Robin's Red Carpet Challenge: Meet the Dress Designers

Feb. 26, 2010— -- Ready, set, design!

Five graduates from Parsons the New School of Design were chosen to compete in a red carpet challenge to outfit Robin Roberts for the Academy Awards.

After showing their sketches this morning on "Good Morning America," the designers have five days to make the dresses, which "GMA" will reveal next Wednesday. Then Roberts will choose her favorite dress to wear to the 82nd Academy Awards Sunday, March 7.

Weigh in below to tell Roberts which one is your favorite.

Arias, 22, said she researched what Roberts was most comfortable wearing and created a dress that would show off her height and statuesque figure.

Although the sketch is red the final dress will be emerald green. Arias will cut the lace fabric into squares and sew it together to create a design that will gradually fade from green to a navy blue at the bottom.

It's like painting, Arias said, "with the fabric using all these different colors, creating texture so it looks like a work of art."

The Cuban-born designer said she was inspired by the deities of Santeria, an African-based religion with some Roman Catholic beliefs that is mainly practiced in the Caribbean.

Brako, 22, said he sketched four or five designs before settling on this long one-shoulder black dress. He said he thought it would be easy for Roberts to move around in it while she interviews the award winners.

"Judging from her style, I think she wanted something comfortable but also extremely elegant," Brako said.

"I thought it would be flattering also because she has great shoulders and arms," Brako said.

Brako, who is from Ghana, said he may add either velvet or beaded detail across the top.

Red Carpet Challenge

Sleeper, 22, said she began her design process by examining what Roberts has worn to previous events and trying to add a new, intense and fresh take on a dress with a color that would pop on camera.

The designer decided on meridian blue color in a combination of silk charmeuse and silk crepe de chine.

"Since she has the height, she can carry a more dramatic cut. I gave her a dress I wish I could carry off, but I'm not as tall as her," Sleeper said.

Since it is the Oscars, Sleeper said she added a bit of drama to the asymmetrical one-shoulder dress with a full flare at the bottom and a drape from the back to the sleeve to the front.

Sleeper described the dress as "Simple, clean [and] a little athletic."

"Since she is working the event I wanted to give her a dress that wasn't cumbersome, something that is easy to move in. Half of feeling beautiful is feeling comfortable," Sleeper said.

"I tried to get a sense of her and incorporate that into what I thought would be appropriate for the event … It was very personal … it was specifically [for] her," Reddy said.

The color of the dress will be a deep purple and will be made from silk crepe. But Reddy said he wanted to push Roberts out of her style "comfort zone" for this event.

"This is the perfect opportunity to take a chance and step out of the box," Reddy said.

"I just think about what I can do with [the fabrics] to make them look beautiful and combine them in unique ways to make them look different," Van Noort said.

Van Noort said the fabric is gathered on the right side of the dress to create a floral draping.

"I thought it would be a very flattering silhouette on her," Van Noort said.

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