Photo by: Donato Sardella, Style.com

Remember when we announced that alumna Jill Giordano and her partner Brian Scheyer of the San Francisco-based fashion label gr.dano were chosen to participate in the fourth California Design Biennial? (click here if you don’t remember) Well, the people at Style.com were there to cover it and, in turn, Jill and Brian were featured on the site.

Rose Apodaca, who assembled nearly 100 items from 11 designers for the showcase at Pasadena Museum of California Art, had nothing but praise for our alumna:

At first sight of the gr.dano collection, I could instantly spot the technical skill in the draping and construction,” said fashion curator Apodaca. “Deciding what the show needed to be was easy; the real challenge was limiting the choices to 11.

Gr.Dano joins the ranks of other designers who have showcased at the event including Phillip Lim and Rodarte.

Congrats Jill and Brian!

Click here to read the complete story

gr.dano [Official Website]

I don’t mean to toot our own horn, but as one of the many fashion schools that participate in Stylesight’s student print competition, we have taken home our share of prizes — and this year isn’t any different.

Jennifer Isaza (senior BFA Textile Design major), Sarah Appiah (recent BFA Textile Design graduate), and Ruby Guerra (recent MFA Textile Design graduate) snagged the top three spots for creating some snazzy prints. For this particular project, each student chose one of four inspirations: Rave, Evolution, Hyperreal, and Composition.

In addition to getting their work and profiles will be featured on Stylesight.com the first place winner (Isaza) received $1,000 while the second place winner (Appiah) had the opportunity to intern in Stylesight’s New York or Paris office.

Here are some pieces of their work:

Jennifer Isaza’s “rave” inspiration won her the top prize. This fall, she will travel to India’s National Institute of Fashion Technology as a part of the exchange student program.

Follow the jump for more pictures. Read more…

The verdict is in: Marc Jacobs is the designer of the year — according to the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Last night, tons of others took home accolades that could be called the “Academy Awards of Fashion: including Michael Kors, Christopher Bailey and the high priestess of hotness, Iman.

Not to gloat or anything, but the School of Fashion isn’t a stranger to the CFDA. Many of our students have received scholarships from the prestigious association (including some of our graduating students this year.)

After the jump is the complete list of winners and honorees of the 2010 CFDA Fashion Awards. Do you agree with the winners? Disagree? We’d really like to hear what you think. Read more…

Jana and Kenzi’s booth at the show

Remember when we told you that senior Textile Design students, Kenzi Klein and Jana Yee were selected to attend Surtex designext Competition in New York? Well — the two of them did pretty well — nay — they did very well.

For the challenge, Kenzi, Jana, along with two other designers created six to nine original surface designs for fabrics, wall coverings, floor coverings, and accessories to be used in a residential interior in the year 2015. The entries were judged by a panel of esteemed judges — one of the being fashion/interior designer, Todd Oldham.

Jana’s concept, “Vitality Blooms” got her the grand prize of $1,000 as well as getting in the good graces of the judges.

Follow the jump for more…

Read more…

Looks from the gr.dano F/W 2010 collection

School of Fashion alumna, Jill Giordano and Brian Scheyer of the San Francisco-based fashion label gr.dano have been selected to participate in the fourth California Design Biennial presented by the Pasadena Museum of California Art.

Brian and Jill of gr.dano

Past designers to receive this honor include Rodarte, Phillip Lim, Magda Berliner, Jasmin Shokrian and Trina Turk. That said, this is kind of a big deal.

With this year’s theme titled, Action/Reaction Giordano and Scheyer will participate in an exhibition that highlights some of the most innovative designs that are conjured up in California. This not only includes fashion, but also industrial design, graphic design, transportation, and architecture.

For more info on gr.dano, visit their website.

In addition to the many, many, many awards and internships that Suzy Menkes announced (pictured above) after a stellar graduation fashion show, some of our special guests gave offered internship opportunities to some of our students. Check out who got offered what by whom in the list (and a snazzy slideshow of the recipients) below:

Menswear designer, Patrik Ervell: Anette Nyseth (BFA Fashion Design) and Melody Bainter (BFA Fashion Design).

Ian Hannula and Joe Haller from Nice Collective: Jackie Nguyen (BFA Technical Design) and Ryan Kuan (MFA Merchandising).

Carol Lim and Humberto Leon from Opening Ceremony: Ronnie O. Nery (BFA Knitwear Design), Young Ae Koo (BFA Knitwear), and Alice Spies (BFA Fashion Design).

Elisa Palomino for Diane von Furstenberg: Amelia Statler (BFA Fashion Design), Stephanie Hoffmann (BFA Knitwear Design), Ghazaleh Khalifeh (BFA Fashion Design), Ivy Fu Man Tam (BFA Fashion Design), Eunice Cheng (BFA Fashion and Textile Design), and Yuzuan Cheng (BFA Fashion Design).

Walter Van Beirendonck: Mariah Groves (BFA Industrial Design).

All photos by Randy Brooke

Ghazaleh Khalifeh (BFA Fashion Design) before showing her collection at the graduation fashion show on Thursday, May 6. She was also one of six graduates who snagged an internship with guest of honor, Elisa Palomino for Diane von Furstenberg

Check out more of Laura’s pics in the slideshow:

Photo and words by: Laura Reilly

Click here for more of “Laura’s Lens”

Last night at our graduation fashion show, guest of honor, Suzy Menkes presented the recipients for the Sister City Scholarship Exchange in Paris, France:

Studio Berçot
Ronnie Omar Nery, BFA Knitwear Design
Ashon Sylvester, BFA Men’s Wear Design

L’Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne
Alice Spies, BFA Fashion Design
Rinat Brodach, BFA Fashion Design

Other award and internship recipients included:

Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) 2010 Scholarship Awards
Peter Nguyen, BFA Knitwear Design, recipient of $10,000
Lisa Relth, BFA Fashion Design, recipient of $5,000
Wei-Li Ting, BFA Men’s Wear Design, recipient of $5,000 Clara Hancox Scholarship Award
Pia Jannika Lilja, BFA Knitwear Design, Geoffrey Beene Design Scholarship honorable mention

SURTEX® designext Student Competition
Kenzi Klein, BFA Textile Design

Abercrombie & Fitch
Peter Nyugen, BFA Knitwear Design, recipient of summer internship
Jennifer Chen, MFA Textile Design, recipient of summer internship
Brenna Riley, BFA Fashion Design, recipient of full time position
Ruby Guerra, MFA Textile Design, recipient of full time position

BCBG Max Azria
Emma Erickson, BFA Fashion Design, recipient of summer internship in Hervé Léger division
Ruby Guerra, MFA Textile Design, recipient of summer internship

Chrysler
Wolwold Wen, MFA Textile Design, recipient of summer internship

Stay tuned for more coverage of our graduation fashion show including students who were offered internships from our special guests.

As you already know, Walter Van Beirendonck and Dirk Van Saene will be our special guests for our May show. As 1/3 of the Antwerp Six, the duo are influential designers — but let me back up a bit.

For those of you who don’t know who the Antwerp Six is, now is a better time than ever to find out. The Antwerp Six is a group of avant garde designers who graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts. The six included Walter and Dirk (of course) as well as Ann Demeulemeester, Dries van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Marina Yee. The sextet of designers shared a radical and unique vision of fashion and have a cult following that rivals that of Justin Bieber. Read more…

We all know you have been waiting for it — so here it is; the OFFICIAL guest list for our 2010 Fashion Show! And despite some circulating rumors, John Paul Gaultier is not one of the guests. Don’t get us wrong, we do love him, but who started that rumor?

Nonetheless, here is the list. Drum roll please…

An Academy of Art University Honorary Doctorate will be presented to Suzy Menkes, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, and fashion editor of International Herald Tribune.

Academy of Art University President’s Awards for Excellence will be presented to:
· Julie Chaiken, Bay Area designer and founder of Chaiken Clothing
· Keanan Duffty, designer and author of ‘Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style’ by Rizzoli, 2009
· Patrik Ervell, winner of the 2007 Ecco Domani Award for best men’s wear designer
· Ian Hannula and Joe Haller, Bay Area designers and founders of Nice Collective
· Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, innovative retailers and founders of Opening Ceremony
· Elisa Palomino, women’s wear designer and VP of Design at Diane von Fürstenberg
· Walter Van Beirendonck, men’s wear designer and one of ‘The Antwerp Six’
· Dirk Van Saene, artist, designer and one of ‘The Antwerp Six’

Honored guests will announce internships at the end of the show. Other internships and awards to be announced include Abercrombie & Fitch, BCBG, SURTEX® designext Student Competition, and the Sister City Scholarship Exchange to study abroad in Paris at Studio Berçot and L’Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.

That’s quite a guest list, isn’t it? Stay tuned for symposiums and Q&As that you can attend.

In the meantime, check out this snazzy little slideshow of our guests: