Local Designer Gustavo Alonso Wins Diet Coke Young Designer Challenge

dietcoke.com

Gustavo Alonso's winning design

We can't think of a beverage that screams "fashion" more than a Diet Coke. Fashion means skinny, and a Diet Coke is the alternative to a well-balanced breakfast of skinny fashion bitches everywhere.

Just in time for all the New York Fashion Week fuss, Diet Coke cans underwent a makeover, and now feature a cropped logo design that mimics the modern, minimalist looks of today. In celebration of the can's redesign, Diet Coke launched the Diet Coke Young Designer Challenge in alliance with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). The design contest invited fashion design students across the nation to submit a T-shirt design inspired by Diet Coke's revamped look.

Some of the biggest names in fashion, including Zac Posen, Cynthia Rowley, and L'Wren Scott, selected the winning design from a pool of 10 designer hopefuls. Miami's very own Gustavo Alonso was the winner of the challenge. The up-and-coming designer, a student at Miami International University of Art & Design, edged out the competition with his voguish take on the new Diet Coke logo that features a mysterious woman in a chic red coat and stilettos. In addition to a well-earned career boost, Alonso also received a prize of a $10,000 scholarship and a trip to New York City to meet with Posen, Rowley, and Scott. You can snag one of the T-shirt's at select Target stores nationwide.

We caught up with Alonso to talk about his inspiration, and how soon we can expect to see his designs at New York Fashion Week.

New Times: How did you first get into fashion?
Gustavo Alonso: I got into fashion a couple of years ago after serving four years in the military. When I got out I thought I'd give design school a shot and see what was out there. I mean, I've always loved clothes, which is something that everyone says, but I really do love fashion. I had such a passion for it, that once I stared school, I knew it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

How did you hear about the Diet Coke Challenge, and what made you get involved?
I'm the type of person that gets involved in every single competition that my school presents. And that's how I heard about it. At the time, I thought it was such a great opportunity to be a part of something so big and I decided to enter, and well, here I am!