Source: UNT News Service
Published: November 23, 2009 

UNT student wins national contest for creating job interview suit

By Ellen Rossetti

If Neil Marek wants to impress prospective employers, his interview suit will do the job.

Marek, a junior studying fashion design at the University of North Texas, designed a job interview suit that earned him first prize and a $5,000 scholarship at the national Design Your Future competition presented by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), Gap Inc. and LATINA Style magazine.

Open to fashion design majors available at 30 HACU-member institutions across the country, the contest featured five finalists -- including Marek -- who walked the runway to show their designs Nov. 1 at HACU's 23rd annual conference at the Walt Disney Coronado Springs Resort in Florida.

"It's a large national organization, so it means a lot to be recognized by the HACU and the judges. I can't thank the sponsors enough, especially Gap Inc., for financing the scholarship," said Marek, a 2007 graduate of Katy High School in Katy, Texas, near Houston.

Most of Marek's experience was in designing women's wear, so the suit pants, jacket and sweater vest are the first items Marek has ever designed to be worn by himself.

"I knew going into the competition that Gap was sponsoring it, so I knew that I would do something simple and classic with a modern twist," he said. 

The military-inspired jacket, made of Italian wool, features a mandarin collar and shoulder tabs with shank buttons. Two more shank buttons line the front. Marek designed a V-neck sweater vest to be worn underneath the jacket.

He has appeared on the runway before -- but only as a designer walking out at the end of the show. This competition was his first foray into the modeling world.

"I was nervous, but I think I did OK," Marek said. "You've just got to be natural, because otherwise you will look scared out of your mind."

Marek has no plans to wear his winning suit to a job interview just yet. But his suit was showcased in a recent fashion show presented by Members of the Designing Arts (MODA), a student organization.

Marek credits assistant professor Anny Chang, adjunct faculty member Diana Beard, teaching fellow Remy Odukomaiya and teaching fellow Angie Vu in the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design fashion design program with arming him with the skills and knowledge to succeed.