Drexel’s Varvara ‘Bobby’ Diakonenkova wins 2025 Supima Design Competition

Supima, the non-profit luxurious model devoted to selling American-grown Pima cotton, has named Varvara ‘Bobby’ Diakonenkova of Drexel University because the winner of the 2025 Supima Design Competition.

This yr marked a brand new period for Supima because it united its annual Supima Design Competition and Supima Design Lab into one night on November 5 at Lavan Studios in New York City, hosted by photographer and trend icon, Nigel Barker.

The occasion featured presentation-style showcases from the 2025 Supima Design Competition finalists, Festival d’Hyères finalists, and main worldwide designers, all of whom crafted collections utilizing Supima’s American-grown Pima cotton.

The evening culminated with Diakonenkova’s win, recognizing her eveningwear capsule assortment for its craftsmanship, originality, and forward-thinking interpretation of Supima cotton.

Finalists on this yr’s competitors included Caroline Hill of Kent State University; Emma Gonzalez Pini of Parsons School of Design; Griselda Peña Candelario of Pratt Institute; and Isabel Weiss of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

A panel of judges evaluated the finalists’ work, together with trade leaders Abby Silverman, Avril Graham, Danya Issawi, Evan Hirsch, Fern Mallis, Freya Drohan, Jerome Lamaar, Jian DeLeon, Kevin Huynh, Lisa Lockwood, Mandy Lee, Mickey Boardman, Natalie Lim Suarez, Nicole Chapoteau, and Tiffany Reid.

The Supima Design Lab additionally spotlighted international expertise by collections by the 2025 Festival d’Hyères finalists and main worldwide designers.