The creativity of eight Atlanta fashion designers and the eccentric colors of Glaceau’s vitaminwater® will collide this Tuesday, July 26, at the Vitaminwater Zero Inspired Fashion Show in Atlanta.

The concept behind the fashion show is vitaminwater-inspired looks, derived from a color palette of eight of the vitaminwater zero flavors. Each fashion designer will showcase a design inspired by a specific vitaminwater flavor and its accompanying color palette.

The winning designer will be awarded a feature in the upcoming September fashion issue of Jezebel magazine and a $1,000 cash prize toward funding their design aspirations.

Judging the contest is the Atlanta vitaminwater style council, composed of select members of Atlanta’s fashion elite.

Vitaminwater style council member, Robanne Schulman, serves as the Tim Gunn of the competition, mentoring the designers and giving them feedback on their evolving creations.

“Throughout [the contestants’ creative process], my main goal was to encourage the designers to be true to their own looks and styles,” Schulman, who serves as a personal stylist and lifestyle designer through her company, Plaid Monkey, said.

“If [one of the designers] changed something during their process, I always let them know I was happy to see they kept the main element of their design,” she continued, assuring that encouragement and positivity were her main responsibilities as each designer is exceptionally talented in his or her own right.

At Tuesday’s event, Schulman and the Atlanta vitaminwater style council will be responsible for evaluating each contestant’s design and submitting their vote for the winner of the contest.

Fellow vitaminwater style council member, Jessica Dauler of JessicaShops.com, said that the judges will vote based on certain criteria given to the designers. “[The judges] have a list of things we have to look for,” she said, “including how well they’ve used the vitaminwater brand, their specified color palette, and the actual vitaminwater flavor itself,” among others.

To carry out their creative projects, the designers have been inspired by their individual color palette, the ingredients of their assigned vitaminwater and even the witty blurbs on the side of the bottles. For other contestants, such as Tian Justman, the design inspiration came from finding out exactly what vitaminwater can do for a person.

“My flavor, [Power-C (dragonfruit)], helps to support the immune system and provides a daily defense against immune system attacks,” Justman explained. This particular provision hit home for Justman as she is a cancer survivor.

She claims her design is a representation of both the fragility of the immune system and the defense of the surrounding external covering. Justman is ready to unveil her fashion interpretation and her accompanying story to the public.

Contestant Isaac Spry found inspiration in the element Potassium, a key ingredient in his vitaminwater flavor, Revive (fruit punch). “Potassium has a metallic, shimmering look,” he said. “I actually brought that into my design for the contest.”

Spry’s vitaminwater flavor, Revive, is symbolic of his career in fashion. Spry, who spent his time sketching and reading fashion magazines in high school, was deterred from his dreams as a designer early on. “I was told that a career in art wasn’t financially secure enough and to focus on something else,” he recalled.

This corporate world worker turned fashion designer recently decided to bring his long-suppressed desire for a career in art to the forefront, enrolling in Atlanta’s Bauder College and graduating in 2010.

Another recent fashion school graduate and vitaminwater fashion show contestant, Simone Adams, also knew she wanted to do something art-focused in her career, but wasn’t sure which area would satisfy her creative niche. She began in the fashion world as a model but was discontented with the lack of career longevity.

“I knew that modeling wasn’t a long-time career, but somehow I still wanted to be in the industry and be creative,” Adams explained. Today, with two degrees in fashion under her belt, Adams describes her design aesthetic as a combination of “very sexy” and “high energy.” She used this to her advantage in designing a piece for the vitaminwater contest inspired by the flavor Triple-X, which combines the distinct tastes of acai, blueberry and pomegranate.

Unlike Justman, Spry and Adams, who have had time to find themselves in the fashion world and mature as designers, the youngest vitaminwater fashion show contestant, Claire Buyens, is a sophomore at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and still in the process of cultivating her craft.

 The opportunity to serve as a contestant in the Vitaminwater Zero Inspired Fashion Show was recommended to Buyens by one of her fashion professors. Buyens, who had planned on working a summer job and taking college mathematics online, jumped at the chance to establish herself as a designer.

“I wanted to do something aside from the experience I’m getting through my fashion education,” Buyens explained. “I was also looking forward to designing on my own instead of working under a mentor,” she said, claiming this contest has been a significant step toward independence.

Buyens relates to her assigned vitaminwater flavor, Squeezed (lemonade), as this process and the desire to compete alongside the other talented, more experienced designers has allowed her creative juices to be unleashed. She hopes to leave Tuesday’s contest not only with the grand prize, but with more confidence in herself as a designer as well.

The event, held at Whiskey Blue, inside Buckhead’s W Hotel, begins at 7 p.m. and will feature showcase styles of Tulipano, a locally owned and operated boutique along with artwork by young artists of One Love Generation, a youth-aimed non-profit organization.

Schulman wishes Justman, Spry, Adams, Buyens and their fellow contest participants continued success and encourages the public to come and participate in this creative showcase, “Any event that helps support and encourage a group of people to live their dreams is worthy of attention and attendance.”