UC Students Aim High, Set Their Sites on Winning Target Competition

University of Cincinnati seniors Melissa Bodner and John Kelly worked months to prepare their entries for a prestigious Target Corporation/Council of Fashion Designers of America competition.  Now, that Target practice makes for the perfect pay off.

The two are among the three national finalists competing for a graduation prize – a paid ($35,000) one-year internship with the Design & Trend team at Target’s Minneapolis headquarters.  Last year, UC senior

Jennifer Daggy

won the competition.  She is now an assistant designer with Target.

In the competition, students from the country’s best fashion programs are invited to submit their apparel concepts aimed at a specific consumer group, as part of the “Target/CFDA Design Initiative.”  But there’s more.  The students must not only create concepts for a line of apparel, they must also provide a marketing plan: how the line would be displayed in the store, in magazine ads and more.  They must also budget the entire project.

It was a huge challenge, according to Bodner, 23, of Milford, because she and Kelly assembled their competition portfolios while also completing other studio projects and schoolwork.  “It was like carrying a double load,” said Bodner.  “But, now, we have the best part.  Our ideas were accepted by Target.  We’ve received real respect for our hard work.”

According to Phyllis Borcherding, assistant professor of design in UC’s

College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning

, the contest allows leaders in the fashion industry as well as Target designers to look at the work of rising talent, see the direction that young fashion designers are taking while also giving students a chance to gain more experience and develop their talent.

In the first step of the competition, Bodner and Kelly, 23, of Glendale, designed a fashion concept line for a specific consumer niche.  Then, they – along with competitors from 16 other respected fashion design programs – designated the best components to reach their target market.  Thus, the students must not only serve as designers but as graphic artists, marketers and merchandisers, all while hitting specific price points.

For the project, Kelly designed a career-oriented, spring and summer collection for women aged 22-35.  Employing an energetic color palette of blues, oranges, pinks and more, he provided for a great deal of flexibility within the collection, where clients could mix and match different skirts, pants, jackets and tops. 

Bodner created an intimate apparel/loungewear line in soft pastels for women 18-24 years old.  “It’s everything from undergarments to tank tops, Capri sleepwear and robe,” she explained. 

Their ideas were judged by New York designers, and both students were among ten semi-finalists from across the nation, each winning a $1,000 Target gift certificate.  From the group of 10 semi-finalists, three finalists were selected by means of telephone interviews with Target.  In mid-April, the three finalist students will each travel to Target’s headquarters in Minneapolis to interview with designers and other employees there.  Kelly will travel to Minneapolis for his interviews on April 12 while Bodner will follow on April 15.

Both students admit to being very nervous about their respective interviews with Target, however, Kelly also feels upbeat and even inspired.  “I’m encouraged by the success that Jen Daggy enjoyed and by our teachers, and I’m also inspired by the Target project.  My work has been respected and well received.  It’s geared me for my senior thesis project, another challenging project,” he said.

The schools participating in the Target/CFDA competition were:

• The University of Cincinnati
• Parsons School of Design, New York City
• Philadelphia University
• The Art Institute of Chicago
• Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City
• Cornell University, Ithaca NY
• Pratt Institute, New York City
• Rhode Island School of Design
• Otis College of Art and Design
• Savannah College of Art and Design
• Drexel University, Philadelphia
• Kent State University
• Academy of Art College, San Francisco
• Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia
• California College of the Arts