Jayne Seward and Stephan Rabimov speak to styling students. Photo Courtesy of Randy Brooke.

In addition to our amazing Guests of Honor, we had several other guests visit the School of Fashion for the Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony, including Stephan Rabimov and Jayne Seward. Stephan is the editor-in-chief of DEPESHA, a Russian culture magazine at the intersection of fashion, art, literature, and modernity. Jayne is currently the fashion editor at California Apparel News, has also written for STYLE.COM, BritishVogue.com, and Surface, and has extensive experience styling celebrity clients, films, and television shows.

On Thursday, May 3rd, Stephan and Jayne visited Flore Morton’s styling class, and spoke to students about the industry, offering some sage advice gleaned from their years of experience. Jayne discussed her beginnings as a stylist, and stressed the importance of interning and gaining as much experience as you can. She also talked about commercial styling, which isn’t always a career goal, but can be extremely important if you’re trying to earn a living.

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When Jean Paul Gaultier visited the School of Fashion a few weeks ago, Flore Morton’s styling students set up a JPG-inspired photo shoot to show the designer as he toured the school. Today, we’ve got a few of our favorite photos from the shoot, which was seriously awesome. Monsieur Gaultier was thoroughly impressed by the whole production – from the styling and the clothes, to the hair and make-up, and even our choice of fabulously androgynous models. The finished images are amazing so we wanted to share them with you!

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On Saturday, March 3rd, the Academy of Art University put on an Open Studio – a chance for people in the area to come visit the School and see what we’re all about! At the School of Fashion, instructors set up various activities for visitors to partake in – from making textiles to knitting samples. Flore Morton set up a workshop where people were able to style their own photo shoots, and we’ve got some of the photos! They assembled looks from pieces designed by Rob Curry’s M.F.A. Construction 3 class, and were even able to choose hair and makeup looks.

Peep some of our faves below!

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Flore Morton, one of our styling instructors, would like to introduce you to the Academy of Art University Styling Network! It is a Facebook page where you can meet other Stylists, Photographers, Fashion Designers, Make-up Artists, and Hair Stylists from the Academy of Art University and beyond. You can network, find a crew for your tests shoots, discuss your projects, talk to other artists, and most of all, stay inspired!!!

We have a discussion group in San Francisco, but if you need to travel and still want to test, we have a worldwide network as well.

Head on over to Facebook and like the Academy of Art University Styling Network page - and take advantage of this great network!

Another gorgeous photoshoot from Flore Morton’s Styling 1 Class – Nomad’s Land. School of Fashion students Cara Andotaw, Kristen Pohle, and Clara Sun were inspired by the bohemian lifestyle and collaborated with photography student Caro Ramirez on the project. They also enlisted the help of artist Jeremiah Allen Welch who painted the beautiful body art!

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Paintings from “The Masters of Venice” at the de Young Museum

Here is another photo shoot styled by students from Flore Morton’s Styling 1 class! The shoot, titled Ritratto di signora (Portrait of a Lady), was inspired by “The Master of Venice” exhibit at the de Young Museum. The shoot was styled by Noah Shaw, Kimberley Bolton, and Jessica Hallworth, and photographed by Jeff Bacani, a B.F.A. Photography student.

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Here is another photoshoot from Flore Morton’s Styling 1 class – and it was inspired by the master painter Vincent Van Gogh! Each photo replicates an aspect of one of his paintings, whether it is color, light, or the subject. We love the way that they abstracted a single element from each work of art, and used that as inspiration to create something completely different. The photo shoot was styled by Anita Long and Uma Anupindi, one of our exchange students from the National Institute of Technology (NIFT) in India, and shot by BFA Photography student Bailey Harada Stone. Natasha Bacon, from City Models, brings the images to life. Enjoy!

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Inspiration for the Photo Shoot

The following is a final project from three of Flore Morton’s Styling 1 students – Jessica Mongeau, Phyllis Smith, and Alex Grant. They were inspired by 1920s boudoir images, and were able to link up with photography student Jeff Bacani, whose work also has a vintage feel. He used an old Polaroid camera that had been converted to create digital files. The images are very rustic, and the long exposures capture movement in a blur.

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Backstage with Annabelle from Ford Models. Photo credit: Theo Slavin.

This year the de Young Museum’s Annual Student Showcase “Where To: The Call of the Times” featured visual art, films, performances, gallery talks, and artist demonstrations by students from California universities and colleges. Academy of Art University, School of Fashion students were also invited, as a class, to showcase editorial styling (fashion). Instructor, Flore Morton, noted that the students took their styling inspiration from the de Young’s current exhibition Balenciaga and Spain.

A very special “thank you” to: City Models; Ford Models; Cinta Aveda Institute (hair/make-up); photographers Marzette Henderson + Theo Slavin; as well as those who provided clothing and accessories – ACT Costume Shop; Christian Louboutin; Nordstrom; and student/graduate fashion designers from Academy of Art University.

Student Stylists:

Danielle Wallis
Jeanette Liongson
Allison Ferguson
Abilen Mora
Sophia Rojas
Christina Ghuman
Stephanie Ankarvall
Albert Martirosyan
Tatum Burrows
Chyna Kimbrough
Stephanie Vega
Sean Davis
Katrina Rozeville

Check out their work via this wonderful gallery of pictures: