Fashion Design Grads Dazzle at Driehaus Awards, Sewing Up Top Honors
This article appears in the Fall 2026 issue of the Dominican Magazine.
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Emma Mendell ’26 and Allison Galvan ’26 are stitching their way to Chicago fashion scene success after picking up honors during one of the city’s most prestigious events.
Emma and Allison are the latest Dominican University fashion students to take home accolades for their original designs during the Driehaus Fashion Awards. This year’s awards were presented May 21 at Hotel 55 in downtown Chicago.
Hosted by the Driehaus Design Initiative, the awards promote recognition of new designers’ work and help establish connections within the fashion industry. Through their participation, Dominican students gain valuable insights in the industry and a platform to highlight their unique talents.
Emma took home two awards, winning the event’s Top Designer and Best Construction honors. Allison received the Distinguished Design Award for Retail, which includes a personalized mentorship experience with Neiman Marcus.
The students also received monetary grants supporting future design work. The featured garments were created for Emma and Allison’s senior collections, which were also showcased in April during Dominican’s Spring Fashion Show. Both graduated in May with degrees in fashion design.
Emma describes her collection of elegant dress as an exploration of “the beauty of women through transparency, structure and softness.” Allison’s collection, Uprooted, features rich textures and earthy tones that she says embody both fragility and strength. The designs were inspired by the heightened uncertainty experienced within immigrant communities over the last year, she said.
“Through crochet and the symbolism of nature, I wanted to merge my fear into hope,” Allison said. “This collection was personal and cathartic, and I can’t explain how much it means to me to be recognized in this way.”
Garments from fellow 2026 DU graduates Paola Versari, Ellery Shea, Natalie Mixon and Geanna Luna were also showcased at the fashion awards.
“This year, the Dominican students who participated in the Driehaus Fashion Awards represented an exceptional group of emerging designers,” said Antonella Fonseca, fashion lecturer at Dominican University and faculty advisor for the 2026 Spring Fashion Show. “Recognition through the Driehaus Fashion Awards gives our students meaningful visibility, but it also confi rms what they have already begun to prove through their work: they are ready to enter professional spaces with confidence and purpose.”
Recent graduates who have also earned accolades at past Driehaus Awards include Albina Ikizli ’25, recipient of the inaugural Fashion Innovator Award for her Spanish Dance collection of women’s wear mixing modernity and tradition, and Brianna Yanga ’24, who took second place for her collection Transit Opulence and also received the Neiman Marcus Distinguished Designer Award.