When it comes to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (MBFW) New York Spring shows, I get very excited! One of my most anticipated shows has to be that of the Academy of Art University (AAU). I have been covering the AAU shows in San Francisco and at Bryant Park (now Lincoln Center) for roughly four years yet I remain in awe, each time. If you know me well, you will understand that is rare. Mass production while it has its positive aspects, unfortunately, has created a homogeneity of style; and depending on the season, the homogeneity can be overwhemling and just plain boring.
This is where AAU shows stand out. Season after season, graduating class after class, the shows never lack creativity and diversity. What’s really sweet about the AAU shows is the fact that,for the most part, creativity can and does co-exist with functionality. You can’t beat that. It probably explains why the school remains the only one, in the world, to show at the elite MBFW.
In any event, while I anticipate the AAU Spring 2011 show which will be held this Friday at Lincoln Center, I can’t help but reflect on my favorite AAU show to date. I have concluded it has to be the one I witnessed this past May 2010 on the school’s campus in San Francisco. Every student and every piece shown was nothing short of brilliant, no exaggeration.
Let me take you down that lane since I have not shared my experience, yet, with the Ladybrillemag.com audience. The School of Fashion at AAU presented collections from graduating students of the Accessory, Knitwear, Menswear, Technical, Textile and Women’s Wear and Design. I arrived on May 7th, 2010 expecting to be impressed by the students. I was more than impressed. I was “WOW’ed!”
Let’s start at the beginning. I pulled up to the school venue on May 7th, 2010 at the appointed time for the show. I was greeted by valet who parked my car for me courtesy of AAU. You have no idea how great that was. Parking in the city can be such a pain, especially when events such as AAU’s take place. After all these years of covering the shows at AAU, it was good to know AAU faculty & staff thought about making life very convenient for guests, family and press coming to watch the students perform.
Entering the large auditorium where the show was to take place, it felt like I was at New York’s Bryant Park watching the show in the main tent, the largest venue. The place was packed! I spotted some San Francisco Fashion Staples, like Phillip Gum, owner of J.E Models. Phillip’s J.E Models represented Ethiopian model Gelila Bekele who is now signed with Ford Models in New York. In addition, there was Joseph Domingo, a designer who has been all around the globe covering fashion and also designing.
Once seated, I looked at the program and a copy of the school’s fashion magazine that had been provided to me. I couldn’t help but chuckle. On the cover of the magazine was fashion model Phoebe. Phoebe was a former student at Delta College, a fashion school I also admire with the wonderful work of its fashion director Leslie Asfour, cousin of one of the ThreeAsFour designers.
I met Phoebe when she auditioned to model in a Delta Fashion Show last year. She had very limited model training and I was the model choreographer for the event. It was nice to see and later learn that shortly after the Delta show she signed to a model agency in San Francisco and was now on the cover of AAU’s One Eighty Magazine. Small world!
The show began shortly after I was seated. Fashion professionals Designer Julie Chaiken of Chaiken Clothing, Designer Patrick Ervell, winner of the 2009 CFDA Vogue Fashion Award, among others, were presented with AAU’s President’s Award for Excellence. Immediately after, Gladys Palmer, introduced Suzy Menkes, OBE who was to receive an Honorary Doctorate from AAU. If you don’t know who Suzy Menkes is, you are so in the dark ages. 🙂 I was expecting Menkes to give a long speech. Instead, she was very brief.
“This has got to be the entire highlight of my day,” said Menkes as she addressed the audience. “I’ve had exhilarating feedback talking with, rather than, at these students,” she added. “Energy and modernity is what (AAU) has and what everyone strives for,” she concluded.
After her short acceptance speech, it was time for the show. The show began with flashing lights illuminating the runway and then chaotic beats which then eased into African like drum beats. The first collection hit the runway. I noticed the beautiful models, all of whom strutted very well. Not one model messed up. They knew their part and played it well.
The first segment was the fashion design and jewelry design collaboration of several AAU students. Particularly striking, to me, was the work of Jin Ok-Kwak, A BFA Fashion Design Student and Killean Eavns, an MFA Fine Art Sculpture student. Their work displayed simple chic black long dresses with jewelry that kept me intrigued. The styling was beautiful.
The next segment was the Fashion Design and Textile Design Collaboration. In this segment, Yuzan Cheng, BFA Fashion Design, who was selected for a Diane von Furstenberg internship (DVF) collaborated with Delphina Star Rodriguez, BFA Textile Design. There was a clear reference to menswear for women. Models wore oversized loose fitting men’s jacket and pants paired with silver oxford shoes.
The collaborations out of the way, it was now time for the individual shows. Stephanie Hoffman, also a recipient of a DVF internship and a BFA Knitwear design student was inspiring with her abstract, sequined knitwear designs matched with black leggings and gloves. Silhouettes were simple, sexy, pragmatic with attention to design details and gorgeous embellishments.
Amelia Statler, also a receipient of a DVF internship and a BFA Fashion design student showed right after Hoffman. Statler’s collection reminded me of what I would see on a TracyReese runway show. Her collection was very feminine, soft with a predominant use of lace. There was a lot of fluidity in the movement of the garments and I liked that makeup was kept simple.
While Statler embraced the ultra feminine woman, for Kiki Yunqi Wu, a BFA Fashion Design student, it was a nod to the mid to late ‘30s. Oxford shoes replaced heels, color choices were navy blue and cream, clothes were very long and the overall mood was somber and conservative. The Statler woman wore hats and hand gloves, was serious yet feminine and classy.
Where Statler was somber, Ghazaleh Khalifeh brought life and energy. Clearly celebrating the middle-eastern culture, the Khalifeh woman’c clothing had rich texture, evoked passion, prosperity, sexiness and ultra feminine chic. The collection was a crowd favorite. Ghazaleh was also a recipient of a DVF internship. In 2008, the student designer won $25,000 CFDA Prize, a Geoffrey Beene Design Scholarship.
Individual segments were over and a new set of collaboration introduced. Eric Jonas Holbreich, a BFA Fashion Design student collaborated with Camille Bucu, BFA Textile; while Julia Hsiang-Ling Chang (BFA Fashion Design) and Mariah Groves (BFA Industrial Design) partnered up. For all four, abstract prints were cut and sewn into flattering dresses, pants and jackets.
Young Ae Koo, BFA Knitwear Design, also used abstract black and white knit fabrics to create a style reminiscence of a collection that would be seen on Indian designer Sabayasachi Mukherjee’s runway. Other interesting designs were that of Rinat Brodach, a recipient of French Scholarship Exchange who will study at the L’Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, Eunice Cheng, Ivy Fu Man Tam, a DVF internship recipient, and Andrew Wedge.
The night, however, seemed to belong to Ronnie Omar Nery. The reception from the audience was very warm towards the young student designer who brought bright colors of yellow and fuschia into knitwear. “I just wanted to show the versatility that knitwear has to offer. Knitwear is fun!,” he said to me, after the show. Clearly the audience agreed with him. Nery completed his night with a Opening Ceremony internship and a coveted French Scholarship Exchange to study at Studio Bercot.
Melody Bainter (BFA Fashion Design who was selected for a Patrik Ervell internship) and Mariah Groves (a BFA Industrial Design student who was selected for a Walter Van Beirendonck internship) were second to the last designers to show for the night. The duo presented a collection that played on a futuristic technological voyage into fashion, complete with colorful plastic green and pink sunglasses.
The fashion show ended with the work of Ashton Sylvester, the only male design clothing line from the graduating class. Sylvester’s men’s wear was playful gladiator guy meets contemporary man. Like Nery, he was also a crowd favorite and also walked away with a French Scholarship Exchange to study at Studio Bercot.
There you have it! My favorite AAU show to date. Let’s see what AAU Spring 2011 at Lincoln Center brings this Friday!
~by Uduak Oduok
~Photos Randy Brooke/AAU
Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.
