The School of Fashion at Academy of Art University hosted its annual Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 26, 2018. The invitation-only event began with select graduating students from the M.F.A. and B.F.A. programs presenting their work to industry professionals. The degree programs include: fashion design, textile design, knitwear design, 3D design and pattern making, costume design, journalism, styling, product development, visual merchandising, fashion merchandising, and, fashion marketing. The fashion show portion of the event included womenswear, menswear, and childrenswear collections; several of the collections were created through collaboration by students within the fashion, knitwear, and textile design programs.
“When fashion design students from different cultures and backgrounds collaborate – their diverse spirit, ideas, and passions are reflected. Collaboration is a crucial aspect of the professional world and we encourage students to work together because it mimics the collaborate work that they will do in their professional careers.” – said Elisa Stephens, President of the Academy of Art University, in her welcoming speech at the Awards Ceremony.
Simon Ungless, Executive Director of the School of Fashion, stated, “It’s been a great experience to see this years’ guests interact with the students – to view their work, offer feedback, and take a genuine interest in the programs, as well as the industry projects our students are participating in.”
The Academy of Art University also honored three outstanding industry professionals with the University President, Elisa Stephens, bestowing honorary doctorates to:
Alexander Fury: fashion journalist, author, and critic. He is the Chief Fashion Correspondent of T: The New York Times Style Magazine and Editor of AnOther magazine. Fury was awarded the inaugural Editorial Intelligence Award for Fashion Commentator of the Year in 2014, named one of InStyle magazine’s 20 most powerful people in fashion in 2015, and isa member of The Business of Fashion: BoF 500.
Andre Walker: New York-based fashion designer who was, at the time, the youngest designer to show at New York Fashion Week at age 15. Walker worked as a creative consultant for Marc Jacobs and Kim Jones while at LVMH. His recent collection was noted as one of the ten best highlights of Paris Fashion Week. He also collaborates with Dover Street Market, the multi-brand retailer created by Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons.
Lutz Huelle: Paris-based fashion designer who began his career working with Martin Margiela on the Artisanal and Knitwear Collections. Huelle launched his eponymous label in 2000 and has been a senior consultant at MaxMara Fashion Group since 2000, and at Brioni since 2017.
April 26th Student Award & Scholarship Announcements
- YMA-Fashion Scholarship Fund
- FSF $5,000 Scholarship
- Hyun Nam (Nami) Kim, BFA Fashion Marketing
- Isis Bryant, BFA Fashion Product Development
- Junho Kim, BFA Fashion Merchandising
- San Francisco – Paris Sister City Scholarship Exchange in Paris, France
- Studio Berçot
- Lusha Wang, MFA Fashion Design
- Brianna Toomer, BFA Fashion Design
- L’Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne
- Paula Miranda Do Amaral, BFA Fashion Design
- Felix Ryan, BFA Fashion Design
- Graduate Fashion Week International
- Selected to show her collection in London at Graduate Fashion Week International
- Julie Eunju Kim, BFA Knitwear Design
- General Motors Design Scholarship Award for $1,250
- Mariana Suarez, BFA Fashion Design
- 2018 Fashion Journalism Scholarship
- $1,500 Scholarship and Summer Internship at TRC Marketing
- Adriana Georgiades, MA Fashion Journalism
- 2018 Social Media Center Scholarship
- $1,000 Scholarship and Summer Internship at Cross Marketing & PR
- Margaret Winkler, BFA Advertising
Additional Events
On Wednesday, April 25th, the day prior to the Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony, guests Alexander Fury, Andre Walker and Lutz Huelle, joined distinguished industry guests, Trino Verkade, CEO of Sarabande: The Lee Alexander McQueen Foundation, and Sara Kozlowski, Director of Education and Professional Development (Council of Fashion Designers of America ‘CFDA’ for a panel discussion hosted by Simon Ungless, Executive Director of the School of Fashion. The discussion, and following Q+A with the guests, focused on creating sustainable careers for today’s fashion landscape.
And, on Friday, April 27th, Academy of Art University hosted a discussion panel, “Inclusive Design: Redefining the User Experience”, moderated by School of Fashion’s Assistant Director of Fashion Styling, Flore Morton, with guests Stephanie Thomas, (founder of CUR8ABLE), Beau Oyler (founder of Enlisted Design and Urbino), and Chelsea Werner (a model with Down Syndrome and a four-time Special Olympics U.S. National Champion).
Discussion participant, Stephanie Thomas, is an MA Fashion Journalism alumna of the School of Fashion. She is also a congenital amputee, entrepreneur, professional stylist, and founder of CUR8ABLE, a disability fashion lifestyle website. She has made it her mission to empower those with disabilities, applying her 26+years of research on clothing to make fashion available and accessible to all.
Courtesy photi
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.
