Fur is everywhere this season, but not everyone likes it.

The Humane Society of the United States teamed up with the Art Institutes for the seventh annual national Cool vs. Cruel fashion design competition; Korean-born former Dupont, Washington, resident and Art Institute Seattle senior Gahee Bae was named a finalist. She’ll represent our city in the final round in New York; the grand-prize winner will receive an expenses-paid, week-long internship in New York City with a celebrated designer from the panel of judges.

Bae and her fellow students were challenged to "creatively reinterpret and replace animal fur" on runway designs by Fendi, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, or Oscar de la Renta.

We’re hoping Bae will bring home top honors. We talked to her here about her design; click through the slideshow to see her work.

WWW: Which designer where you interpreting or redesigning as you approached this design contest? Why did you choose that particular look or designer?
Bae: I was interpreting Fendi’s fall 2011 ready-to-wear collection. The shape of the knee-length leather dress is bold and chic. The leather is held down with topstitches, which resulted in a structured design. Fur trims on the cape appear as if they were sliced open and collaged together to create the luxurious look. I wanted to take a different approach to this runway design and still create a luxurious design in an animal-friendly way.

What were your feelings about fur before this project began and did they change?
I was always against fur and leather because there are alternatives which can look and feel just like the real fur or leather. You don’t need to kill an innocent animal when there are alternatives.

Please describe the concept and most importantly the materials used in your design.
The vision for my animal-friendly creation is to raise awareness about cruelty of leather and fur and the abundance of humane alternatives. My black polyester and spandex mix dress gives the rich leather look and better, it is super stretchy for comfort and an animal was not harmed in the process.

I preferred to go with easy shapes and a less structured look to represent generosity and compassion toward animals. The dress was draped to the body so the knit could give its maximum performance. Nothing was topstitched down to achieve the natural flow and elegant look. I used foam craft material twisted together; this creates a faux-fur trim around the exaggerated hood.

What’s your goal as a designer? Where would you like to be in five years?
My goal as a designer is to satisfy my clients and share my vision for my designs with them. I would like to be part of a professional women’s wear product development team in five years.