Make the Cut contest offers community opportunity to have design sketches put into production and sold on ModCloth.com

ModCloth is taking a giant step toward its mission to fundamentally change and democratize the fashion industry with its first crowdsourced fashion design competition.

The online retailer’s is asking for design sketches that align with ModCloth’s vintage-inspired aesthetic, with participants having the chance for their designs to be put into production in the spring of 2012. ModCloth kicks off this exciting development with the recent addition of Velvet Brigade co-founders Lindsay McConnon and Jena Wang to their team. Lindsay and Jena will be at the helm of a more ambitious and enduring program at ModCloth to support the work of aspiring designers.

Velvet Brigade is a fashion community founded by McConnon and Wang in 2011. They started the site to give aspiring designers the chance to submit sketches for community vote.

The best styles were produced and co-branded with the winning designers. “We built a wonderful community of designers and voters, but we’re ready to scale that mission with our work at ModCloth” says McConnon.

While Velvet Brigade will cease operations, their community is encouraged to participate in ModCloth’s Make the Cut Contest. “We hope Velvet Brigade designers will capitalize on the opportunity to be part of an even bigger and more public platform for their work on ModCloth,” says McConnon.

“What Lindsay and Jena have accomplished with Velvet Brigade is core to ModCloth’s mission to fundamentally change and democratize the fashion industry by creating a vibrant social marketplace, and we’re excited to have their thought leadership here,” says Susan Gregg Koger, ModCloth’s co-founder and chief creative officer at ModCloth. “I know what it’s like to follow your dream and start a small business within the fashion sphere, and we want to help make that happen for talented independent designers and suppliers across the United States and the world.”

ModCloth shared an inspiration board and sketches for pieces slated for 2012 production that represent Susan’s vintage inspiration for spring. Susan and the ModCloth team will select the design finalists and post the finalists on Facebook for the larger ModCloth community to vote.

“Facebook is the perfect platform to welcome our aspiring designers. Our Facebook community is approximately 400,000 fans strong and generous with their feedback and participation, says Natasha Khan Kazi, ModCloth’s social media manager. “Through our first ever Facebook fashion design competition, we hope to create an ongoing conversation with our ModCloth community, which supports democratizing fashion design.”

The top five designs, announced on December 16, will be produced and featured on the ModCloth site. The winners will have their name on the tag of their items and receive $500.

Contest details in-depth from ModCloth

Our Make the Cut contest asks you to submit sketches that are inspired by Susan’s marvelous moodboard and fit our aesthetic. From there, Susan will select her top picks, and from 12/12 to 12/16, our fab Facebook fans will vote on the winners. The champs will receive a bevy of beneficence: $500 per winning sketch, and their items will be produced and sold on ModCloth.com—with the winners’ names on their respective tags.

Yup, you read that right! We will be debuting the winning garments right here in Spring 2012, along with styles based on the ravishing renderings in Susan’s moodboard. Ready and rarin’ to go? First, check out these design tips:

• Make sure your sketch clearly highlights one piece of clothing, not an entire outfit. Clothes only, please!
• Sketches look best on a light gray or white background
• Keep in mind who you are designing for—the ModCloth customer
• Each image should be saved as a JPG file no more than 5MB
• The ideal format is vertical with a 3×5 dimension ratio

And now, here are all the deets:

• You may submit entries for up to five garments
• Sketches may be submitted up until 12 p.m. PT on 12/4/2011
• All entries must be submitted to makethecut@modcloth.com
• The winners will be announced on 12/19 here on the blog
• Five winning sketches will be chosen, and $500 will be awarded per piece
• Winning designs will be produced and sold on ModCloth.com, and feature tags bearing the designer’s name
• All the official contest rules and regulations can be found here