Parsons MFA Show

PARSONS PRESENTS SECOND ANNUAL MFA FASHION RUNWAY SHOW

Collections by Emerging Designers in Elite Parsons Program

Celebrates Conclusion of New York Fashion Week

 

NEW YORK, September 12, 2013—Today, Parsons The New School for Design presented phase 2, a runway presentation of collections by graduating designers in the school’s acclaimed MFA Fashion Design and Society program. The presentation was held at 10 a.m. Milk Studios as part of MADE Fashion Week.

The Master of Fine Arts in Fashion Design and Society program at Parsons The New School for Design is a highly selective program for talented, emerging designers, which was initiated through the support of alumna Donna Karan. Students develop their personal vision, with a focus on process and identity, through a body of work that encompasses highly executed, innovative clothing and accessory collections. The program is truly international—its second graduating class in 2013 features sixteen students representing China, Germany, South Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

 

These designers presented their personal vision, with a focus on process and identity, through a body of work that encompasses highly executed, innovative clothing and accessory collections. This includes Melitta Baumeister (Germany), Sinjing Chen (China), Julian Guthrie (United States), Lin Hai (China), Jia Hua (China), Hannah Jenkinson (United Kingdom), Jae Woo Lee(South Korea), Min Lee (South Korea), Abigail Lewis (United States), Claudia Li (New Zealand), Amelia Lindquist (United States), Jihye Nam (South Korea), Piotrek Panszczyk (Poland), Isabel Rio(Spain), Anna Mercedes Stephenson (United Kingdom), and Alison Tsai (Taiwan).

 

“With each year, the program is coming more and more into its own,” said Shelley Fox, director of the MFA in Fashion Design and Society and Donna Karan Professor of Fashion Design. “This program cultivates openness and a personal conversation with the students, fostering both a rigorous and critical approach, which are essential for nurturing the talent.”

 

Since the MFA in Fashion Design and Society’s inception, students have showcased work internationally, receiving global recognition and awards through participation in select events and competitions. This includes a special collaboration with Diane von Furstenberg called DVF DNA (2012), where students created looks that “mutated” their DNA with DVF’s; as well as presentations at Pitti Filati in Florence (July 2012); representing the United States in the International Fashion Showcase during London Fashion Week (February 2012); and placing as finalists and the winning design in a competition organized by the Met Costume Institute in connection with Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (May 2011). From its inaugural class in 2012, graduates have gone on to work for such prestigious fashion labels as Calvin Klein, Narciso Rodriguez, Opening Ceremony, Donna Karan, and Ralph Lauren Black Label.

About Parsons The New School for Design

Parsons The New School for Design is a global leader in design education, with programs that span the disciplines of design and the fine arts. With the launch of its innovative fashion design program in 1906, Parson is credited with the rise of Seventh Avenue, the epicenter of American fashion. Parson offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design, Associate Degrees in Fashion Design and Fashion Marketing, and a Master of Fine Arts Program in Fashion Design and Society that was initiated through the support of Parsons alumna Donna Karan. Parsons has educated generations of leading American fashion designers, including Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Isaac Mizrahi, Tracy Reese, Narciso Rodriguez and Anna Sui; and rising talents Prabal Gurung, Derek Lam, Ohne Titel, Thakoon Panichgul, Proenza Schouler, Vena Cava, Alexander Wang, and Jason Wu.