THE COCO SOGN AWARD

THE COCO SONG AWARD:

AREA98 TOGETHER WITH HARIM ACCADEMIA EUROMEDITERRANEA

PROMOTING YOUNG DESIGN TALENT

Coco Song promotes design. Area98 - owner of the exclusive brand in collaboration with the Harim Accademia Euromediterranea - has announced the first edition of the Coco Song Award, an internal competition dedicated to Academy students offering young talent the opportunity of giving their own interpretation of the Coco Collection Song.

Known around the world for its inspiration from the Far East and its innovative use of precious materials such as silks, flowers, feathers and other natural inserts that are skilfully rolled into the frame, Coco Song is looking to the future by opening up to new colours, shapes and combinations of materials. And this is the challenge offered to the Harim Accademia Euromediterranea’s students of Fashion Design, Jewellery Design and Accessories and Interior & Product Design: to introduce new creative elements into the collection, starting from those characteristics which have become the crowing glory of the brand, whilst reinterpreting them with maximum freedom of expression. Proposals from the young talents will be destined for the Coco Song sunglasses line.

Designs will be evaluated on their ability to combine creative value and innovation with inspiration for the collection’s strongpoints, as well as to the feasibility of the proposal.

The Jury - composed of members of the Area98 Executive board, teachers from Harim Academia Euromediterranea, client opticians from the main markets in which Area98 operates together with representatives from the eyewear industry press - will select five finalists, who will be notified by February 27, 2017 at the MIDO eyewear show. The five students will then embark on a distance internship with Area98, during which they will also have the opportunity of visiting the company's headquarters in Pavia di Udine, and will be accompanied in the creation of the prototype of the their eyewear colour variant design. The winning student of the Coco Song Award will be named by October 9, 2017 at the Silmo Trade Fair.

"We are really excited about this new project,” said Elisio Tessaro, Art Director and Marketing Manager of Area98 “and we are sure that the Coco Song Award will be a unique opportunity both for us and for the students. Area98 has always been synonymous with creativity and freedom to experiment, and through this initiative we are looking for young talent driven by the desire to express themselves. The only rule is to respect the brand identity: So this is a green light for the imagination! "

For further information, please visit our website www.area98.it or our Facebook and Instagram profiles (facebook.com/area98eyewear and Instagram @ area98eyewear).

With regard to Harim Accademia Euromediterranea 

Harim Accademia Euromediterranea - located in Catania - trains students to a professional level in the fields of fashion, jewellery, photography, interior and product design and communication. Its main objective is to consecrate the Mediterranean basin as a new creative area and proof, therefore, of the impact that design and fashion can have on the cultural and economic well-being of the entire Mediterranean region.