Talia Bourne of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago won the 2026 Supima Design Competition during the second annual Supima Design Lab, held Thursday night at Lavan Studios in New York City.
The competition was sponsored by Supima, the nonprofit dedicated to promoting American-grown Pima cotton worldwide.
Hosted by Nigel Barker, the photographer and filmmaker, the evening brought together emerging and established global design talent.
Bourne takes home a $10,000 prize for her collection exploring the concept of entanglement. Inspired by the lifestyle of knots as they unravel, the collection showcased the transformation of each piece through the manipulation of fabric over time.
“I am in shock by my win for the Supima 2026 Competition,” said Bourne. “I never thought my art could reach this many people, and I am so happy it can be shared and enjoyed by more than myself! My experience with Supima has been the highlight of my career thus far; being able to work with industry professionals and learning from people with talents and skills that I wouldn’t have met otherwise, I’ll never forget this experience,” said the 23-year-old graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
One of Talia Bourne’s winning looks.
Matthew Carasella, courtesy of Supima
In addition to Bourne, the finalists were Changshin Park of Fashion Institute of Technology; Elias Frost of Drexel University; Tay Freeman of Parsons School of Design, the New School; Xingyi Liu of Pratt Institute, and Adelynn Prushing of Kent State University.
Developed through a monthslong mentorship program led by Bibhu Mohapatra, the finalist collections showcased the next generation of fashion talent through original eveningwear designs that demonstrated craftsmanship and innovative approaches to Supima cotton.
One of Talia Bourne’s winning looks.
Matthew Carasella, courtesy of Supima
Guests were able to view a presentation-style showcase featuring the collections from the 2026 Supima Design Competition finalists, as well as emerging designers from the Festival d’Hyères and a select group of leading international designers. Each collection incorporated Supima’s American-grown Pima cotton, known for its softness, durability and lasting color.
The Festival d’Hyères finalists are Brais Albor Rodriguez, Italy; Dieter Vlasic Obermann, Mexico-Germany; Farnia Salim, Iran; Jennifer Milleder, Austria; Lois Cousin, France; Matil Vanlint, Belgium; Rachel Luurssen, Netherlands; Sofia Castellon, Mexico-U.S.; Xiao Xu, China, and Yui Chen, China.
The leading international designers presented were AFEW Rahul Mishra, India; Jane Wade, New York; Lucas Emilio Brunner, Switzerland-Chile; Vautrait, Italy, and Youssef Drissi, Late for Work, Morocco.