Vera Wang Presents First Solstiss-Academy Award to Nicole Alsonso

Nicole Alsonso, a 22-year-old student at Instituto Marangoni, a fashion school, has won the first Solstiss-Academy Award. Vera Wang, the New York designer, presented it to her.

The prize is worth $5,000 in lace, along with a crystal award, according to WWD. Alsonso was also named America's Top Fashion Student at the inaugural Solstiss-Academy soiree, the evening event where the award was given.

The soiree was held at Villa Albertine, the cultural arm of the French Embassy in New York City. Organisers chose the winner on creativity and her innovative use of Solstiss lace, a French lace used in fine clothing.

Student designs from 10 participating fashion schools were shown in a runway presentation at the event. A runway presentation is a show in which designers display their collections on models walking a catwalk.

The Solstiss-Academy was set up in 2023. Its stated aim is to give emerging designers access to traditional French lace and to haute couture fabrics. Haute couture refers to custom-made, hand-finished garments at the top end of the fashion trade, and its fabrics are often expensive and hard for students to obtain.

The award is a first for the programme, so there is no earlier winner to compare with. What it gives Alsonso is material to work with and a public credit from a designer with a long career in the New York fashion industry. For the ten schools whose students took part, the presentation put their work in front of an audience that includes designers, buyers and the press.

Alsonso's prize is lace, not cash, and it is tied to one fabric. Her next projects will show how far that material takes her work.