Academy Rolls out the Red Carpet for Bertrand Delanoe, the Mayor of Paris
The Honorable Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, receives a gift from Gladys Perint Palmer,
Executive Director of Fashion, of her original illustration of him for the event's invitation. |
On Thursday, April 20, 2006, the Honorable Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, visited the Academy
of Art University to tour the School of Fashion, where he addressed students and invited them to
work on his sense of style as well as to his city of Paris. Following the tour, President Dr. Elisa
Stephens and Executive Director of Fashion Gladys Perint Palmer hosted a luncheon in his honor at
The Gallery.
Many showed their support by attending including the 41st Mayor of San Francisco Willie Lewis
Brown Jr.; celebrated author Danielle Steel; Emily Sano, Director of the Asian Art Museum; Glenn
McCoy, Director of the San Francisco Ballet; French Consul General Frederic Desagneaux; Barnaby
Palmer, Artistic Director & Conductor of the San Francisco Lyric Opera; Sherry Young, Executive
Director of the African-American Shakespeare Company; David Humphrey, the General Director of PALM;
Craig Newmark of Craigslist.org; and two of our upcoming May 24th School of Fashion Graduation
Fashion Show honorees, Robert Mettler, Chairman & CEO of Macy's West, and Wilkes Bashford.
The Honorable Bertrand Delanoë addressed the attendees and stated that "the Academy of Art
University is the most prestigious school and the Fashion department is the most famous in the
United States."
The Honorable Bertrand Delanoë and President Dr. Elisa Stephens.
The Academy of Art University currently has the privilege of hosting two students from Paris,
Dorothée Flores from Studio Berçot and Maud Rousseau from L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la
Couture Parisienne. "I consider myself very lucky to be at the Academy of Art University in San
Francisco," says Dorothée Flores. "It's an amazing university with advanced technical equipment and
facilities, and has overall been a great experience, as the professors take their time with the
students so we can understand everything. They are patient, professional, and push the students to
progress." President Dr. Elisa Stephens has awarded these two students a Presidential Scholarship
to stay on at Academy of Art University for another year.
Gladys Perint Palmer, Executive Director of Fashion, introduces the Honorable Bertrand
Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, to our French exchange students Dorothée Flores & Maud Rousseau.
Since 1998, the Academy of Art University has been involved with The Sister City Scholarship
Exchange with Studio Berçot and L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, two of
the best fashion schools in Paris. Gladys Perint Palmer began this exchange at the suggestion of
then San Francisco Mayor Willie Lewis Brown Jr., and the program has flourished ever since. Academy
of Art University students travel to Paris for one full year and students from both Studio Berçot
and L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne attend the Academy of Art
University.
Faez Fathi, Textile Instructor, and Tracy Hiner, BFA Textile Design, show the Honorable
Bertrand Delanoë the process of creating textiles while Gladys Perint Palmer, Executive Director of
Fashion, looks on.
This year's Academy of Art University scholarship recipients are Lene Anderson (BFA Fashion
& Knitwear Design), who is studying at the Studio Berçot and interning as a knitwear designer
for Chloe, and Kristian Arvelin (MFA Fashion Design), who is studying at L'Ecole de la Chambre
Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.
Last year's recipients included Christine Ligan (BFA Fashion & Textile Design), who studied
at Studio Berçot and was the grand prize winner in the Concours International de Dessins Dentelles
et Broideries. She won the Grand Prix Gagner Pour Dentelle Mode 2005. The competition was held
among 26 fashion design schools throughout France and Belgium, with hundreds of designs submitted.
Christine's first place award included two thousand Euros and a week-long internship with D.M.C.
Group. She also interned with French designer Delphine Murat.
BFA Fashion & Textile Design student Christine Ligan who studied in Paris last year is
introduced to Charlotte Mailliard Shultz of the Mayor's Office of Protocol and the Honorable
Bertrand Delanoë.
Tracy Hiner (BFA Textile Design) had a textile internship at Dice Kayek, and Anna Arguello (BFA
Fashion Design) interned at Risto Bimbloski.
BFA Fashion Design student Anna Arguello who studied in Paris last year shows the Honorable
Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, one of her designs.
Past Academy of Art University graduates and recipients of the exchange scholarship include
Desanka Fasiska (who now has her own line called Desanka, which showed in Los Angeles during
Mercedes Benz Fashion Week); Bote Benchekarn (who is now a menswear buyer for Club 21 in Thailand;
Nelson Cantada (designer for BCBG); Oh-Young Kwon (designer for Martine Sitbon); and Alisa
Schulhoff (designer for Martin Margiela). While in Paris, students have interned with Azzedine
Alaïa, Christian Lacroix, Kenzo, Christian Dior, and Givenchy.
Famous actor and Director of Acting Diane Baker discusses with the Honorable Bertrand Delanoë
her upcoming project in Paris.
The Honorable Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, was elected in 2001, becoming the first
left-wing mayor of the French capital in more than a century. He is most beloved for his
development of high-profile arts and social events, his honesty and devotion to the city as
evidenced in his successful drive to stamp out corruption in City Hall, his ongoing reforms of the
Parisian transportation system, and his raising of the international profile of Paris, including
the city's Olympic bid.
Illustration of the invitation to the Mayor's visit. |
Two of his most famous arts and social events are La Nuit Blanche and Paris Plage, which bring
in millions of visitors each year. He can also be found front row at many fashion shows, and is
highly respected as the first openly gay official in Paris. School of Fashion Director Gladys
Perint Palmer first met the mayor, and deputy mayor Christophe Girard, at Jean Paul Gaultier. They
were remarkably good-natured about her large coat, which took up more than her share of the chair
and smothered them.
On May 24th, at the School of Fashion Graduation Fashion Show, Christophe Girard, Deputy Mayor
of Paris responsible for culture and Director of Fashion Strategy at the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennesy
Fashion Group, will receive an honorary doctorate from Dr. Elisa Stephens and visit the School of
Fashion. M. Girard was an official at Yves St. Laurent, is a producer of award-winning
documentaries, is a tireless AIDS activist and Greenpeace member, and lived in our beloved city of
San Francisco in 1977.
For more information on our Fashion program, please visit our
Fashion School pages.
Related:
|
