Academy of Art FashionSchool Students Debut Fall 2008 Collections During MercedesBenz Fashion Week

Academy of Art University's top fashion school (http://www.academyart.edu/ep/top-fashion-school.html) will present the Fall collections of graduates during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on Saturday, February 2 at 11:00 AM in 'The Promenade' in Bryant Park, Sixth Avenue at 41st Street.

"Academy of Art University is the only school to show during New York Fashion Week," said Dr. Elisa Stephens, President of the University. "This is our fourth show in the Bryant Park Tents and we view this opportunity as part of our commitment to launch the careers of our graduates. Debuting their collections during New York Fashion Week makes sense as the national and international fashion community is in town at that time."

Seven fall fashion womenswear collections and two menswear collections will be presented from graduates of the Fashion Design (http://www.academyart.edu/fashion-school/index.html), Textile Design and Knitwear Design programs. Ignoring typical industry standards of textiles, both Young Jun Ryu and Ivanka Georgiev pushed creativity to its limits without restriction and with unexpected results. In addition to his cotton and wool prints, 'Jun' printed and manipulated faux fur with heat for his menswear collection. Ivanka incorporated paper, bonding, glue and burnout effects using a chef's torch on her collaborative womenswear collection with fashion design major Soo Jung Sung.

The philosophy of the Knitwear Design program is to teach both creative and technical knitwear design resulting in graduates being both fashion designers as well as knitwear designers. They understand the construction of a garment and have a complete understanding of the equipment as a technician would, with the ability to get as much creativity out of the knitting machines, computer programs and technology as possible.

About the Graduates

Sherise Eways, Fashion Designer

Melissa Christensen, Jewelry Designer

Swarovski Crystal sponsored the crystals on Sherise's garments are based on the metamorphosis of a woman. Born and raised in Fairfax, VA, Sherise is a first generation American of Palestinian decent.

Jewelry designer Melissa Christensen, a Fine Art Sculpture major, manipulated metal to mimic the flow of fabric. Melissa is Native American from the Mashentucket Pequot Tribe in Mashentucket, CT.

Young Jun Ryu, Textile Designer

M.C. Escher's artwork, nature, and geometric shapes inspired 'Jun' for his textile prints on wool, cotton and faux fur. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Jun has accepted a position at General Motors.

Designers include Jaime Cole, Desiree Daniels, Lauren Hume, Johanna Hatzenbuehler, Anne Jones, Muriel Jordan, Kara Laricks, Aurelie Martin-Chiari, and Warot Subsrisunjai.

Soo Jung Sung, Fashion Designer

Ivanka Georgiev, Textile Designer

Soo Jung Sung was inspired by the movie Blue Swallow (Cheong-yeon) about Park Kyung-won, the first female aviator in Korea. Soo Jung was raised in Seoul, Korea.

Ivanka used the pilot's point of view for her textile inspiration. She combined textile techniques with hand drawing to create the feel of paintings. Ivanka was born and raised in Pernik, Bulgaria.

BoKyung Cha, Fashion and Textile Designer

For Bo's modern and sophisticated silhouette, she used the shape of the Mbius band as the structural concept and was inspired by double exposure for her textile designs. Bo was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea.

Marie Potesta, Fashion and Knitwear Designer

Zegna baruffa Lane Borgosesia S.p.A and Loro Piana sponsored the yarn for Marie's knitwear collection. Op Art is shown as an influence in her contrasting use of black and white. Marie was raised in Grosse Ile, MI.

Shady N. R. Elias, Fashion Designer

Shady was born in Khartoum, Sudan and raised in Cairo, Egypt. The song Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) influenced the mood of his collection. Further inspiration was found in Islamic military costume, architecture, the Japanese anime TV show Grendizer, and the work of Shady Abdel Salam.

Jee Hyoung Jang, Fashion Designer

Jee Hyoung uses new forms in architecture in relation to the human body with references to space, volume and movement as inspiration. She was born and raised in Daegu, South Korea.

Juhee Chung, Fashion and Knitwear Designer

Juhee found inspiration in the work of Louis I. Kahn. Juhee was born and raised in Daegu, South Korea

Felice Morganti, Fashion Designer

Born in Pittsburgh, PA and raised in Indiana, PA, Felice has created a collection inspired by fiber artists, the arts and crafts movement, nature and the environment.

About the School of Fashion

Established in 1929, Academy of Art University is the largest accredited private art and design school in the US with nearly 11,000 students throughout San Francisco as well as nationally and internationally through the online degree program. Over 1,500 fashion majors study under the guidance of professional fashion designers. The School of Fashion houses six concentrations: Fashion Design for Womenswear, Menswear, and Childrenswear; Textile Design; Knitwear Design; Fashion Journalism; Fashion Merchandising and Visual Merchandising.

Fashion School (http://www.academyart.edu/fashion-school/index.html) Graduates have gone onto companies such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Banana Republic, Burberry, Chloe, Liz Claiborne, Oscar de la Renta, GAP Inc., Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Alexander McQueen, Nike, Nordstrom, Old Navy, Zac Posen, Pottery Barn, Reebok, St. John, Viktor & Rolf, Diane Von Frstenberg, and Louis Vuitton to name a few.

Academy of Art University is a member of WASC, NASAD, Council for Interior Design Accreditation (BFA-IAD), and NAAB (M-ARCH).

Academy of Art FashionSchool Students Debut Fall 2008 Collections During MercedesBenz Fashion Week

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Academy of Art FashionSchool Students Debut Fall 2008 Collections During MercedesBenz Fashion Week

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