Photo Courtesy of Fashion Indie.

Over the past few years it has become a given that CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Winners will collaborate with mass market retailers, and we’re so excited that this year’s winner, Joseph Altuzarra, will release a capsule collection for J. Crew! There has been speculation in recent months, but Altuzarra confirmed suspicions when he told Fashionista that the designs he created with the J. Crew team “will be coming out in a few weeks.”

“It was a really interesting project because it was a conflation of their language – or of their world – [and] of our world and putting it together,” the young designer said.

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Stefano Pilati spoke at the French Institute Alliance Française on Tuesday night talk series, reminiscing on his 30 year career and his tenure at YSL, and quelled rumors of what he’ll do next. “I started to work in the fashion industry at a really early age, and somehow leaving Saint Laurent ended a chapter, a career I started almost 30 years ago,” the designer said. “For some reason, I haven’t planned any move.”

Though unsure of what the future holds, he spoke at length about his path through the industry, even offering some words of wisdom that we wanted to pass on to you! When asked how young people should approach working in fashion, he responded:

“Don’t lose your passion, be true to yourself… Go to work as soon as you can… Do any job in fashion. No matter what. I’ve been a salesperson in a shop. I’ve been an assistant, a stylist, done internships… I knew that I wanted to work in fashion. That for me was a the same thing, to be a fashion designer came up, but you have to try many things.”

So there you have it – you have to be willing to try many things to find the right fit. And, as Jean Paul Gaultier said as well, you have to have passion!

Read more from the interview on Fashionologie.

Photo taken with Instagram.

In case you missed this momentous occasion – or you just want to watch the excitement again – we’ve got a video! Peep Jean Paul Gaultier as he enters the School of Fashion and is greeted by hundreds of adoring students and faculty, and as he talks to School of Fashion Executive Director Gladys Perint Palmer about creativity in the fashion industry. And be sure to head over to the De Young Museum to catch his exhibit, The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, it is a fantastic experience!

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On Saturday, the De Young Museum hosted a conversation between Jean Paul Gaultier and fashion journalist Suzy Menkes, in honor of the opening of the designer’s exhibit The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. “Jean Paul Gaultier is one of the funniest, most talented, wittiest, and funkiest fashion designers I know,” Menkes began. The only thing we might add to the list: most charming – he really is wonderful to talk to, which we learned during his visit to the School of Fashion.

During the hour and half discussion, Suzy touched on everything from his early love of fashion inspired by the Folies Bergère, to his work with Madonna, and the business side of fashion that is seldom discussed. She was quick to point out how deserving Jean Paul was of the exhibition, saying, “I’d just like to start with something a little bit more serious. In fashion, the real reason that people last – and when it comes to Jean Paul Gaultier is probably talked about the least – is the technique, the skill, the handwork, the knowledge. Sometimes it gets buried underneath the fantasies of the clothes, but if you look hard, you will see the extraordinary craftsmanship.” And it is so true – going through the exhibition, you are able to see the intense attention to detail and all of the hard work – particularly when looking at the couture gowns.

When asked about his early years, creating the corsets and dressing Madonna, Jean Paul cited his mother and grandmother as inspiration, who influenced him from a very young age. “They taught me how women were: strong, clever, human – and sometimes stronger than men. I realized very quickly that women were more interesting and maybe even more clever.” And he sought to portray that through the clothing – it was not about sexualizing women, but about showing their power. He spoke of how much he enjoyed working with Madge – they had similar ideas and wanted to say the same things. He also confessed that the original cone bra was worn not by Madonna, but by his teddy bear, Nana, who had a cone bra made of newspaper, which you can see in the exhibition.

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Photo Courtesy of Caro Ramirez.

Yesterday, Jean Paul Gaultier visited the School of Fashion, creating what can only be described as a fashion frenzy. Students started filling up the building well before the 2:00 PM call time, all trying to stake out the best spots for his arrival. And when he did arrive, quite promptly actually – especially for fashion standards – students could not have been more excited. “It’s like we have royalty here,” Dr. Stephens said at one point, and in a way we kind of did – fashion royalty at least.

Gladys Perint Palmer talks about the magic of fashion with Jean Paul Gaultier. Photo Courtesy of FSD.

As he entered the atrium, students cheered wildly and everyone was snapping away on their smartphones – suffice it to say that the Twitterverse (and Instagram) lit up with JPG tweets and pics from the hundreds of students who were gathered. During the brief presentation, School of Fashion Executive Director Gladys Perint Palmer asked him to reflect on true creativity in fashion – how to harness it and make sure it survives. His reply came from the heart, “The most important thing in life is to have love – it has to be your passion.” He spoke of the need for originality as well: “When you do something different – people are surprised and they appreciate it. There is no point in doing something someone else has done.” He also talked about his grandmother, who sparked his interest in fashion at a young age and was a constant inspiration: “She taught me that you could say something through your dress, your hair and make-up. And that is what I try to do – to speak through the clothes.” Academy of Art University President, Dr. Elisa Stephens, presented Monsieur Gaultier with an Honorary Doctorate, which elicited a huge smile from the designer, “I never went to art school – I’m very happy. This is a big, big, big compliment.”

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In preparation for Jean Paul Gaultier’s visit to the School of Fashion, students in Hersha Steinbock’s FSH 320: Interpreting and Reporting Fashion, did some major research into the designer’s life and impressive career. Students were asked to research iconic fashion collections as well as his costume design work for films and the stage. Looking back over the designer’s 35-year career reminds us of what it means to truly change fashion – and we hope it inspires you to do the same!

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In 1988, Jean Paul Gaultier created a house music album called, How to do that? The album’s tracks featured scraps of conversation from Gaultier and his team throughout the design process, during rehearsals, and backstage at the show, all pieced together and layered over electro beats, creating the perfect sartorial soundtrack.

And – even better – there is an accompanying music video shot by Jean Baptiste Mondino. The vid features super models, couture creations, and the Enfant Terrible himself all Vogueing for the camera. A must watch.

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REMINDER: Jean Paul Gaultier will visit the School of Fashion TOMORROW! He is scheduled to arrive around 2 PM, so please make your way to the Atrium (the drawing rooms) a bit before then so that everyone is settled when he arrives. We are so grateful to Monsieur Gaultier for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit us, and we can’t way to show him the School and all of your wonderful work!

WHAT: Jean Paul Gaultier at the School of Fashion

WHEN: Tomorrow, March 21st – 2:00 PM

WHERE: Polk – First Floor – Atrium (drawing rooms)

All nine designers from the Academy of Art University Fall ’12 Fashion Show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week were featured on Metro Velvet! The fashion forward website brings readers the best of the best from fashion weeks all over the world, and we LOVE that our designers were included. Below is a preview of the post, but head over to Metro Velvet’s website to read the entire thing!

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Diane Von Furstenberg and Steven Kolb Announce the 2012 Fashion Awards Nominees and Honorees. Photo Courtesy of Getty.

Last night, CFDA President Diane Von Furstenberg and CFDA CEO Steven Kolb, announced this year’s Fashion Award Nominees and Honorees. Though many of the nominations went to former nominees such as Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler, and Marc Jacobs, who have been dazzling fashion lovers for seasons – there were some exciting newcomers thrown in, too. The most surprising name of the evening: Johnny Depp, who will receive the Fashion Icon Award (and is the first man to ever receive the honor).

Seth Meyers will emcee the evening, and is sure to inject some humor into the event, which takes place on June 4th at Lincoln Center. We know of a few other exciting announcements that will be revealed at the awards ceremony, but we can’t tell you about them just yet. Stay tuned for updates!

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