Depending on who you talk to, you might have heard that New York Fashion Week is dying. With some major designers opting out of showing this year (and even last year), I can see why you might believe the hype. But ‘reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated.’ New York Fashion Week is when fashion designers get to showcase their latest work to the world, and I’m here to tell you that showing at New York Fashion Week is still a big deal. Especially if you just graduated from fashion design school.
The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) held its first ever fashion week show, the Fine Art of Fashion and Technology Show. The New York Fashion Week debut was in honor of the school’s Fashion Design Master of Fine Arts inaugural class. Held at Pier 59 Studios in Chelsea, the runway show featured over ninety looks from 10 MFA graduates.
Under Professor Jonathan Kyle Farmer, who is the founding chair of the department, the production not only showcased the designers’ esthetic, but it also spoke to their creativity and passion to connect fashion with subjects like climate change and gender roles. The inaugural class included Moon Chang, Yunray Chung, Yuchen Han, Unkai Huang, Yi-Ting Lee, John Lenahan (aka LENNY VUITTON), Kritika Manchanda, Na Rena Ren, Utkarsh Shukla, Jingqi Gina Yang, and Wu Yutong. Committed to helping fashion designers reach their fullest potential, FIT is also celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
