Dazzling Styles and Big Names at Academy of Art University Fashion Show 2007
Every year, the community anxiously awaits the incredible display of art and fashion that is
the Academy of Art University’s Annual Fashion Show. This year, a plethora of industry
professionals from high-profile fashion publications and design houses converged in San Francisco
to participate in a week-long series of events that culminated in a brilliant display of
collections at the Fashion Show.
For days leading up to the show, fashion students rubbed elbows with big name designers and
retailers, who offered insight and guidance. Executives from Macy’s West, fashion designers Zac
Posen and Loulou de la Falaise, and editors from The Washington Post, Italy’s Fashion magazine, and
San Francisco magazine were just a few of the industry experts who lent their expertise to this
year’s event. Students were treated to panel discussions, a fashion trends presentation, and even a
live Q&A chat with some of the influential industry players on hand.
By the time the Fashion Show arrived, excitement was high. Students put last minute touches
on their pieces, models prepped for the catwalk, and industry professionals and society mavens
flooded the event. The scope of this year’s show, with more than 1,500 people in attendance, made
for a spectacular showcase of the young fashion designers’ debut collections. Designers delivered a
diverse mix of functionality, idealism and creative experimentation that wowed the local and
international crowd.
To complement the visionary clothing on stage, students from the School of Fashion and the
School of Fine Art Sculpture contributed an array of inventive accessories, as part of a
collaborative project between the two schools.
One of the more unusual collections was created as part of a competition sponsored by
eco-friendly wine producer French Rabbit. The company challenged Fashion students to create
outfits using the winemaker’s environmentally friendly packaging, and the students came up with
some brilliant designs. Who would have thought?! Saving the world one outfit at a
time. Check out more of the innovative French Rabbit designs
here.
Academy President Dr. Elisa Stephens awarded Loulou de la Falaise, Robin Givhan, and Zac
Posen with Honorary Doctorates for their contributions to the fashion world. De la Falaise
said she felt honored to receive the award and praised the students and the Academy for their
myriad accomplishments.
Robin Givhan, Zac Posen & Loulou de la Falaise Display
illustrations given to them by Gladys Perint Palmer, Executive Director of the School of
Fashion.
“I have seen all the work of the students today, and I am really impressed by the
professionalism, the discipline, the inventiveness and the creativity,” de la Falaise said.
Zac Posen was equally impressed. “I am the same age as some of the students I have
seen, and I have been utterly blown away. The poise, the exuberance, the creative passion
that I saw was unbelievably inspiring,” Posen said.
Though the event has come and gone, the spark of student brilliance and their creations
remain. For those who missed this year’s show, be sure to mark your calendars for April of
2008. You won’t want to miss it next year!
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