Lectra supports Canada's Breakthrough Designers competition

Lectra equips winner with textile and apparel design suite

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Mar 30, 2015, 10:30 ET

ATLANTA, March 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using soft materials—fabrics, leather, technical textiles and composite materials—partnered with TELIO during the tenth edition of the annual Canada's Breakthrough Designers competition. TELIO is a leading importer/exporter and distributor of high-end textiles.

The annual design competition showcases Canada's young, up-and-coming designers and provides students with exposure to the Canadian fashion industry. This year, more than 400 students entered the competition under the theme of Lux(e), using noble materials and shimmering colors to celebrate 2015 as the International Year of Light. A distinguished jury of fashion industry professionals chose 25 student finalists. The jury included Michelle Addison, a top stylist in Vancouver; Izzy Camilleri, a Toronto fashion designer; Samantha Cutler, marketing coordinator at Ogilvy; Marie Genevieve Cyr, associate professor at Parsons School for Design in New York City; Judith Desjardins, a Montreal fashion designer; Emilie Fournier, style contributor to Salut Bonjour! Weekend and blogger; and Sonia Moffa, Senior Designer at Joseph Ribkoff Inc.

The student finalists highlighted their collections in a fashion show on March 17, with five receiving scholarships. Lectra awarded the grand prize winner Emma Litvack with Kaledo, Lectra's textile and fashion design suite.

"As we celebrate the 10^th year anniversary of Canada's Breakthrough Designers competition, I can say that I am proud of how the importance of fashion design evolved since we first started this competition. We are honored to give an opportunity to up-and-coming designers to hone their technical skills and creative savvy while striving to win scholarships that will allow them to fulfill their professional ambitions. As the years went by, our event consistently provided great exposure to these young talented individuals, thus allowing them to be seen and known as rising stars in the fashion industry and the media," explains Andre Telio, President of TELIO. "The partnership we developed through this project with Lectra has allowed us to not only significantly upgrade the prizes offered to students, but also to improve our contribution to promoting the future of the Canadian fashion industry. For this, we are extremely grateful."

"We are honored to continue our sponsorship of TELIO's annual competition and we congratulate Emma Litvack on an inspiring design. We look forward to seeing how she uses our technology to bring her future vision to life," says Renato Mariani, Vice President of Marketing, Lectra North America. "Lectra is committed to nurturing up-and-coming fashion professionals like Emma."

About TELIO
Founded in Montreal in 1952 by Joseph Telio, the company quickly achieved, and has ever since sustained, a leadership position in the importing of textiles. Now headed by the founder's sons Andre and Raymond, TELIO remains true to its mission statement: to offer designers, manufacturers and retailers a superior quality and original product. Today, TELIO is at the forefront in textile distribution in North America and runs two distinctive divisions under the same umbrella; Fashion Fabrics and Interior Furnishings, operates five showrooms (Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver), manages over 90 employees and has a sales team of over 30 representatives around the world. TELIO has an in house Research & Development department that provides fashion-forward trends and expertise. TELIO's presence can be felt in more than twenty countries across three continents.

For over 60 years, TELIO has successfully merged business acumen all the while upholding its fundamental company values.

About Lectra
Lectra is the world leader in integrated technology solutions that automate, streamline and accelerate product design, development and manufacturing processes for industries using soft materials. Lectra develops the most advanced specialized software and cutting systems and provides associated services to a broad array of markets including fashion (apparel, accessories, footwear), automotive (car seats and interiors, airbags), furniture, as well as a wide variety of other market sectors, such as aeronautical and marine industries, wind power and personal protective equipment. Lectra serves 23,000 customers in more than 100 countries with 1,500 employees and $281 million in 2014 revenues. The company is listed on Euronext.

For more information, please visit www.lectra.com.

Contact – Lectra North America: Jahmin Lee
Email: [email protected]
Tel.:+1 770 422 8050 – Fax: +1 800 538 7619

SOURCE Lectra