Invitation to the Academy of Art University Fall ’12 Fashion Show. Illustration by Gladys Perint Palmer.

Today’s the day – it’s finally here – the Academy of Art University Fall ’12 Fashion Show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week! The designers have worked tirelessly, perfecting every last detail, and we can’t wait to see all of their hard work come to life on the runway!

Be sure to tune into the live stream at www.academyart.edu/fashionshow at 8 PM Eastern/5 PM Pacific. Gather your friends, family, pets – anyone you can find – and support your fellow students! Make sure you Tweet with us using the #AAUfashion hashtag to get in on the fashion conversation.

And if you haven’t already seen it (for shame!), be sure to peep our Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall ’12 Designer Dossier to learn all about our amazing designers and the inspiration behind their collections!

Time for a little game of Design Match! Can you match the below sketches with the designers’ inspiration? And be sure to check out the final products during the Academy of Art University Fall ’12 Fashion Show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on Friday, February 10th at 8:00 PM. You can watch the livestream here and be sure to Tweet about your fave looks using the #AAUfashion hashtag!

Follow the jump for the inspirations! Read more…

Wordsation is a new subscription site offering original graphic designs and illustrations on baby apparel. They are looking for artists to create one-of-a-kind designs that incorporate artfully fun words. Each month, designers submit 5 theme-based designs that the site chooses (such as transportation, animals, tools, etc). A minimum of three designs will be chosen, and then printed on onesies.

The designer is the centerpiece for the site for the entire month and will be featured with a video, photo, bio and link to their website or portfolio. Designers also make a commission on sales for all onesies sold with their designs. This is a great opportunity to have your work featured!

If you’re interested in being a featured designer, contact Sarah Scudder at sarah@wordsation.com

Follow the jump for example designs! See more…

Online Instructor Gayle Kabaker, a fashion illustrator and graphic designer, was recently asked to lend her art to a collection of lamp shades! The project came about through her art show, One Family, Four Artists, One Night, that featured her work alongside that of her husband, son, and daughter. The collection features seascapes, ballerinas, flowers, and leaves in a variety of colors.

Congratulations Gayle – can’t wait to see what you do next!

The Asian Heritage Street Celebration is holding its annual poster contest! They are seeking artists to create an exciting image that will become the face of the 8th Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration, to be held on Saturday, May 19, 2012. The winning artwork will be featured in a wide-scale multi-media marketing campaign in both the mainstream and Asian Pacific markets and they’ll also receive a $500 grand prize!

“This is a great opportunity for any up-and-coming artist to have his or her work showcased in such a large scale and meaningful way.”  – Jennifer Yin, Marketing and Communications Associate for the Asian Art Museum

The deadline for submissions is January 6, 2012 at midnight. For rules and details, click here. All entries should be submitted here.

Women’s Wear Daily asked a few designers to share their original sketches from the Spring 2012 Collections. It’s truly fascinating to look at the sketch, created months before the actual garment, and then see it come to life on the runway. We’re sure that many of you can relate to that feeling!

Gucci – Sketch Courtesy of Gucci, Photo Courtesy of David Maestri.

Giorgio Armani – Sketch Courtesy of Giorgio Armani, Photo Courtesy of Giovanni Giannoni.

Follow the jump to see more! Read more…

Today we bring to you a new column, Instruct/Influence, in which we will be chatting with the amazing instructors at the School of Fashion. Hiding underneath that school teacher exterior, there lies a bounty of hidden gems -  some of the best fashion tales you’ve never heard. Our directors and instructors have worked with the best in the biz and have some sartorial stories that we could only dream of, and we wanted to share some of those experiences with all of you. We begin the column with Briana Kranz, one of our lovely Fashion Illustration instructors who has a new art show opening this weekend!

You attended the Academy of Art University as an undergrad – what was your favorite class when you were a student?

Yeah I studied Graphic Design and Illustration. And I took a lot of Carol Nunnelly’s classes, her fashion illustration classes. And there was just a spark in her class and I knew that that was the direction I wanted to go in. In illustration there wasn’t really a lot of that so I had to kind of find my way to fashion illustration because my school was a lot more traditional, as far as all of the foundation classes. I really liked the freedom of her class.

The techniques and the style are really fast and direct, not as sketchy. It was really nice to see someone who was really talented. The way she draws is so direct, you know she really thinks with every line she makes and I saw that and thought “That’s how I want to draw.”

What are your favorite subjects to draw?

Shoes! I love drawing and painting shoes.

And what materials do you prefer?

I do usually pen and ink and then watercolor on top of that. I started off playing around with ink, a pen and a nib. And then tried steel tipped pens and those really stuck with me. And it was really interesting because they are water soluble, so when I painted the watercolors over the ink, it blended into the paint. It creates a really cool effect and you kind of work with it and work around it. I just tried it one day and it kind of set off a light bulb.

Follow the jump to read more! Read more…

Grid suits are a teaching tool developed by School of Fashion Executive Director Gladys Perint Palmer, to help teach students how to draw the body. As the name suggests, it is a body suit with grid lines drawn on it, helping students to draw the body proportionately and accurately. Illustration Coordinator Carol Nunnelly took the grid suits home the other day to wash them, giving them their own little adventure: from drying in a garden, to the body, to paper.

Top Row: The Gridsuit hanging in Carol’s garden, and being modeled by Mia Paschal

Bottom Row: Drawings by Natalie Chiu Sze Wai (L) and Kristina Fielding (R)

Online Fashion Illustration instructor Gayle Kabaker is holding an art show with her husband, son, and daughter. Each of the artists has a distinct style, yet they come together beautifully. Gayle graduated from the Academy of Art University and has since worked as a fashion illustrator, graphic designer and much more. If you’re anywhere near Greenfield, Massachusetts – be sure to stop by the show!

Click here to watch a short clip about the project!

Elsa Peretti, Diana Vreeland, Coco Chanel, Pauline de Rothschild

In honor of the film, “Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel.”