A still from the film.

As many of you saw at the Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony, Maria A. Romero presented her collection not on the runway, but with a short film. She constructed her entire collection on a set of dolls, and collaborated with students from the School of Animation and Visual Effects to create a stop motion film. The end result was a beautiful and moving presentation that allowed Maria to not only showcase her work – but to tell a story.

The film and collection were so spectacular, that they earned Maria an internship at Alexander McQueen, and caught the eye of the team over at NOWNESS – they decided to feature it as their story of the day! For those of you that don’t know, NOWNESS is an award-winning online platform that showcases some of the most inspiring stories from around the globe, previewing the latest in art, fashion, film, music, architecture and design, travel, sport, and gastronomy. They posted Cathy Horyn’s interview with Sarah Burton after the Spring ’12 collections, and recently published an exclusive two-part interview with Daphne Guinness – clearly, the site is a MAJOR deal.

Follow the jump to watch the video and head over to NOWNESS to read their exclusive interview with Maria! And Bravo to Maria and the School of Animation team – Travis Weaver, Victoria Simiele, Mireya Francoso, Dorthy Thielsen, Federico La-Tona, Benjamin Arthur, and Luke Night! See more…

 Photo by Randy Brooke.

On Thursday, May 3rd the Academy of Art University hosted it’s annual Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony, an unforgettable evening of sartorial splendor. Press, industry, students, family, and friends – not to mention our awesome Guests of Honor – all packed into our new venue at The Cannery for a seriously impressive show. Academy of Art University President, Dr. Elisa Stephens, opened the show, welcoming all of the fashionable attendees and presenting Honorary Doctorates to Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen, Philip Treacy, milliner, and Her Royal Highness Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, president and CEO of the ALFA and AL HAMA luxury retail corporations who own and operate Harvey Nichols, Donna Karan, and DKNY stores in Saudi Arabia. The flashbulbs (alright cellphones – but flashbulbs sounds so much cooler) were going wild as our guests took to the stage to receive their honorary degrees. Other front row players included Suzy Menkes, fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune, Cathy Horyn, fashion critic for The New York Times, Stephan Rabimov, editor in chief of DEPESHA magazine, Jayne Seward, fashion editor of California Apparel News, and Katie Hintz-Zambrano, senior editor at Refinery29 – suffice it to say that there were some serious industry heavyweights in the room.

And then it was time for the main attraction – the Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony. The show opened with Renata Lindroos and Mina Fadaie’s collection – a fashion and textile design collaboration inspired by distorted perceptions in 1960s horror films. The architectural pieces looked amazing on the runway, and the prints had everyone mesmerized. Hely Nguyen’s collection followed – a series of structured menswear-inspired looks that play with length and layers. Then it was onto a the collaboration featuring designs by Erica Laba, textiles by Liza Quiñones, and knitwear by Emma Mengchen Yang. The opening look was a sheer, silk organza shirtdress that achieved the perfect balance between prim and provocative. Ethan Chihuan Yang’s minimalist collection featured angular, sculpted silhouettes in dark hues that were simultaneously restrained and dramatic.

Follow the jump to read more! Read more…

Looks from Renata Lindroos and Mina Fadaie, Kim Tran and Orly Ruaimi, and Zhangchi Wang. 
Photos Courtesy of Randy Brooke. 

We were honored to have Cathy Horyn, fashion critic for The New York Times, attend our Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony for the second year in a row (she was the 2011 Guest of Honor). Even more exciting – she featured our students’ collections on her NY Times blog, On the Runway!

Here is a snippet from the piece:

[Simon Ungless] certainly put together a strong group of graduates this year. Twenty-three fashion and textile students participated, along with a couple of fine-arts students majoring in sculpture or jewelry design. Among the standout presentations were photo-print dresses based on 1960s horror film, by Renata Lindroos and Mina Fadaie; a clever take on the eternal fashion theme of “Grey Gardens,” by Kim Tran and Orly Ruaimi; embossed felt garments, based on Chinese stone carvings, by Zhangchi Wang; neo-Art Deco and embellished designs by Jacqueline Rabot and Julie Seltzer; and miniature garments with religious overtones by Maria A. Romero.

To read the entire article, click here.

For more information on the Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony, click here.

Suzy Menkes, Cathy Horyn, and Paul Wilner.

On Thursday May 3rd, The Academy of Art University had the pleasure of hosting a lecture by two of the fashion world’s top journalists: Suzy Menkes, Fashion Editor of The International Herald Tribune and Cathy Horyn, Fashion Critic for The New York Times. Both women have well-established careers and are at the top of their field. School of Fashion Executive Director Gladys Perint Palmer introduced the pair, and Journalism Coordinator Paul Wilner moderated a panel discussion by the legendary journalists, who offered plenty of advice to a room full of fashion students.

Both women were very approachable, answered questions in an unpretentious manner, and provided insightful information about their successful careers. Menkes was instantly recognizable sporting her signature hairdo: one pin curl set at the top of her short brown hair. She brought a British charm, wearing minimal makeup and a few subtle pieces of jewelry. She donned a purple blazer and top, navy trousers, purple suede shoes that tied into a bow in front, and even matching purple socks.

Horyn had a laid-back look consisting of a black three-quarter-sleeved top, blue paisley printed pants and brown leather loafers. Her short brown hair was kept simple and she had minimal accessories; a small silver watch, and square gold and green ring.

Menkes spoke about her early aspirations to become a writer and how she handcrafted her first newspaper at the age of five. She always had an interest in fashion and studied dressmaking in Paris as a teenager. She worked on her school newspaper at Cambridge University and later landed a position at The Times, a daily British national newspaper.

Follow the jump to read more! Read more…

Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen, and Philip Treacy, milliner.

We hope you already know who they are – but in case you’ve been living under a rock the past month – we’re so excited to re-announce our 2012 Guests of Honor! We have a seriously amazing line-up this year: Sarah Burton, creative Director of Alexander McQueen, Philip Treacy, milliner, and Her Royal Highness Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, president and CEO of the ALFA and AL HAMA luxury retail corporations which operate Harvey Nichols Department Stores, Donna Karan, and DKNY stores in Saudi Arabia.

Also joining us for the 2012 Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony will be 2010 Guest of Honor Suzy Menkes, OBE, fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune, and 2011 Guest of Honor Cathy Horyn, fashion critic for The New York Times. As well as Stephan Rabimov, editor-in-chief of Depesha, and Jayne Seward, fashion editor of California Apparel News.

Check Fashion School Daily all week long for bios, photos, videos and more – and get excited to meet our guests during all of the fashion show events!

Cathy Horyn intervewing Alexander McQueen Creative Director Sarah Burton. Photo Courtesy of Nowness.

Welcome back – we hope you are all looking forward to the Spring semester! As you begin your new classes and embark on exciting adventures, we want to remind you to let us know about all of the amazing things that you’re working on! If you have a class project that you’re really proud of, or something you’re working on outside of school, email us for a chance to be featured!

Additionally, we want to encourage all of our students to write for Fashion School Daily! Think of it as a platform to hone your skills and write about the exciting worlds of fashion, pop culture, San Francisco, New York, and beyond! If you dream of being the next Cathy Horyn, Suzy Menkes, or Hamish Bowles – this is your first step.

Please send any and all pitches to fashionschooldaily@gmail.com. Or, if you just want to send us your stories – and pictures – for consideration, you can do that too!

Looking forward to your submissions and good luck in the Spring Semester!

You can also keep up with the School of Fashion on Facebook and Twitter (@aaufashion).

This one is for all you fashion journalism students and documentary/news junkies.

Page One: Inside the New York Times is a documentary by Andrew Rossi that explores the ins and outs of the world’s most prominent newspaper. In particular, it documents the newspaper’s shift in a media world dominated by the Internet. Check out the trailer:

The documentary gained acclaim while at the Sundance and is now slowly opening in theaters (July 1 is when it will open nationwide).

Considering lauded fashion journalists like Cathy Horyn (one of this year’s guests of honor) and Bill Cunningham are part of the New York Times, this documentary is worth watching.

Chris Li, (from left) Casey Evangelista and Ran Bi were presented with CFDA awards by New York Times fashion critic, Cathy Horyn. Photo credit: Randy Brooke

Three students received some special news last week when New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn announced the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) 2011 Scholarship Award Winners.

Horyn, a special guest at our fashion show, presented the prestigious CFDA scholarships to Chris Li, Casey Evangelista, and Ran Bi. Li was awarded a $5,000 scholarship and Bi was awarded $10,000. Evangelista scored the $10,000 CFDA Scholarship for The Clara Hancox Scholarship Award for Menswear Design.

Congratulations to all three! The awards were well-deserved.

Nathalie Rykiel (from left), Gladys Perint Palmer and Cathy Horyn at last week's symposium. All photos by Randy Brooke

For those of you who weren’t able to make it to last week’s symposium, here are some photos from the very engaging discussion between Gladys Perint Palmer and special guests Nathalie Rykiel and Cathy Horyn. For a full report on the event, you can access an article through your online classes. Here’s a snippet from the article:

As fashion students packed Morgan Auditorium on Post Street in San Francisco, the School of Fashion’s Guests of Honor were presented with inquisitive questions from brand identity to the state of journalism, the two answered very willingly — but in very different ways. Moderated by Executive Director of Fashion Gladys Perint Palmer, Horyn and Rykiel presented very thoughtful answers about the industry with two different point of views — which brought about a very dynamic conversation.

Yesterday, 601 Brannan was bustling as a tent sprouted to showcase the collections of our graduating fashion school students. In the evening show, our guests of honor which included Cathy Horyn, Nathalie Rykiel, Yigal Azrouël, Andrew Buckler, Steven Cox & Daniel Silver of Duckie Brown, Christina Neault, and Laure du Pavillon reviewed student portfolios and sat front row to view the collections of our graduating seniors. As an added bonus, International Herald Tribune fashion editor (and last year’s guest of honor) Suzy Menkes made a surprise appearance and sat front row to watch the collections alongside our other guests.

A look by Margaret Yoha. Photo credit: Randy Brooke.

Cathy Horyn wasted no time to write up her experience at our show. This morning, she posted a piece about the collections on her New York Times blog, “On the Runway.” Here’s a snippet:

The Academy of Art has some standout students — among them Margaret Yoha, who managed to find symmetry in Elton John and Genghis Khan; Peter Nguyen; the prints of Darrin George; the designs of Lauren Haut; and Maggie Mo Luo, whose knitwear was selected by Nathalie Rykiel for a top prize.

To read the entire post, click here.

For more information on our graduation fashion show and events, click here.