{"id":38769,"date":"2025-05-15T14:24:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T14:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/muse.international\/?p=38769"},"modified":"2025-05-15T14:27:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T14:27:03","slug":"thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/","title":{"rendered":"Thomas Betti on Telling the Untold Stories of Pan Am"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Thomas Betti is a historian and storyteller with over two decades of passion projects under his belt. By day, he works in public communications, but he\u2019s also co-authored five books on Columbus, Ohio, appeared on WOSU TV, and led countless history tours for the Columbus Metropolitan Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q1. Congratulations on your achievements in the MUSE Creative Awards! Could you start by introducing yourself or <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m Christina Fong, a contemporary and resortwear designer born and raised in Hong Kong and now based in Los Angeles. My journey into fashion began with my grandmother, who taught me how to sew, sparking my love for craftsmanship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a strong focus on sustainability, I\u2019ve designed for brands like Cult Gaia, creating pieces that blend effortless elegance with modern versatility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q2. What inspired you to submit your work for this competition, and what does winning mean to you personally and professionally?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wanted to challenge myself and share my work with a wider audience. The MUSE Creative Awards celebrate innovation and creativity, so it felt like the perfect opportunity to showcase my designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Winning this award is incredibly meaningful to me. Personally, it\u2019s a reminder of how far I\u2019ve come on my journey. Professionally, it\u2019s an honor to have my work recognized on such a global platform\u2014it motivates me to keep pushing the boundaries of fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q3. Can you share the story behind your success? What inspired its creation, and what do you feel it represents in today\u2019s industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My success comes from being open to learning and never giving up. Fashion is always evolving, and I believe staying curious and adaptable is key to growth. Having lived in Hong Kong, the UK, and now Los Angeles, I draw a lot of inspiration from travel and different cultures. My work reflects this blend, creating pieces that feel both unique and timeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q4. What do you believe set your project apart in such a competitive field? Were there specificQ4. What do you believe set your project apart in such a competitive field? Were there specific elements or strategies that made it shine? or strategies that made it shine?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I believe what set my project apart was its deep cultural inspiration, combined with a fresh, modern approach to resortwear. I drew from traditional Hong Kong gates and the iconic red, white, and blue patterns found on everyday bags there. By translating the gate pattern into a unique eyelet design, I created something that feels both distinctive and wearable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This fusion of heritage and contemporary style made the project stand out\u2014it\u2019s not just visually striking but also tells a meaningful story through design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q5. Every project has its challenges. Can you share a significant obstacle you faced during this process and how you overcame it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the biggest challenges was perfecting the laser-cut details. I had to test multiple fabrics to find the right one that could handle the precision of laser cutting while still maintaining its structure and softness for resortwear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It took a lot of trial and error, but through experimentation and problem-solving, I found a material that worked beautifully. Overcoming this challenge made the final design even more special, as every detail was carefully refined to achieve the perfect balance of craftsmanship and wearability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/museaward.com\/winner-info.php?id=233858\" class=\"external\">SOLEIL<\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Explore the journey of <a href=\"https:\/\/muse.international\/christina-fong-channels-hong-kongs-spirit-in-soleil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Christina Fong<\/a>, the Gold Winner of the 2025 MUSE Creative Awards. She is a designer from Hong Kong, now based in Los Angeles, who channels her early love for craftsmanship into contemporary resortwear. Her creations blend sustainability with modern elegance, resulting in pieces that are both unique and timeless.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Betti is a historian and storyteller with over two decades of passion projects under his belt. By day, he works in public communications, but he\u2019s<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":38796,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[372,553,397],"tags":[9,12,382],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Thomas Betti on Telling the Untold Stories of Pan Am<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Winner interview with Thomas Betti from the United States, the Platinum Winner of the 2025 MUSE Creative Awards.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thomas Betti on Telling the Untold Stories of Pan Am\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Winner interview with Thomas Betti from the United States, the Platinum Winner of the 2025 MUSE Creative Awards.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Muse.World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/musedotworld\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-15T14:24:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-15T14:27:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/muse.international\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/MCA-thomas-betti-thumb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maizura\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@musedotworld\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@musedotworld\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maizura\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/\",\"name\":\"Thomas Betti on Telling the Untold Stories of Pan Am\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-15T14:24:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-15T14:27:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/#\/schema\/person\/6c06d27dec72f8caef69a58de7057d86\"},\"description\":\"Winner interview with Thomas Betti from the United States, the Platinum Winner of the 2025 MUSE Creative Awards.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Thomas Betti on Telling the Untold Stories of Pan Am\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/\",\"name\":\"Muse.World\",\"description\":\"MUSE Creative Awards | Vega Digital Awards | TITAN Awards\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/#\/schema\/person\/6c06d27dec72f8caef69a58de7057d86\",\"name\":\"Maizura\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a7ec2dc5487c561c4b56a152817a6c14?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a7ec2dc5487c561c4b56a152817a6c14?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Maizura\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/author\/maizura\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Thomas Betti on Telling the Untold Stories of Pan Am","description":"Winner interview with Thomas Betti from the United States, the Platinum Winner of the 2025 MUSE Creative Awards.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Thomas Betti on Telling the Untold Stories of Pan Am","og_description":"Winner interview with Thomas Betti from the United States, the Platinum Winner of the 2025 MUSE Creative Awards.","og_url":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/","og_site_name":"Muse.World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/musedotworld","article_published_time":"2025-05-15T14:24:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-15T14:27:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/muse.international\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/MCA-thomas-betti-thumb.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Maizura","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@musedotworld","twitter_site":"@musedotworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Maizura","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/","url":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/","name":"Thomas Betti on Telling the Untold Stories of Pan Am","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-05-15T14:24:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-15T14:27:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/#\/schema\/person\/6c06d27dec72f8caef69a58de7057d86"},"description":"Winner interview with Thomas Betti from the United States, the Platinum Winner of the 2025 MUSE Creative Awards.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/thomas-betti-on-telling-the-untold-stories-of-pan-am\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Thomas Betti on Telling the Untold Stories of Pan Am"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/#website","url":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/","name":"Muse.World","description":"MUSE Creative Awards | Vega Digital Awards | TITAN Awards","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/#\/schema\/person\/6c06d27dec72f8caef69a58de7057d86","name":"Maizura","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a7ec2dc5487c561c4b56a152817a6c14?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a7ec2dc5487c561c4b56a152817a6c14?s=96&r=g","caption":"Maizura"},"url":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/author\/maizura\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38769"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38769"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38772,"href":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38769\/revisions\/38772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}