Image by Flickr user Flor de Maria Fashion

Kicking off Charleston Fashion Week, the Art Institute of Charleston will host the opening reception for an exhibit featuring this year’s 17 finalists from The Humane Society of the United States’ Cool vs. Cruel Fashion Design Competition.

Prominently featured are the creations of Art Institute of Charleston students Monique Araujo, the national third-place winner and first-place local winner, and Regis Byrd, the second-place local winner. The reception is open to the public at no charge.

Now in its sixth year, the competition challenged Art Institute students in fashion programs throughout the United States to creatively interpret and replace the animal fur on runway looks by Zac Posen, Giorgio Armani, Burberry Prorsum, or Thakoon. This year’s finalists were chosen from more than 200 entries.

The opening reception is Friday, March 18th, at 6 p.m. The event is to be held at The Art Institute of Charleston, located at 24 North Market Street.