This self-proclaimed fashionista is having the best Fashion Week seats right on her comfy couch 2,917.8 miles away from New York City. On Saturday, September 10th, the School of Fashion at Academy of Art University showcased thirteen of their most prominent graduates via the live streaming medium. Thanks to the advantages of globalization and the Internet, everyone could get up close to the catwalk.
The fashion world is taking full advantage of the new digital era, where the ability to share and see what’s happening everywhere around the world in real time or at the most convenient time has overruled the old industry standards and practices. Live is the new normal.
The live streaming show veered between glimpses of romanticism to modern minimalist silhouettes and oversized textural prints, resulting in an all-around perfectly tailored collaborative collection. The viewer’s side was so perfect that the detailing was palpable.
The show began with Nina Nguyen Hui’s designs. Her collection had an organic feel that reflected a prevailing coral inspiration and a soft color palette that evoked romanticism, fragility, and perfect tailoring. Her techniques of Tambour beading, embroidery, and laser cutting could be seen when the close ups of the camera showcased the work. The movement created by her layering of the fabrics was eye-catching and pleasing.
The runway show continued with a contrasting collection that had masculinity, minimalism, and excellent methodology, drawing immediate applause across the social media. “Appreciating the detail of this contrast jacket with the laser cut sleeves by Melissa Kheng #AcademyUFashion always delivers with amazing talent!!” said Maria Serquen, a fashion editorial contributor at Net-A-Porter, on her Instagram page. A great advantage of this new digital era is that you can not only see everything online, but also receive immediate reactions (and feedback). It creates a dialogue with potential buyers, merchandisers, journalists, and clients.
A video posted by Maria Serquen (@sqnmaria) on
The BFA Knitwear designer Natalya Sheveleva Robinson created her Art Deco-inspired collection with a colder color palette and a 90s vibe. It looked easy and comfortable. Designer Anita Szu-Yi Chen’s darker color palette, geometric shapes, and play on color blocking could be very marketable to any customer. As you could also watch the runway show from NYFW, where the option to pin your favorite looks on Pinterest or to share them on other social media platforms was available as the models walked down the runway.
The digital era offered assistance to the bright spots in the fashion galaxy that could get lost in all the noise. It is precisely what happened when Yi Ru Chen and Jing Qian collaboration came up in the livestream. Pinning their fluid 1920s silhouettes with a hint of minimalism, and a modern take on camouflage with softer hues, was eye-opening experience for me. The same happened with Lindsey Trueman, MFA Fashion Design, where the tailoring seemed impeccable, the layering of her monochromatic palette made us remember the good old ‘90s, and the proportions created fluidity and dominance in the catwalk.
And I kept pinning! Because creativity at its best strutted down with BFA Menswear designer Ben Ellis. In a world where sustainability should be at the top of every designer, Ellis repurposed denim and jersey textiles should inspire future designers to play with volume, texture, and prints. His prints notably worked perfectly with the live cameras, the lighting, and urban music.
A photo posted by Academy U School Of Fashion (@academyufashion) on
Dora Li and Carly Dean’s textiles had an impact immediately. How did they do those prints? The textile design had an emotive effect that was created with a burnout technique. It made viewers like me crave second takes, so the stop, and rewind use came in handy.
GeuMi Lee and Brandon Kee explored athletic wear, Orientalism, and 90s hip-hop with Chinese anti-gravity pilot suits, respectively. Lee got an “Espetacular! Congrats @academyufashion for the great team!” on Instagram by Cris Galott Consultoria, Image Consultant and Personal Shopper. While Kee got a “We can’t get enough!” from pretty much everyone at the Academy on their Instagram. His approach to using jacquard on the ‘wrong’ side makes us wonder: why follow rules when you can break them?
As the student designers came down the runway, you could sense their awareness of – where they were standing (in the middle of NYFW that is), and their overwhelming satisfaction that their hard work was viewed by thousands of onlookers around the world online. Their happiness was contagious, and their pieces were innovative, and also very current and wearable. #Success
Text by Adelina González Alcorta, MA Fashion Journalism
