American design award.

RG, The Royal Gazette's monthly colour magazine, was given a merit award by the Society of Publication Designers in New York for its April, 1993 spring fashion spread "Dressing Down''.

RG won the award in the Photography Story/Fashion, Beauty category.

Executive director of the society Ms Bride Whelan said the award "represents the highest level of excellence in the field of publication design''.

She added the entry was judged from more than 4,000 entries in the annual competition and will be shown in the society's 29th exhibition and the Publication Design Annual to be published in the fall.

RG editor Mr. Chris Gibbons said: "The award is a great honour for everyone at RG, but particularly for our art director Ms Dana Cooper, who designs the magazine and directed the fashion shoot, and Mr. Antoine Hunt, who photographed it.

"To be recognised by your peers in such a competitive international field reflects positively on the creativity and the professionalism of people involved with the magazine.

"We're especially pleased because RG is a young magazine and comes from such a small Island. It is a boost for Bermudian artistic talent to be recognised in this way.'' The fashion spread, which was shot at the Botanical Gardens and Grape Bay beach last March, highlighted "grunge'' fashions.

Ms Cooper said she was excited about winning the award because "it puts RG on the international map in the publication industry and it's good for exposure''.

She added that the judges on the committee were art directors and designers from publications around the world such as Time, Life, Esquire, Details and Conde Nast Traveler.

"We thought it would be good to enter the competition but we knew we would be up against other competitive publications,'' Ms Cooper said. "We knew our chances of winning would be a little narrow.

"We try hard to give the magazine a look that is not regional. We also try to keep the standards of the magazine high.

"Antoine's work was very creative for this particular shoot. We tried to depict the `grunge' look which has been popular for the last two years in the fashion world.'' "The beauty of the photography was that it was not just a commercial shot. We tried to do something that showed the fashion in different ways other than what one would usually see.

"Throughout the spread we used the environment such as the big Banyan tree at the Botanical Gardens which complemented the "grunge'' look because it has a very earthy appearance.

Mr. Hunt, who is a freelance photographer, added: "I am not a fashion photographer. My stuff is based on the elements of nature.

"For the spread, I tried to blend the models with nature so it wasn't like they were just stuck in the environment. I wanted the pictures to flow.

"The award will get me closer to the next project because it will be easier for me to approach people about ideas.

"People who are interested in my work can see that I have been doing things and have been recognised for what I've done.'' Others involved with the shoot were Ms Connie Minors, who organised wardrobe, hair stylist Mr. Chris Lockwood and Mrs. Leslie Veney-Smith for make-up.

The awards will be presented at the Society's annual gala evening at the New York Public Library on May 6.

RG PRAISED -- RG, The Royal Gazette's monthly magazine has been awarded a Merit Award by the Society of Publication Designers in New York for its April, 1993 spring fashion spread entitled "Dressing Down''. Pictured are Ms Dana Cooper, art director and designer of the magazine, and freelance photographer Mr. Antoine Hunt.