Virginia Ammidon, a senior at the New York School of Interior Design (NYSID), won the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) New York Chapter’s fifth-annual Design This! Competition, and will have her bold, linear design featured as part of a newly launched fabric collection by Bolé Road Textiles.

As part of the competition, seven New York design students were given the challenge of designing a textile pattern. The runners-up were Aishwarya Govind of Pratt and Kevin Lee Yi of NYSID.

Winner Virginia Ammidon working on her design

Hana Getachew, IIDA member and founder and creative director of Bolé Road Textiles, was the inspiration for this year’s competition. A curator and designer of authentic fabrics, Getachew partners with artisans from her native Ethiopia to reinterpret traditional motifs and colors, which are then handwoven into home accessories. For the Design This! challenge, she asked participants to create patterns inspired by two new collections, Bolé Road to Brooklyn and Modern Take, patterns influenced by urban living and traditional Ethiopian patterns reinterpreted for modern settings.

“Design This! is a wonderful opportunity for students to get practical experience, and learn from designers in the IIDA NY network,” says Getachew. “We’re really excited for the chance to work with our winner and make her vision a part of Bolé Road Textiles.”

Hana Getachew, Sheila Kim and Jeanine Hays review the design presentations.

The students had an hour and a half to design three textile patterns after a debrief with Getachew and IIDA NY committee co-chairs Lauren Buchanan and Anne Wood. The students were asked to present not only their designs but also their inspirations and thought processes. Ammidon was named the winner by Getachew and judges Sheila Kim, editor at Architectural Record, and Jeanine Hays, editor in chief of AphroChic.

Kevin Lee Yi, Aishwarya Govind, Virginia Ammidon, Hana Getachew, Sheila Kim and Jeanine Hays

After some workshopping to refine the design, Ammidon’s winning piece will be incorporated into Getachew’s new collections, which will debut at BKLYN Designs this May. The designs will also be sold online with the e-commerce launch of Bolé Road Textiles this spring. Every online purchase will contribute to imagine1day and Eden Projects, organizations based in Ethiopia.

Photos by Kristina Buller for IIDA NY