Talia Bourne, 23, Wins the 2026 Supima Design Competition
Talia Bourne, a 23-year-old designer, has won the 2026 Supima Design Competition and a prize of $10,000. She is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Supima is a nonprofit that promotes American-grown Pima cotton around the world. Pima is a long-staple cotton, meaning its fibres are longer than those of most cotton and can be spun into finer, stronger yarn. Supima says its cotton is twice as strong as regular cotton. The organisation runs the competition, which is in its 19th edition.
The winner was named during the second annual Supima Design Lab, held at Lavan Studios in New York City. Nigel Barker hosted the event. WWD reported the result.
Before the event, the finalists spent several months working on their collections with a mentorship programme led by Bibhu Mohapatra. Five designers reached the final round. They are Changshin Park of the Fashion Institute of Technology, Elias Frost of Drexel University, Tay Freeman of Parsons School of Design, Xingyi Liu of Pratt Institute and Adelynn Prushing of Kent State University.
Bourne's winning collection, called "Unraveled", explores entanglement. Supima describes it as a look at what happens when something begins to unravel. The idea is central to the collection, which Bourne built for the competition.
For a young designer, the prize is money and a public showcase. For Supima, it is a way to put American-grown cotton in front of emerging designers who will choose the fabrics for their own work.
