Murrieta woman, April Yang, wins Project Style Competition

One of our very own Inland Empire residents has one the national Project Style competition. April Yang one out of over 600 contestants based on her sense of style, fashion, and overall presence. This is an amazing thing to happen to anyone and we’re beyond proud that this young woman comes from the Inland Empire!

Murrieta, Calif. resident April Yang has always loved fashion and dressing up, but little did she know that her talents would elevate her to national acclaim through her local shopping center, Promenade Temecula. Yang, a 19-year old fashion design student at Palomar College in San Marcos, Calif., has been selected as the national winner of the shopping center’s Project Style contest – an online fashion competition which garnered entries from more than 600 fashion hopefuls throughout the nation.

“Winning this competition is a dream come true,” says Yang. “I have been interested in fashion since I took my first sewing class in high school. The opportunity to share my own style with a national audience while also being recognized by leaders in the fashion industry is something I will never forget.”

As the winner, Yang will recieve an all-expense paid trip to New York Fashion Week 2013, where she will rub shoulders with the top fashion experts in the nation and receive personalized attention from Project Runway celebrity designer Nick Verreos. As part of her prize, Yang will attend an exclusive runway show with Verreos, and will spend a day shopping with him in SoHo. Verreos will also create a personalized gown sketch for Yang.

Yang selected her winning look from various stores at Promenade Temecula. The outfit included a denim top ($21.33) and silver bracelet ($7.80) from Forever 21; heeled boots ($45.24) from Reflection; a body-con dress ($50.86) from Macy’s; a clutch ($21.97), ring ($7.97), necklace ($9.97) and earrings ($6.43) from Charming Charlie, and sunglasses ($7.95) from H&M. She says that her winning outfit was inspired by architecture, featuring hard lines, soft curves and ornate details.

“I wanted to focus on the principles of design, including balance, emphasis, rhythm, proportion, and harmony,” she explains. “Using each of these elements, I created a look that is structured, but still feminine.”

Her video, entitled “Fashion is Art,” was reviewed alongside 15 other semi-finalists throughout the U.S. by national judges, including fashion guru Nick Verreos, The Style Network’s host of How Do I Look?, Jeannie Mai, and Jane Lisy, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Forest City.

“Each Forest City shopping center is committed to bringing unforgettable experiences to local shoppers, and Promenade Temecula is no exception,” said Lisy, who has been recognized by the industry for her award-winning retail leadership and technology experience with shopping centers. “We were excited to have hundreds of stellar participants in this year’s contest. Each semi-finalist’s video was judged based on the contestant’s understanding of style, presentation, and design, and April emerged as the clear winner.”

Yang also runs a fashion and do-it-yourself YouTube Channel (youtube.com/coolirpa), which is followed by more than 30,000 subscribers and has garnered over three million views.

“My videos inspire people to be creative and different by personalizing their clothes and mixing up their wardrobe,” says Yang. “This is exactly what I hoped to accomplish through the Project Style competition as well. My hope is that through me, people can see that fashion, like art, can be interpreted in many ways.”