THE FUTURE OF FASHION – FIT’S SENIOR 2013 FASHION DESIGN SHOWCASE

On Wednesday, May 1st the Fashion Institute of Technology, held their annual end-of-year runway show – titled The Future of Fashion! Approximately 90 outstanding looks designed and created by the graduation class of 2013 were carefully chosen out of a group of 330 students that concentrated in sports wear, special occasion, intimate apparel, knit wear and children’s wear. The season designed for was Fall 2013. This year’s show also showcased the work of seniors studying their senior year abroad in Milan, Italy at FIT’s sister school Politecnico di Milano.

I was so happy to attend! As an FIT alumnus I was so proud to see the students of what would have been my graduating class in Fashion Design put forth their brilliant work. Many of those in attendance truly don’t understand all of the hard work and sleepless weeks maybe even months that went into completing their final garments. I was able to take a true look at the work and craftsmanship from an insiders point of view. As the show began I was completely impressed with how professional the clothing looked. No seem out of place, no imperfections. If it wasn’t for the large FIT logo as the backdrop of the runway I would have forgotten this was a student show and I felt as if I was viewing a designer collective of 1 to 2 looks from top designers at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week! And, even though I was friends with many of the designers that evening, I tried to look past our relationships to see the garments for what they were. Looking at the garment first, then the name on the runway’s backdrop is how I decided to view the collection. I was almost in tears when I learned who did which piece, being like a proud mama wanting to run up there and squeeze the designers for a superb job! There were definitely looks that stood out to me for many reasons; their beauty, professionalism, style and individuality. BRAVO!! The senior class of 2013 really needs to be immensely proud of themselves, for all they have accomplished during their careers at FIT.

This BRILLIANTLY executed show was professionally produced by the support of Calvin Klein. Inc with a $2 million gift from the designer and his company.

Unfortunately, not every design student makes it to the senior showcase. A group of judges are gathered to choose which student’s work is most runway ready. This year’s judges include as Followed:

Kate Betts, Alana Kelen, Lilliana Vasquez, Joe Zee, Colleen Sherin, Bryan Grey-Yambao, and Maria Cristina Marrero,

The designer mentors and critics for each concentration go as listed:

Special Occasion – Amsale Aberra & Maggie Norris

Sportswear– Lisa Perry, David Neville and Marcus Wainwright of Rag + Bone, & Gary Graham.

Intimate Apparel – Flora Nikrooz

Knitwear – Tom Scott & Lars Anderson

Children’s Wear – Bonnie Young

Each critic chose the most exceptional garment from their group to be a Critic Award Winner. The design students who won the critics awards go as followed:

Special Occasion – Trung Vu, Vietnam & Elle Loow, Sweden

Sportswear – Carly Rosenbrook, Minneapolis, MN – Miguel Pena, Healdsburg, CA – Lae Lee, Hicksville,NY

Intimate Apparel – Alina Kulik, Chatham, NJ

Knitwear – Sijeo Kim, South Korea & Marines Padilla, Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Children’s Wear – Thaiana Cruz, Bronx, NY

The designers selected for the fashion show also vied for cash awards from Cotton Incorporated, a longtime show sponsor. Students who displayed the best use of cotton in their garments competed for prizes of $10,000 for 1st place, $5,000 for 2nd place and $3,000 for third place

The Winners go as followed:

1st place – Tae Kyung Kim, Seoul, South Korea (Was also the Siempre Mujer Magazine winner for best use of color)

2nd place – Jong Suk Park, Seoul, South Korea

3rd place – Emily Levine, New York City

 

The hair was provided by John Barrett and Makeup was provided by Lyne Desnoyers. The even was produced by Gale Marketing.

Some of my other Favorites from the evening: