Experiencing the CFDA Graduate Showcase
Perspectives from New Professionals
Every year esteemed graduates from top design colleges and universities around the United States gather to celebrate and showcase their inventive collections. This year’s CFDA Graduate Showcase, “a hybrid physical and digital showcase for top talent seeking employment and visibility in New York”, featured the Fashion Institute of Technology, Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, Academy of Art University, California College of the Arts, Kent State University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Savannah College of Art and Design.
The UNLEASHED team had the pleasure and honor of attending the CFDA graduate showcase, an experience of multifaceted colors, stories, and creative inspirations. Three accounts of the CFDA showcase follow:
“Walking into the showcase, I was overwhelmed by the display of talent within one room. I was astonished, even awed, that young people were capable of creating this stunning array of clothing from a single vision or influence they had in their lives. Their creativity had resulted in unique handmade pieces. As we walked around the booths, the designers were passionate about their creations. Each told a different story of how their collections or designs came to be. One booth in particular stood out to me. This young woman’s collection was the brightest in the room: blues, yellows, reds coalesced to form a masterful showing of clothes. As I looked at her clothes, I immediately thought of Kenzo, a company well known for the quality and design of its articles. I mentioned this to the woman and she lit up, saying that the designers with whom she had previously worked were in fact part of the process that led her to craft her own collection. At this moment it became clear to me that each display told a story of the creator’s past, and that is exactly what makes each collection priceless. I have never thought of clothes as a way to tell a story, but at this very moment I got it. I understood the inspiration behind fashion and the backstory of each item of clothing that people dress in everyday.”
Matty Novick
“When I walked into the CFDA + NYCEDC Fashion Future Graduate showcase, I was immediately struck by the diversity of artistic visions. The showcase was held in the West Village in an open space with concrete floors and white and gray walls, but the different booths sparkled with creative energy that vibrantly colored the space. I was able to interact with incredibly talented designers from around the world. One couturier explained that he was inspired by the leftover scraps left in ateliers, so he decided to hand stitch white scraps onto a flowing ballgown. Another (pictured below) was inspired by the streets of Barcelona where Game of Thrones was filmed, and his muse became the image of a powerful woman armored in gold, a motif that is reflected in his fabric choices. I met another designer who individually created and printed the patterns on her fabric (second picture below). This showcase was a lovely reminder of the limitless creative directions in fashion and, more generally, in art.”
Madi Johnson
“The fashion showcase brought together an array of different artists who showcased their own interesting and carefully crafted pieces. Each designer had a rack of clothing that followed a specific theme. After talking to the artists and viewing the collections, I decided that Lusha Wang’s fashions were my favorites of the show. Her pieces were inspired by a movie that explored the relationship between a mother and her child. Although Wang described the movie as dark, her clothing juxtaposed white, creams, blues and reds, and these contrasting colors had a positive and appealing look to them. The material in the clothing was similar to cotton, but knit wear was woven into the hems, the sleeves and the waist. Her incorporation of different textures and colors that clashed made the shape of her pieces stand out. Her concept drawings were inspirational to me in my own art because she sketched each piece next to another, creating a brand new silhouette. I was impressed by all the artists at the show, but I felt most drawn to this designer’s work. Her source of inspiration energized me and left me thinking that any art that can connect a viewer with an artist’s creative mind leaves an indelible mark.”
Olga Dolah
