The School of Fashion’s annual show is listed as the No. 1 San Francisco Fashion Industry Event
San Francisco, CA, November 11, 2014 — The Academy of Art University School of Fashion Graduation Fashion Show has been named as the No. 1 San Francisco Fashion Industry Event in BizBash’s inaugural Top 100 list of Annual Events in San Francisco. BizBash’s widely renowned Top 100 list includes annual events that are evaluated based on economic impact, buzz, innovation, and the event’s prominence within the communities it intends to serve.
Held annually each Spring, Academy of Art University School of Fashion Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony is known for state-of-the-art production with European-style lighting, an LED wall, professional models flown in from across the country, and hair and make-up artists from MAC, Aveda, and Spoke & Weal Salon.
The runway show consists of collaborative collections from B.F.A. students who studied Fashion Design, Knitwear Design, Technical Design, Textile Design, and Jewelry and Metal Arts. A static exhibition and portfolio review is held ahead of the fashion show to give recruiters, industry executives and designers the opportunity to meet with students and view their work.
Over 2,000 guests attend the Graduation Fashion Show each year, including buyers, retailers and members of the international press. In 2014, recruiters and representatives from Abercrombie & Fitch, BCBGMAXAZRIA, Levi’s, Old Navy, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Li & Fung and The North Face attended the fashion show and exhibit. Press in attendance included Style.com, Women’s Wear Daily, California Apparel News, The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, C Social Front, Refinery29, Racked, 7×7, Marin Magazine and Haute Living.
In addition to showcasing student work, the School of Fashion hosts fashion industry icons as guests of honor to present awards and internships to the graduating students. In 2014 the guests of honor included Rosita Missoni, Angela Missoni, Margherita Maccapani Missoni, and Suzy Menkes, International Vogue Editor of Condé Nast.
“The Graduation Fashion Show truly serves as a platform to give students exposure to launch their careers,” said Simon Ungless, Executive Director of the School of Fashion. “To be recognized by BizBash for our students’ outstanding work and for the Academy’s influence in the industry is quite an honor. We are thrilled to have our Graduation Fashion Show included in BizBash’s Top 100 Events for San Francisco.”
“When you look at the collective impact of these annual events, it’s clear just how influential live experiences can be, and how San Francisco has grown as a hotbed for groundbreaking gatherings,” says BizBash editor in chief Anna Sekula. “The California city is the home of hundreds of prominent conferences and events that represent huge opportunities for building communities and movements, starting debates, and allowing for the exchange of ideas.”
The first Top 100 Events in San Francisco is available on the BizBash website: http://bit.ly/11fwY4D.
About Academy of Art University
Academy of Art University, the largest private university of art and design in the United States, is educating students for the art and design jobs of the 21st century. Established in 1929, the Academy is an output-based higher education model that provides an inclusive admissions policy to all students, but imposes a rigorous curriculum that requires the students to produce a portfolio of work that demonstrates a mastery of their field in order to graduate. Students are taught by a faculty of professionals from the existing marketplace, both online and on campus in San Francisco, who provide them with an understanding of what it takes to succeed in today’s business environment. The Academy’s hands-on curriculum produces graduates who possess outstanding artistic and design skills—and equally as important, the ability to put those talents to work immediately after graduation. As a result, Academy graduates are ready to compete for and win the jobs of the 21st century in the fields of Acting, Advertising, Animation & Visual Effects, Architecture, Art Education, Art History, Fashion, Fashion Journalism, Fashion Styling, Fine Art, Game Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture & Design, Jewelry & Metal Arts, Landscape Architecture, Motion Pictures & Television, Multimedia Communications, Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media, Photography, Visual Development, Web Design & New Media and Art Teaching Credential, and Writing for Film, Television & Digital Media. Academy of Art University is accredited by WASC, NASAD, Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) (BFA/MFA-IAD), NAAB (B-ARCH*, M-ARCH), and California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC). *B-ARCH program in candidacy status. Visit www.academyart.edu for more information.
About the School of Fashion
Approximately 2,500 fashion students study under the guidance of experienced fashion professionals in the School of Fashion, which houses the following areas of specialization: Fashion Design for Womenswear, Menswear, and Childrenswear; Technical Design; Textile Design; Knitwear Design; Accessory Design; Fashion Illustration; Fashion Journalism; Fashion Marketing; Fashion Styling; Fashion Merchandising; and Visual Merchandising.
The University works with international brands and recruitment agencies on internships and job placement. Graduates have gone on to such companies as Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, Alexander McQueen, Azzedine Alaïa, Banana Republic, BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP, Blanc de Chine, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Corso Como 10, Chloë, Diane von Fürstenberg, Donna Karan, Gap, Kate Spade, Kiton, L.A.M.B., L’Ecole Lesage Paris – Atelier de Broderie, Liz Claiborne, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Martin Margiela, Martine Sitbon, Missoni, Nike, Nordstrom, Northface, Old Navy, Oscar de la Renta, Phillip Lim, Pottery Barn, Ralph Lauren, Reebok, Roland Mouret, St. John, Threeasfour, Tocca, Viktor & Rolf, and Williams Sonoma.
Guests to the School of Fashion include Azzedine Alaïa, Prosper and Martine Assouline, Max and Lubov Azria of BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP, Yigal Azrouël, Geoffrey Beene, Rose Marie Bravo, Sarah Burton, Andrew Buckler, Julie Chaiken, The Honorable Bertrand Delanoë Mayor of Paris, David Downton, Steven Cox and Daniel Silver of Duckie Brown, Patrik Ervell, Loulou de la Falaise, James Galanos, Neil Gilks of the CFDA, Joan Kaner, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim of Opening Ceremony, Antonio Lopez, Fern Mallis, Alexander McQueen, Rosita and Tai Missoni, Angela Missoni, Margherita Maccapani Missoni, Isaac Mizrahi, Josie Natori, Christina Neault of IMG Fashion, Ian Hannula and Joe Haller of N.I.C.E. Collective, Elisa Palomino, Laure du Pavillon, Zac Posen, Oscar de la Renta, Zandra Rhodes CBE, Ralph Rucci, Nathalie Rykiel, HRH Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Jeremy Scott, Carla Sozzani, Philip Treacy, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, and Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE, as well as Christophe Girard Director of Fashion Strategy of LVMH Fashion Group, Robin Givhan, Cathy Horyn, and Suzy Menkes.
Social Media Channels
Fashion School Daily: https://fashionschooldaily.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/academyofartfashion
Twitter: http://twitter.com/aaufashion
Instagram: aaufashion
About the School of Fashion Executive Director
Simon Ungless, Executive Director of the School of Fashion, graduated from Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design in 1992 and was awarded the prestigious M.A. Degree in Fashion with Distinction. He collaborated with Alexander McQueen on the first ten collections shown in London and New York, and personally introduced Sarah Burton, Creative Director of Alexander McQueen, to the late designer. In 2002, he was named Creative Director of Member Holiday, a Korean-based contemporary brand, launching both men’s and women’s collections with 37 freestanding stores. His work experience spans fashion design, textile design, forecasting, brand development, and marketing for such clients as Givenchy, Paul Smith, and Versace. In addition to his duties as the Director of the School of Fashion overseeing both M.F.A. and B.F.A. programs, he is the editorial director of the School of Fashion’s 180 magazine, and the executive producer of the annual Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony in San Francisco and the biannual fashion shows during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center in New York City.
School of Fashion at Academy of Art University
79 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Call 800.544.2787 (U.S. only) or 415.274.2200
Academy of Art University: http://www.academyart.edu/
School of Fashion: http://www.academyart.edu/academics/fashion
In-house Press Contacts
Ian MacKintosh / 415.618.3849 / imackintosh@academyart.edu
Jeanette Peach / 415.618.3891 / jepeach@academyart.edu
Chloe Preussker / 415.618.3831 / cpreussker@acdemyart.edu
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