Executive Director of Global Chevrolet Design John Cafaro, BID ’77, was presented with the Rowena Reed Kostellow Award for his support and enhancement of the industrial design profession at a ceremony on March 28 at the Knoll Showroom in Manhattan. Pratt alumna and Associate Footwear Designer – Innovation at Cole Haan Ariana Zarillo, BID ’13, was honored at the event as the second recipient of the Rowena Reed Kostellow Young Designers Award in recognition of her work to advance the principles of design developed by Rowena Reed Kostellow. This event benefits the Rowena Reed Kostellow Fund, which was established in 1988 to support scholarships and communicate the philosophy of its namesake, one of the founders of Pratt’s Industrial Design Department, through programs and published work.
Speakers at the event included Pratt Institute President Frances Bronet; Industrial Design Chair Constantin Boym; Susan Skarsgard, Manager of the GM Design Archive & Special Collections; and Fund Chair Tucker Viemeister, BID ’74.
Cafaro’s redesign of the Corvette transformed the coupé into a convertible with a rounded, graceful exterior and set the standard for Corvettes of subsequent generations. The innovative design was honored with an Autoweek Magazine Award. In 2002, Cafaro was inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame.
Zarillo studied the principles of 3D design with Linda Celentano, Karen Stone, Scott Vandervoort, Kate Hixon, Martin Skalski, and Pamela Waters. Since graduation in 2013, she has been applying those skills designing footwear at Cole Haan. Her passion for beauty has led her to a variety of consulting and design-and-build projects, including the interior millwork for the Nalata/Nalata flagship store in SoHo, custom furniture pieces, developing consumer accessories, and renovating a 1911 building on Staten Island.
The awards presented to Cafaro and Zarillo were 3-D models created by graduate industrial design student Sam Cotton with Kate Hixon, Adjunct Professor of Industrial Design.
Image: Ariana Zarillo, President Frances Bronet, Sam Cotton, and John Cafaro