NEW ORLEANS — Lilly Pulitzer®, a leading retailer of colorful and uplifting apparel known for its whimsical and stylish fashions, is the recipient of the U.S. Cotton Champion Award for 2005.
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Amy Oppenheim (L), a public relations associate with 2005 Cotton Champion Award winner Lilly Pulitzer, accepts the crystal bowl from Cotton Foundation President Allen Helms Jr., a Clarkedale, AR, producer, during the 2005 Cotton Counts fashion show in New Orleans. |
The 2005 U.S. Cotton Champion Award is in recognition of the company’s commitment to the use of U.S.-grown cotton in its clothing. The 6th annual award was presented here Jan. 5 at the 2005 Beltwide Cotton Conferences by the National Cotton Council of America on behalf of its National Cotton Women’s Committee.
Lilly Pulitzer offers apparel for ladies and children, as well as ladies’ shoes, jewelry and a complete home collection. The children’s clothes are a pint-size version of the ladies’ line, reflecting the same color palette and prints in charming styles appropriate for infants, toddlers and girls size 4-16.
There are currently 75 retailers in Lilly-loving communities around the country recognized as Lilly Pulitzer Signature Stores. Lilly Pulitzer is also sold in major department stores, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom, as well as upscale specialty shops and clubs nationwide.
Through the 1960s and 1970s, the Lilly Pulitzer line was the unofficial uniform of the affluent at play. Lilly Pulitzer stores sprang up in the favorite resorts of the jet set and Lilly’s pink and green colors became the banner. Today, the creative direction of the company is led by Sandi Davidson, vice president and creative director. The print-driven, cotton fabrics have become a staple of the Lilly Pulitzer brand. Solid cotton polos, sweaters and other unique styles are also prominent in each season’s collection.
“We are honored to be presented with this year’s award,” said Davidson. “Those who know our brand know how important cotton is in helping us design our collection each season. It’s the perfect medium for our assortment of flirty, carefree styles, and helps to make our colorful prints stand out. We are committed to using this soft, easy to wear fabric in all of our collections, and are so grateful to accept this award.”
This season, the company is gearing up to pay tribute to its Palm Beach, FL, roots via its Spring 2005 collection that features a “Sea of Color” design concept and includes Concepts, Collection, Classic and Club wardrobe offerings.
NEW ORLEANS — Dr. C. Wayne Smith, a professor of Cotton Breeding and associate head of Texas A&M University’s Soil and Crop Sciences Department in College Station, is the recipient of the 2004 Cotton Genetics Research Award. The announcement was made here Jan. 5. during the Cotton Improvement Conference of the National Cotton Council (NCC)-coordinated 2005 Beltwide Cotton Conferences.
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Cotton Genetics Award winner Dr. Wayne Smith (L) receives the plaque from Jeff Gwyn of Bayer Cotton Seed, Leland, MS, during the 2005 Beltwide Cotton Improvement Conference. |
Smith received $1,000 in recognition of his efforts, which include 30 years of scientific and academic service to the U.S. cotton industry combined with his cooperative research with scientists around the globe.
U.S. commercial cotton breeders have presented the Cotton Genetics Research Award for more than 40 years to a scientist for outstanding basic research in cotton genetics. The Joint Cotton Breeding Policy Committee, comprised of representatives from state experiment stations, USDA, private breeders and the NCC, establishes award criteria.
One of Smith’s nominator’s, Dr. Roy Cantrell, vice president of Cotton Incorporated’s Agricultural Research Division, said Smith’s research in A&M’s Cotton Improvement Lab focuses on genetic enhancement of cotton for yield potential, earliness, fiber quality, host plant resistance and drought tolerance.
He said that significant progress has been made in all of these areas with well more than 100 germplasm releases since 1974 — a number unsurpassed by any current public plant breeder.
“Dr. Smith has demonstrated exceptional skill and hard work in bringing fundamental genetic information from the basic level all the way through improved germplasm,” Cantrell said. “This breadth of genetic enhancement is rare in the specialized and compartmentalized research community that exists in the public sector today.”
Cantrell also noted that Smith is a valued colleague in the cotton community, illustrated by his extensive collaboration with molecular biologists, physiologists, fiber quality specialists, pathologists and agronomists.
