Graduates Show Fall Collections at NY Fashion Week in Bryant Park
Eight Academy of Art University
School of Fashion graduates unveiled their Fall
Collections at the highly anticipated Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week in Bryant Park. The only
school invited to participate in the event; Academy of Art University has showcased graduate
collections during fashion week since 2005.
This season, one menswear and five womenswear collections from the Fashion Design, Textile
Design and Knitwear Design programs were presented in The Tent at Bryant Park. “The University
views this opportunity as part of its commitment to help launch the careers of its graduates,“ said
Dr. Elisa Stephens, President of the University. “In addition, we create team projects and
collaborative collections to help prepare these designers for the industry they are about to enter.
Three such collaborations will be shown this season.”
Graduates Featured in The Tent
Qianya
Martin, Fashion & Knitwear Design
A native of Southern California, Qianya developed her knitwear collection watching the
flares, ripples and repetition of the ocean and tide pools on Agate Beach in Bolinas, California.
She introduced sheer fabric as the ocean has no embellishments, no make-up and nothing to hide. “My
collection is about tuning in to the purest nature of yourself and just being accepted for the
beauty of who and what you are.”
Heather Howard, Fashion Design & Cat Janky, Textile
Design
Heather drew from her upbringing in Portland, Oregon where hiking, backpacking, sciences and
arts were important to her family. Early environmentalists John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt
inspired her eco-friendly collection. Cat’s figurative and sometimes-macabre prints are based
on photographs of American life in the late 1800s. She also created a modern play on traditional
silkscreen prints of stripes, checks and polka dots. Cat is from Omaha, Nebraska.
Scott McFarland, Fashion &
Knitwear Design
Scott translated his skills as a formally trained sculptor to knitwear design. His experience
with three-dimensional shapes, texture and color led him to experiment with knitting techniques. He
made his own yarn by cutting lace fabric into strips and hand-knitting them to create the heavier
knits for his coats. From Little Rock, Arkansas, Scott was inspired by Art Deco patterns, metal
work, architecture and the androgynous styles from the 1920s.
I-Shan Liou, Fashion &
Knitwear Design
Myoung Hee Kim, Textile Design
 I-Shan was born and raised in Changhua, Taiwan. Her
collection’s silhouette, color story and irreverent use of soft luxurious angora yarn was inspired
by the mood of Sam Francis’ paintings of earth, water, air and fire Myoung Hee hand painted her
bright designs onto paper; heat transferred them onto chiffon and then bonded to I-Shan’s knitted
fabrics. She also hand painted rice paper and bonded the paper to the knits. Myoung Hee was born in
Seoul, South Korea where she spent most of her childhood before moving to British Columbia, Canada.
Emily Melville,
Fashion Design & Ivanka Georgieva, Textile Design
Emily was born in Connecticut and raised in California and Virginia. She developed her
silhouettes by draping wool fabric on a dress form to experiment three-dimensionally and then used
creative cutting techniques to construct unconventional shapes. Ivanka used a combination of
screen-print, dye, iron, and pigment discharge to recreate the look of landscape paintings
inspired by the work of artist Leslie Shows. Ivanka was born and raised in Pernik, Bulgaria.
New York Fashion Week in San Francisco
Academy of Art University students, instructors and staff took pause to view the show in San
Francisco via a live webcast. “We participate in New York Fashion Week twice a year, and the
fashion graduates never cease to amaze with their spectacular collections. Our presence at the show
sets Academy of Art University apart from every other fashion school in the world. We’re all proud
to be a part of that,” said Dr. Stephens.
Watch the webcast.
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