Bawden wins the search for the cream of the crop. Jennifer Bawden was recently named winner of the fourth annual Clairol Mentor Award in fashion.

At a gala awards luncheon at New York's Helmsley Palace Hotel, Bawden took home $1,000 grant and year-long series of one-on-one mentoring sessions with designer Dana Buchman, designer of her own line within prestigious Liz Claiborne Inc.

Presenting the prize was Linda Evans and US Senate candidate Geraldine Ferraro.

For those who remember Bawden from way back when, she has covered a lot of ground since high school.

Not necessarily in order of achievement, Bawden founded Jennifer Bawden Designs in New York specializing in evening dresses. She competed on the European Pro-Freestyle ski circuit and started designing her own line of skiwear at 18.

Bawden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Western Ontario and went on to study at The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles and thence to Frank Usher Ltd., an English designer and manufacturer of women's dresses.

Her work has been sold through Bergdorf Goodman, Martha International, Fred Hayman, I Magnin, Nordstrom's and a host of specialty boutiques.

Bawden's creations have been featured in Town & Country, New York Times Fashion Magazine, W, Elle, Cosmopolitan and more.

Celebrity clotheshorses who have worn Bawden designs include Mariel Hemingway, Carol Alt, Suzie Chaffee, Ivana Trump, Kathleen Turner and former Mod Squadder Peggy Lipton.