California's Next Generation: Academy of Art College
About 2,000 fashion industry people gathered in San Francisco for the Academy of Art College Fashion 2002 show, which took place on May 21 inside a renovated church building just a few short blocks away from Union Square.
Academy of Art College president Elisa Stephens presented honorary doctorates to designers Koos van den Akker, who is best known for collage designs during the 1970s and ’80s, and Zandra Rhodes, whose romantic and exotic designs helped spawn a wave of offbeat designers in the United Kingdom during the early ’70s; both designers offered work experience to some of the college’s budding designers.
About 24 collections were displayed at the fashion show, including a collective organic-cotton apparel presentation by student designers that included hip and edgy tops and bottoms. A spokeswoman for the event said the purpose of the Sustainable Cotton Project was to promote the use of organic cotton.
The show also served as a platform for students’ solo collections, which included a diverse range of fabric textures and styles.
Norwegian traditional folk costumes, ’30s- and ’50s-inspired intimate apparel, modern architecture–inspired knitwear and military-style apparel were just a few of the looks happening on the runway.
Some of the more intriguing student-designed outfits on the runway included a printed floral bustier dress with silk-printed blouse by Amber Powers and an asymmetric pleated wool dress designed by Jessica O’Hara. —Claudia Figueroa
