Bo)
The winning group of the fashion show sent in photos instead of a costume for their entry. While it was not required to send in costumes for the contest, we had asked the winners to bring in the newspaper outfits to display during the Chinatown Parade. Even on the day of the award ceremony, the group failed to bring in their costume, saying that the garment was fragile and they feared that it might rain. The contestants who brought in their work for display considered it unfair because they were unable to see for themselves if the group had deserved to win.
One contestant who called me afterwards suggested that everyone should have brought in their garments for other contestants to view, and then have the judges decide on the winners there. This might be a good idea for future contests, but we simply don’t have the resources and manpower to run that kind of show.
Who should get the Publisher’s Award?
It’s not easy to be a judge for the newspaper fashion contest. Certainly, I would have had a difficult decision to make if I were a judge. So we invited our sponsors, Jim Doane and Tony Massey, Janet Pritchard of the Republic Services, and former Asian Weekly editor Stacy Nguyen to be on the judging panel.
Personally, I would have voted for the birthday cake dress made by Deng Bo, because it’s very fitting both in style and the theme in commemorating the Asian Weekly’s 30th anniversary. However, judges were not asked to decide based on themes and we made it so that contestants were free to choose any theme that inspired them.
Another favorite of mine was a fabric pattern designed by Natalie Chinn. She used many Chinese characters from the headline of the Seattle Chinese Post to create a pattern for her outfit. I would not mind having a pair of dress pants or a t-shirt made with that pattern.
Why organize a newspaper fashion contest?
The celebration of our newspapers’ anniversary should not be confined to just written stories.
Though we’ll have our anniversary banquet on Oct. 5 at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel, not all of them can attend.
The newspaper fashion contest is meant to inspire readers who create art and to provide an interesting opportunity to rethink the concept of recycling. While organizing the contest, it made us feel good to discover the artistic talents of our community.
A friend of mine once said that it is important “to make art, not war.” This is an exercise to show our readers that we can find bliss, passion, and achievement through creativity. Congratulations to all the contestants who magically turned newspapers into beautiful outfits. Thank you for making our 30th anniversary more meaningful and fun. (end)