Designers

The Academy of Art University School of Fashion presented the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter 2019 collections of 17 of their student designers during NYFW on Saturday at Pier 59 Studios. The San Francisco based art school has an elite fashion design program with notable alumni such as Anna Sheffield, Lauren Conrad and Raven Symone.

The new generation of young designers from the university’s Master of Fine Arts program introduced their work on the runway to a diverse audience of recruiters, industry executives, fellow designers and media. You can get a better look at the runway pieces from each student below:

Nicholle Jones, an online graduate student at AAU, took advantage of unconventional materials to create these looks. Her inspiration behind them were masks and the idea that they essentially used to hide something or someone.

Throughout his academic career, Justing Kong Jiang’s  focus began to shift from kinetic art and mechanic structure to incorporating the ‘spirit of surrealism’ in to his work. Justing’s collection were definitely designed to stand out with their shiny, metallic details and futuristic-inspired garments.

Tingting Cai and Esther Qi collaborated on a retro futurism and asymmetrical collection, drawing inspiration from vintage books and the unusual linked bodies of Siamese twins. The layer and shape of fabrics give off a gradient effect and really taps in to the traditional 70’s retro aesthetic.

Currently working on his masters in fashion design Yoonsuk Lee integrated different patterns like houndstooth and plaid to create a familiar yet unconventional perspective of womenswear and menswear combined.

Serbia native Snežana Aničić-Van Pelt gained inspiration for her collection from the constant evolution of our social climate. All the different materials used in these looks, from human hair to lamb’s wool, manage to work together rather than clash which is the concept she wanted to convey in this collection.

This collection is a collaboration between three graduate students: Mark Kazu Mekaru, Katy Fang Liu and Amo Chou. The menswear consisted of loose, dark garments perfect for the fall and winter season, using wool, cotton and polyester.

Longwen Li and Kiwon Kang collaborated on this menswear collection and to bring together Li’s twist on the typical “nerd” style and Kang’s interest in photoshop and graphic design.

Zibo Wang used her early life growing up on a military compound as a child as inspiration for these pieces. The military themed tones are evident in the heavy, layered pieces to bring together a balanced blend of masculinity in the womenswear collection.

Jessica Lai drew inspo from graphic illustrator Olimpia Zagnoli who uses bright, vivid colors and large shapes in her work. Similarly, Lai incorporated the ‘pop art’ theme in to her collection, using organic cotton and wool.

Lusha Wang’s collection was heavily influenced by the movie We Need to Talk About Kevin and its main character Tilda Swinton. Wang combined thick, wool blends along with yarn and patent leather to create these oversized yet cozy garments.

The haunting scenes from the film Shutter Island influenced Zhihan Liu womenswear collection. These looks represented the emotionally dark scenes throughout the film, mixing the concept of standard black and white evening wear with sheer, ruffled details.

Vivid Yunan Ma created the ideal winter essentials. Her collection of fuzzy sweaters and skirts, and crochet knit tops and dresses were inspired by teddy bears and stuffed animals from Mark Nixon’s book Much Loved.

Changsheng Yu took the cultural route, drawing inspiration from his mother’s upbringing and his Chinese heritage to incorporate in his collection. The earth tone fringes give great detail to these stunning pieces.

Following the student’s debuts’, the School of Fashion allowed industry professionals a more intimate opportunity to view the students’ work at their two-day showroom at Kimball Studio in SoHo.

All runway photos are by John Perez.

Follow the School of Fashion on all social media channels: @AcademyUFashion