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Tara St. James for the win.

If you’ve been following U.P for a while, chances are you are familiar with the name Tara St. James. Tara was one of the very first accessory donors to contact U.P during Sheena’s 1 year challenge and she and her label, StudyNY, became one of U.P’s biggest supporters. As that first year started to draw down to a close, we knew we had to sit Tara down and tell her straight up that we wanted her on the U.P team. The abundance of her talent was a given, but Tara also possessed an incredible professionalism and no-BS approach that has proven invaluable to us. The fact that she accepted our request is in no small measure one of the reasons U.P is here today.
Tara is now a core member at the Uniform Project, and the master-mind behind most of our LBD designs. She has single-handedly designed and managed the production of our dresses in the past year, which for a burgeoning company like ours, is pretty damn amazing.

The Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation announced yesterday that Tara has been chosen as the winner of the EDFF Award of 2011, one of only 7 to win the 25k grant to present at NY Fashion week next month. StudyNY has been gaining significant traction in New York and London circles since its inception in 2009, and this honor will only further solidify Tara as one of the great emerging designers. Needless to say we’re ecstatic. U.P will definitely be cheering from the sidelines while she gets that show on the runway next month! Seriously, we’ll be there in the front row, with toots and whistles.
Here’s to all the much deserved attention and recognition, congratulations Tara! We can’t wait to see what you have in store.
xx U.P
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Comments

helenbrackets says:
I have just heard about the Uniform Project on Woman's Hour (England, UK) and having looked it up on the internet have clicked on the RSS Feed for 1st time. This led me to Tara St. James' page. Just wanted to say that I am impressed with the clothing, the ethics and the partnership work of women across the water. An inspiration - especially for an older Black woman who is bored with jeans and t'shirts.
2011-01-17 15:09:23
prutha says:
that is brilliant!!! congrats tara... wish u all the luck!!! rock that runway!!
2011-01-14 04:19:45
Marina says:
Congratulations Tara! (I've been lucky enough to meet you on two occasions- first in 2009 when you spoke to my summer design class and I was introduced to your blog and the Uniform Project, and then again at BurdaStyle this past August.) What an amazing distinction for a very deserving and innovative designer! I can't wait to see what else you will accomplish in the future.
2011-01-14 01:44:07
Farmer Beth says:
Congratulations, Tara! This is one of those things that is really exciting, but also sort of a no-brainer. Of course she'll be raking in the awards and kudos. Her stuff is simply great.
2011-01-14 00:19:27