by Phillip D. Johnson
Recently, there was, yet again, another loooooooooong article (this time in the Wall Street Journal) fretting over the futures of some of the most storied fashion houses of our time (Armani, de la Renta, Lauren, etal) and what will happen to their multi-billion dollar businesses when they (finally!) put down their sketch pads for good – either of their own accord (voluntary retirement) or on the occasion of their untimely death (something NO ONE wants to think about now or ever!). The same could be said for their compadres on the fashion publishing/editorial side (Wintour, Bailey, Wells, Meyers, Bowles, Coddington, Goodman, etal). The fact that these distinguished gentlemen and ladies are getting up there in age begs the question: Who are they grooming for the eventuality to take their place on fashion’s Mount Olympus ? Are they in danger of becoming a hot mess (Bill Blass, Halston, anyone?) or a near seamless transition that respect the brand’s DNA without looking the essence of the new man/woman at the helm (Raf Simons at Dior)?
While I, along with everyone else, value their continued contributions to the global fashion industry, eventually they will have to leave the stage and now it’s a matter of “proper estate planning” of the highest order. On the designer side, it’s a matter of grooming an heir to carry on their lives’ work, to keep the cash registers ringing, to leave their loved ones a lifetime of ever-flowing residual quarterly cash payments into infinity, if possible. I, for one, thought that John Galliano working with Oscar de la Renta was a brilliant combination of like-minded, talented designers and the resulting hosannas the de la Renta 2013 Fall/Winter collection received was proof of that. Mr. de la Renta really should should look to solidify his legacy in that direction. At one point, Narciso Rodriguez was being talked about as the likely heir to the Girogio Armani kingdom. They too share the same design sensibility and could benefit from a long-term collaboration that leads into Mr. Rodriguez ascending to the Armani Throne after some years of learning at the feet of the master. Alas, that too turned out to be just wishful thinking on our part and too bad because, given Mr. Rodriguez’s lack of buzz over the past ten years, that was a way for him to solidify his own own legacy within the industry. Not that he’s going anywhere anytime soon, you understand. I just believe that he would have continued the grand Armani tradition of structurally architectural dressing in fine form.
All this, of course, comes full circle to the recent Academy of Arts University (San Francisco) Graduate Students Show held at Lincoln Center this past February. If anyone (and I mean anyone) in the industry is despairing for the future of fashion, they should give it a rest and go back to scheduling their hair and nail appointments with the latest “It” hairstylist and manicurist in the Village. Based on what we saw this past fashion week, the future of fashion will be in good hands indeed with these young designers from the Academy of Arts University (to start). These very talented young people were simply amazing. The range of talent they brought to the runway was not to be denied. By adding ten more looks each, every one of them could have had their own show and still come out on top. That’s how good they are.
Since 2005, the The School of Fashion at the Academy of Arts University has premiered the collections of recent graduates during New York Fashion Week because Dr. Elisa Stephens, President of Academy of Arts University sees it as “part of our commitment to the [young] designers to help launch their careers and have their collections seen by industry professionals.” With more than 18,000 students, Academy of Arts University is the nation’s largest accredited private arts and design university. Established in 1929, the school offers accredited A.A., B.A., B.F.A., M.A., and M.Arch degree programs in Acting, Advertising, Animation & Visual Effects, Architecture, Art Education, Art History, Fashion, Fine Arts, Gme Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture & Design, Landscape Architecture, Motion Pictures & Television, Multimedia Communications, Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media, Photography, and Web Design & New Media. At the School of Fashion, over 2,700 students study under the guidance of experienced fashion professionals, including Executive Director Gladys Perint Palmer, Simon Ungless, Director of the School of Fashion, Sean Moore, Director of Graduate Fashion, Keenan Duffty, Senior Director of Fashion Merchandising, and Sharon Murphy, Director of Fashion Merchandising.
For the Fall/Winter 2013 season, there were seven women’s wear collections shown, one of which was a collaboration between fashion and knitwear design students and another that was a collaboration between fashion design, textile design and jewelry design students. And ultimately, that’s what why these shows are so important. They allow the students to work in real-time fashion industry situation–you know, “no man’s an island”–thus setting the tone for the rest of their career.
JANINE VILLA & ARMANDA NERVIG PHOTO GALLERY
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The first collection by Master of Fine Arts in Fashion Design degree graduate Janine M. Villa and Master’s Degree in Knitwear Design graduate Amanda Nervig was a meeting of the minds that really rocked the house. I am a HUGE fan of both Hudson Bay blankets and preppy/tailored men’s wear; after all, I wore a uniform to school (with penny loafers) for the first, informative years of life and loved it. As such, I truly was impressed with their united efforts. Inspired by the vintage Welsh blankets she had collected, Miss Villa smartly built her collection around their rich texture and patterns, while also adding the clean lines that made this collection so utterly timeless and beautiful. I adored all the blanket coats and jackets–one and all. I was amazed at her seamlessly she and Miss Nervig worked in all those silk and wool pieces with the equally beautiful and seasonless prints such as their tobacco/multi silk shirtdress and jade/multi silk shirt. This was a collection of true separates. Tear apart these runway-styled looks and the entire collection is a keeper. In a time when women are spending far less on clothing and even more on accessories and shoes, the pieces here jump to the front of the line because they are investment pieces, especially those coats and jackets.
New Zealand artist and illustrator Henrietta Harris has mastered the art of [the] delicately mournful painting. Her style radiates an other-worldly aura of sad playfulness and whimsy. Each images is something familiar with a clever twisted detail to add interest while creating a sens of alienation.
Annie CHURDAR
YUMING WENG SCHOLL PHOTO GALLERY
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Yuming Weng, a M.F.A Degree in Fashion Design graduate, was inspired by New Zealand artist Henrietta Harris‘ soft, distorted portraits, which was clearly reflected in her designs. As writer Annie Churdar wrote, “New Zealand artist and illustrator Henrietta Harris has mastered the art of [the] delicately mournful painting. Her style radiates an other-worldly aura of sad playfulness and whimsy. Each images is something familiar with a clever twisted detail to add interest while creating a sens of alienation.” In this collection, Miss Weng gave us the familiar–minimalist tailored pantsuits and tops and structured dress that were far from cold and off-putting–while throwing in unexpected featured such as ripple cuts across the landscape of the pieces that was reminiscent of soundwaves. Working mainly in wool (broiled, perhaps?), she stuck to a strictly enforced color palette (silver, pewter, iron and stone). I found a couple of the pieces to be a bit matronly in my opinion but not excessively so. The standout piece for me was her silver heather ripple-cut coat. It was a perfect garment designed to last a lifetime–or at the very least, more than three seasons.
TERESA FIELD & LEAH ARIPOTCH SCHOLL PHOTO GALLERY
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The combination of Teresa Field (M.F.A in Fashion Design), James Thai (School of Fashion ‘s Textile Program) and Leah Aripotch (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture) made for one of the more cohesive collections of the overall show. Miss Field was inspired by “artistic repesentations of the human body (shades of Ralph Rucci), including graphic representations of human anatomy and musculature, as well as process sketches from H.R. Giger’s Alien.” This manifested itself within the collection mostly in the most excellent custom leather textiles I saw all week in New York City . Even at this young age, Mr. Thai is showing a great of promise First and foremost, all his designs–created by burning the leather to create blended imagery of flora and fauna–is a magical illusion of the eye. It’s wearable works of art. The etched bone leather dress that opened the collection first appeared to be actual fabric, until you realize that it was leather in its most supplest of form. Which woman would kill to own and wear the line’s etched bone leather pants? Miss Aripotch’s contribution was the near savage-like jewelry that so completely fill out the overall vision of the collection. She created jewelry and embellishments cast in bronze, brass and copper that worked well as a snake lariat necklace, a bronze handbag with a snake wrapped around its parameters and a bracelet with dueling rattlesnakes as its main feature.
With her fall 2013 collection, Heather Marie Scholl sought to bring together all her separate fields of study to “explore the often sexually obsessed nature of queer culture, and the duality of pain and glamour that comes with it.”
HEATHER MARIE SCHOLL PHOTO GALLERY
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I’ve learnt over the years to not buy too much into “inspiration” statements designers put out to describe the show you are about to see. Heather Marie Scholl earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Race, Gender, and Sexuality before graduating with her Master of Fine Art degree in Fashion and Knitwear Design from Academy of Arts University. With her fall 2013 collection, she sought to bring together all her separate fields of study to “explore the often sexually obsessed nature of queer culture, and the duality of pain and glamour that comes with it.” I didn’t see it. However, hers was one of the more youthful capsule collection of the show. I could see Vogue Japan’s Editor at Large Anna del Russo wearing the fushsia wool beaded jacket and those elastine beaded leggings. The standout piece in the collection was her gold/fuchsia/rust merino wool sweater dress. It was easily the one piece that every urban, on-trend hip girl will embrace.
CHENX LI SCHOLL PHOTO GALLERY
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Chenxi Li (from Zhengzhou City in the Henan Province of China) took her inspiration from the fashion of the 1950’s (especially the pencil skirt), highlighting exaggerated silhouettes and voluminous shoulders and sleeves in several types of wool, cashmere knits and rabbit fur. It was a collection that demonstrated her ability to work within the “commercial” framework (after all, the clothes do have to sell) of the industry but still put forth her vision. I thought her rabbit fur pieces were quite beautiful, especially in the color palette she employed. Standout pieces here included the opening midnight blue hooded coat, the arctic blue jacket and her sea green coat. She displayed as much skill with her other pieces, resulting in a collection that both the ladies-who-still-lunch and the young, Junior League socialite set can embrace with open arms.
HEATHER MC. DONALD PHOTO GALLERY
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One of the more pronounced trends from the fall shows were designs inspired by science fiction. I saw that evidence of that in the Alon Livne presentation in the Box at Lincoln Center, as well as in the Mathieu Mirano show and a hybrid Punk/SciFi theme from menswear designer Rochambeau. Heather McDonald, originally from Calgary in Alberta , Canada , was inspired by the classic 1927 Fritz Lang, film, Metropolis, which explored the relationship between humans and technology, a subject that is still very much relevant even today. But instead of going the “science fiction” route, she brought it closer to home with amazing contoured knitwear pieces and slightly over-sized angular silhouettes. I loved the jutting contoured features of her skirts, made all the more appealing when paired with top with high cut-out sides designed to highlight the skirt to a greater degree. I thought her charcoal ombre wool pant was one of the best show in the show. Her gunmetal silk wool sweater dress had it all: the rounded shoulder, the boxy contour at the waist, the fitted silhouette, the sophistication that today’s women are looking for when they buy clothing. It was truly her signature piece.
Qian Xie sought to highlight “the ways in which natural light create shadows in interior spaces at different times of the day, while focusing on geometric, clean silhouettes and play with the idea of negative space.”
QIAN XIE SCHOLL PHOTO GALLERY
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For her collection, Qian Xie (from the Chongqing Province of China) sought to highlight “the ways in which natural light create shadows in interior spaces at different times of the day, while focusing on geometric, clean silhouettes and play with the idea of negative space.” She achieved this goal by showing some pretty amazing lattice work on hide skin, which gave me a good idea of what she was trying to convey. There was indeed a sense of negative space and and changes in shadows and light in these pieces. She also demonstrated versatility with evening-ready block grey wool/lapin fur/crystal embellished top. Another signature feature of this capsule collection, the ring loop, was generously scattered throughout, making an appearance on tops, skirts, coats and a killer finale piece, a white cashmere, crystal-embellished coatdress.
Photo Credits : Runway Images by Randy Brook and provided by Ian MacIntosh/Academy of Arts University