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.

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RGB Gallery Presents: Before it Was Sewn

WHEN: Opening Party Saturday, November 12 from 6:00-12:00 PM

WHERE: RGB Shop + Gallery – 3024 Fillmore Street at Union, San Francisco

A group exhibition focusing on the creative process of designing – everything that happens Before it Was Sewn. Featuring work by Bay Area artists Zoë Hong, School of Fashion Instructor Briana Kranz, Faithy Leong, and New York photographer (and AAU Alum) Deborah Atalig. It will be an amazing night of art, inspiration, music, and more!

RSVP here.

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