New York Fashion Week 2016 kicked off Wednesday––one of the first events of the bi-annual showcase being the Parsons Master of Fine Arts Fashion Design and Society Show. The program was an opportunity for Parsons masters students to unveil their final designs as students of the New School.
The event was hosted by Milk Studios, a media company that helps musicians, designers, and photographers in branding and producing their work, as well as MADE New York, a company known for showcasing up-and-coming designers, artists, and brand partners. The showcase was located in the heart of Chelsea at Milk Studios and featured the works of Gaheen Lim, Mook Attakanwong, Xiang Gao, Snow Xue Gao, Kozaburo Akasaka, Jessie Shroyer, Purple Mountain, Anna-Marie Gruber, Ran Bi, Alex Huang, Bjorg Skarphedinsdottir, Queenie Qinghe Cao, and Jahnkoy––masters students who graduated in Spring 2016.
Students present their graduation collections in an exhibition format at the end of their second year to industry executives, head-hunters, press, stylists, and buyers. The collection is shown again on the runway during New York Fashion Week in the fall.
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For some of the designers, the showcase was their runway debut. The show was filled with bold colors, large volume, and experimental manipulations of fabrics and texture such as fringe, mesh, fur, and leather. Students said their inspirations varied from internationally repurposed clothing, cultural exchange and watercolor illustrations.
“The show was very conceptual. It was very in your face. There was a large focus on menswear and women in menswear,” said New School President and audience member, David Van Zandt, in reference to designs of Gahee Lim and Snow Xue Gao who put men in white pumps and women in large coats and pants.
The fashion show acts as a glue, bringing the MFA and BFA design communities together. This year, undergraduate BFA fashion design students had the opportunity to intern with the MFA students to help make their collections, allowing a mentorship between the two students.
“I learned a lot helping him [Alex Huang] make his collection because he teaches us as we go,” said Grace Chou, 20, an undergraduate fashion design student who assisted MFA student Alex Huang, in making his collection for the show. Huang’s designs consisted of celestial and delicate trench-coat dresses made of tulle. “He was willing to teach me pattern-making on the side for my own projects.”
Huang found that working with other students to balance out labor released some stress during the art process. “Working with undergraduates was also a different experience. I needed to learn how to allocate the right work to the right person and streamline the process so it’s easier to understand for everybody, “said Huang. “It’s much easier when the people around you can read your mind, but when being helped it is very important to know what you want too.”
The labor intensive process pays off as the showcase gives students an opportunity to gain attention. “The show was definitely good exposure. Being able to present my collection in this sophisticated way really helps communicate with my audience,” said Huang.
Photos by Julia Himmel and Don Eim.