NY Fashion Week AW08: The Academy of Art University

Ahh, Fashion Week. While many designers are familiar faces in the tents at Bryant Park, there are some who have never before displayed their work in such a high-profile setting. This is especially true of the Academy of Art University show, which showcases the creations of select recent graduates (a distinction that no other fashion school can claim). The excitement in the tent was palpable as the students’ friends and family came to cheer on these newly-minted designers.

Of course, as students, they don’t have the same resources available to them as say, a major label, so the collections were modest in size. Focusing primarily on Womenswear (although there were two Menswear shows), each collection ranged from five to eight outfits.

The students’ innovation was impressive: textile designer Jun Ryu experimented with faux fur by literally burning patterns into it for his menswear collection; textile designer Ivanka Georgiev magically transformed paper into luxurious garments for the collection of designer Soo Jung Sung.

Most impressive was the collection by BoKyung Cha, a fashion and textile designer. Her primarily black and dove grey palette was accented by a splashes of hot pink, and she wrapped up with a beautiful purple, grey, dusty pink and black organza coat over a grey skirt. All of her garments had surprising details, such as deconstructed bows or cascading ripples of fabric that made her garments sculptural but still wearable.

Her collection exhibited a polished edge that the other students did not quite attain, possibly because she created her own fabrics specifically for her garments. The tailoring and detailing was meticulous—she is definitely one to keep an eye out for!

[Images: Getty]