FIT’s 2013 BFA Graduates’ “The Future of Fashion” Show

Where is the fantasy? Where is the innovative use of new textiles? Fashion Weeks have become so boring; all the clothes look the same, I need to see something new and exciting. Sound familiar? Well, if you talk to most fashion journalists and editors, these are some of things they hew and haw about in closed and not-so closed fashion circles.

The recent Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) BFA Graduates’ “The Future of Fashion” show might just change many fashion town criers declarations of boredom and malaise. FIT over the past several decades has produced a who’s who of some of the most noted fashion talent in the industry.  From industry icons Calvin Klein, Norma Kamali, Stephen Burrows, and Ralph Rucci to Marie Claire fashion director Nina Garcia to bridal and evening wear superstars Amsale Aberra and Reem Acra. Interestingly, season after season when you observe the collections of the illustrious alumnae of FIT, adjectives and descriptions like tried-and-true, pedestrian, boring, or run-of-the-mill are rarely expressed. And that is partly due to the training and mission of FIT. FIT celebrates the artist with a keen eye focused on retail viability. That support and celebration was front and center at FIT’s 2013 BFA Graduates Fashion Show.

The range of categories in “The Future of Fashion” show went from neutrals to sportswear to knitwear to kids wear, ending with evening wear. Each FIT 2013 graduate had at least one garment in the runway show. Standouts in neutrals were Sofia Wahlberg’s black wool jacket with cream skerpa collar and skirt and Lynn Choi’s black cotton embroidered sweater with thread print skirt. In sportswear the standouts were Daniel Silverstein’s silver denim suit with leather-trimmed silk dress and Amanda Carlson’s rubber trench with bee-print blouse and cotton pants.

The knitwear collections did themselves proud this graduating class. There were so many great uses and innovative approaches to knitwear that ranged from knitwear in simple, but beautiful silhouettes to knitwear in a kaleidoscope of volume, construction and fashion-forward projection. If there were to be some standouts, those worth noting would be Claire Lung’s hand-knit white cotton dress and Jong Suk Park’s off-white, chunky cotton sweater with harem pants.

Kid’s clothes can be a tricky endeavor and many designers make the mistake of making clothing that are too adult for children or clothes that are stuck in the sugar and spice  mold. FIT graduates found a way to create garments that were fun, sometimes sophisticated, with just the right amount of sweetness and charm.

FIT 2013 grads scored another hit with lingerie this year. Standouts were Jennifer Campagna’s taupe cotton canvas dress with asymmetric neckline and pleating and Nina Trimble’s ivory cotton net boudoir gown with panty and underbust shrug.

One of the less exciting categories was cocktail and evening wear. Still, there were some great looks which included Alexis Raia’s ivory silk faille dress with organza flower, and Jasmine Therese Ruiz’s golden silk satin gown with black lace detail.

Those hand-wringing fashion scribes who pontificate and craft long diatribes about the loss of inspiration and creativity in American ready-to-wear need to look no further for streaming rays of hope than all the great design talent at FIT. But, no real surprise here. This hallowed institution has always cultivated and mentored prodigious talent.

FIT keep up the good work!!

—William S. Gooch