Student Serves Up a Winner in Fashion Design Competition
What will the well-dressed tennis player be wearing in the year 2001? Just ask Santa Monica native Janina Barajas.
Barajas designed a futuristic women’s tennis outfit to win the Dream Odyssey 2001 fashion design competition. A senior at the Otis/Parsons School of Art and Design in Los Angeles, Barajas, 24, won first place in the Mizuno Fashion Design contest held Feb. 8.
This year’s sports design competition drew 10,000 entries from around the world, and Barajas was one of only 26 individuals invited to participate in the final fashion show in Tokyo.
Barajas’ winning garment was not only functional but fashionable, with a fitted bodice, bloomer shorts and a detachable skirt with a drawstring for flexibility. “Simplicity is the best, but it also the hardest thing for me,” she said. “I used a modest design and it worked well for the sports theme.
“Since I was in high school, I’ve always wanted to be a designer,” Barajas said. After graduating from Santa Monica High School, she attended Santa Monica College for three years before transferring to Otis/Parsons.
Barajas hopes to work for a women’s sportswear company after graduation this spring. About the fashion industry, she added, “In order to do it though, you have to be devoted and really love it because it’s hard work to stay in the business.”
Barajas’ winning entry will be shown at the Otis/Parsons Critics Awards Show on April 27 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
UCLA Chancellor Charles Young and University General Counsel James Holst have appointed Joseph Mandel to the post of vice chancellor for legal affairs.
Mandel, a former partner with Tuttle & Taylor in Los Angeles, has more than 25 years experience in commercial law. His duties as vice chancellor will include coordination of the campus’ legal activities in conjunction with the Office of the General Counsel of the Regents.
The Culver City Unified School District has named James Crawford the new director of business services for the Culver City Unified School District.
Crawford, business manager for Saratoga Union School District, has experience in accounting, auditing, budgets and finance. He is a graduate of San Jose State University.
The district also appointed Bruce Farr, principal of Culver Middle School, principal of Culver City’s Adult School. Farr, who holds a doctorate from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree in educational administration from Long Beach State University, will replace Reese Anderson, who retired Feb. 1.
The Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives awarded its “Professional Fund-Raiser of the Year, 1990” to Margye Baumgardner, president and chief executive officer of the Santa Monica Hospital Medical Center Foundation.
Baumgardner, who oversees all fund raising and development activities at the hospital, is a resident of Pacific Palisades.
Santa Monica College President Richard Moore has been named one of three recipients of the 1991 Humanitarian Award by the Santa Monica Bay Area Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
Since 1974, Moore has served as president of the college. He received his doctorate in economics from Claremont Graduate School, a master’s of business administration from the University of California at Berkeley and a bachelor’s in economics from Claremont College.
Other recipients of the Humanitarian Award are Irma Colen of the Venice Family Clinic and the Rev. Don Shelby of the First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica. They were honored Thursday at a dinner in Santa Monica.
Culver City’s Municipal Services Department named six Employees of the Year for 1990. They are Clancy Reed, Bobby Petel, David Williams, Ramiro Urenda, William Songer and Joe Ullrich.
Gary Audet, municipal services director, presented plaques to the honorees, who were chosen by their co-workers based on attendance, work performance and personality.
