Dawn Olivieri, who has had roles in House of Lies and The Vampire Diaries, wore a dress by Sara Shepherd, 2005 B.F.A. Fashion Design alumna, to the InStyle Golden Globes after party.

Dawn’s stylist, Hellin Kay, knew it was the one instantly:

“The Sara Shepherd dress fit Dawn like a glove so we knew the second she put it on that was the dress! I love the simplicity of it, it’s formal without being over the top and has just the right amount of edge in the details…”

This is not the first time that one of Sara Shepherd’s dresses has been worn for the red carpet – Livia Firth, Colin Firth’s wife, wore one of her beautiful designs to the London premiere of A Single Man.

Congratulations Sara!

You’ve hopefully seen the beautiful window displays that some of our visual merchandising students created for the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, and now we have some behind the scenes action!

The students, along with their instructor Martin Zanfardino, worked on the displays for months. They made sure that every last detail was perfect, and their hard work paid off – the displays turned out beautifully. Just the other day, the InterContinental Mark Hopkins team tweeted “@aaufashion The windows looked wonderful this year- the guests are loving them!” 

Follow the jump for photos – and videos – of the works in progress! And click here to see the final product! Read more…

Event Co-Hosts Nadine Weil and Zem Joaquin.

On December 6th, 2011, Global Green celebrated its 7th annual Gorgeous and Green gala and fashion show at the Bently Reserve in downtown San Francisco. Guests were entertained by musical guest Michelle Branch, as well as the dinner theatre performance, and of course – an eco-fashion show featuring designs from Karen Caldwell, Oliver Tolentino, Minolya, and our very own Sara Sheperd.

Sara graduated from the School of Fashion in 2005 with a B.F.A. in Fashion and Textile Design. She now teaches at the University, and has her own collection. Co-host for the evening, Nadine Weil, also wore a dress by Sara for the event, a gorgeous black silk gown. The goal of the event is to expand the perception of what it means to be truly sustainable without sacrificing style – a mission we totally support. Bravo!

Follow the jump for fashion show photos! Read more…

Students from Flore Morton’s styling class took to the streets of San Francisco for their inspiration – literally. Students Hannah Tutton, Diana Byrd, and Brie Sloan, and photographer Anthony Rogers, created an editorial influenced by the Occupy SF movement (with the help of the gorgeous Svetlana from FORD Models). They celebrate the bohemian chic style of the movement’s best-dressed recessionistas, who maintain their sartorial splendor through it all!

Follow the jump to see the images! Read more…

Andrea Nieto

Marta Wendlinger’s Introduction to Fashion Journalism class had a seriously cool final project. We know it doesn’t seem like those words can go together, but we promise it’s true! For their final project, students were assigned “Edit Tests,” in which they had to create 5 pages of content from the ElleFashion section of Elle Magazine.

The best part about the project was that it allowed students to experiment with several different aspects of fashion journalism – from researching, writing and editing, to creating layouts, trend forecasting, and more. The final products were so amazing, we wanted to share a few with you!

Follow the jump to see more! Read more…

Makeup Gourmet, the brainchild of San Francisco makeup artist and School of Fashion instructor Chris Scott, wants to help you start the New Year in style! Makeup Gourmet is a website dedicating to sharing Mr. Scott’s insider knowledge about the world of cosmetics – they dish on the best products AND how to properly apply them. And this Saturday, they’re hosting a glamorous event benefiting one of San Francisco’s most renowned charity organizations, GLIDE.

GLIDE has been providing services to the city’s less fortunate communities and individuals for over 40 years – serving hot meals, providing shelters, and helping families get back on their feet.

He said of the decision to pair up with GLIDE: “We at Makeup Gourmet want to benefit and serve the local San Francisco community where we live and work as much as possible. No single non-profit organization in San Francisco has been assisting the city’s less fortunate more than GLIDE and we are proud to lend a hand.”

Makeup Gourmet will open their doors on New Year’s Eve from 12:00 Noon to 6:00 PM, offering make-up application, hair styling, and spray tans, to help everyone beautify for a cause. Attendance is free, you simply have to pay for the individual services that you would like – you can pre-order services here to ensure your spot. There will also be a “libation station” so  you can start celebrating early – what more could you want!

We hope to see you at the Makeup Gourmet New Year’s Eve Glam Charity Event!!

WHERE: Makeup Gourmet – 236 8th Street, San Francisco

WHEN: Saturday, December 31st from 12:00 to 6:00 PM

RSVP here!

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 School of Fashion is introducing a new online class for Spring 2012:

FSH 499 OL Special Topics:

Introduction to Surface Embroidery

 This foundation course builds on the historical perspective of the art of embroidery while teaching the basic tools and techniques used in contemporary fashion. Students are introduced to traditional hand embroidery stitches using cotton, rayon, chenille, and wool threads and applying them to a variety of fashion fabrics.

This class is authored and thought by Robert Haven.

On Wednesday, December 7th, Michael Rosen’s students put on an amazing art installation titled We Will Rock You. All six of his classes participated in the show: three sections of FSH 616 – Dynamics of Fashion, FSH 390 – Fashion Merchandising Career Development, GS 671 – Professional Practices and Communication of Fashion, and FSH 262 – Fashion Design 3.

Career Development and Professional Practices students displayed their business cards, résumés, and original bio’s meant to grab an employer’s attention. The three Dynamics of Fashion classes created publications that represented what they had learned in the course. One was an XXXpandable magazine that stretched the entire length of the table, another was a “Hand Coutured” Manual with everything from A to Z, and the third – a moving, transparent magazine. The three publications were set up amidst a tableau of household furniture: a chair here, an easel there, a grandfather clock in the corner. The furniture became the set for the final act of the presentation – a runway show, sans clothes, put on by the Fashion Design 3 students. The designers presented their sketches, mood boards, and fabrics – exhibiting their ideas in complete silence, and allowing the work to speak for itself.

The entire experience was amazing – so many different forms of creativity came together with one powerful message: We Will Rock You.

Follow the jump for more photos! Read more…

Today’s edition of Instruct/Influence features Lorraine Sanders, a part-time instructor who teaches Fashion Journalism: Blogging. Lorraine writes her own blog, SF Indie Fashion, which has become a go-to source for learning about the brightest designers in the Bay Area, new boutiques in the area, and all of the amazing fashion events going on in the city. She has also worked as a copywriter, social media consultant, and journalist. Lorraine’s varied experience has given her a vast set of skills and wisdom, which we wanted to pass along to you!

You are the editor and founder of SF Indie Fashion, a website dedicated to local designers and boutiques. When did you first start the site and what inspired you to do so?

I started SF Indie Fashion six years ago after realizing that there wasn’t a site devoted to sharing news about the many small, independent apparel and accessories designers living and working in the Bay Area. In my work as a freelance journalist, I was constantly finding new, intriguing people making really cool, creative things that I was pretty sure others would like, too. But at the time, and things have certainly changed a bit on this front, there just wasn’t a place you could find out about new collections, trunk shows, local shopping events, fashion shows and launch parties. Local media were only covering a smidgeon of the information that was out there. So I created the site to have a place to share all the news I was collecting.

That’s the practical piece that led the site, but there’s also a more personal element to it. I am constantly energized and inspired by creative people and designers. I have a lot of respect for what they do and admire the intense devotion and work that goes into creating a successful, independent creative business. The San Francisco Bay Area is full of businesses like this, and they are really what brings the character and flavor to our town. Along those lines, I’m an advocate of being a more conscious consumer by knowing who is making what you’re wearing and putting your money towards something that betters society, supports the arts and improves the world around us. I think independent fashion is a great vehicle for achieving those goals.

People are obsessed with local food and its many benefits. I am kind of like that about independent fashion.

Follow the jump to read more! Read more…