Congrats, SCAD Grads

by None

In late May, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in the great state of Georgia staged its much-anticipated 2017 grad show in the open-air courtyard of the SCAD Museum of Art. True to form for an elite design university, the year-end thesis collections brimmed with both whimsy and concept, creative prowess and technical savoir faire. To a wildly enthusiastic crowd of beaming faculty, friends, and family, a total of 120 looks from 43 graduating seniors took the catwalk, capping off four years of scholastic achievement and offering a glimpse of fashion’s future.

Among the standouts, Alexandra Pijut incorporated dream analysis and notions of a working subconscious for her pieces, which are intended to go between day and night, naturally. Zimo Yan, hailing from China, explored the idea of interactivity between the wearer and garment, “a world where you can control garments with your senses, emotions, and movements,” she said. Greg Dugdale, meanwhile, cited a more whimsical source of inspiration, a Chindi ball of yarn he discovered in a market. “I started unwinding the ball and creating samples with the yarn,” he described. “The bright colors and textures are what bring my designs to life.”

One of the country’s top design institutions, SCAD — a global university with four locations in Savannah, Atlanta, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France — has a long history of embracing a holistic approach, one that balances design and marketing, technique and history, imagination and career prep. To that end, graduating SCAD fashion students in Savannah, as well as sister campuses, were given access to the university’s revolving Style Lab mentor program. This year, mentors included Francisco Costa (formerly of Calvin Klein), David Ruperto (senior director of Ralph Lauren footwear), and SCAD alumnus and designer Marv Graff. They were all in attendance, as was a particularly enthusiastic Miss J Alexander, of America’s Next Top Model fame, who coached the models, many of them fellow students, on their walks.

The runway show was the culmination of the inaugural SCAD FASHWKND, four days of original works culled from senior apparel and accessory collections. As the ‘see now, buy now’ ethos has made its way to fashion campuses, guests also had the chance to purchase select pieces created by SCAD alumni. Following the long weekend, the same runway looks were reimagined in vignette form for the university’s Atlanta community, where image-maker David LaChapelle was honored with the SCAD Étoile Award, presented in recognition of his influence on fashion, film, and photography.

Rikki Raiford – Marietta, GA