Speaker Series: April 2007 Fashion Symposium

Loulou de la Falaise

Titti Matteoni

Zac Posen

Zac Posen

Charlotte Lurot

Titti Matteoni

Dr. Elisa Stephens, President of the University

Loulou de la Falaise

Robin Givhan

The Fashion Symposium included fashion icon Loulou de la Falaise, fashion editor Robin Givhan of The Washington Post, and fashion designer Zac Posen. They addressed the students during a question and answer period along with Charlotte Lurot, director of Bacchus PR in London, and Titti Matteoni, editor-in-chief of Fashion magazine in Italy.

The people of the panel are all amazingly talented. They are powerful and intelligent, as well as worldly known. The feeling I had when sitting in the audience of the 3 o’clock panel discussion was of utter excitement. It is wonderful to be surrounded by artistic people, students and professionals alike. Robin Givhan was one of the most powerful speakers. She is strong, witty, and extremely intelligent. I have such respect for her as a writer and fashion critic. It was great to hear Zac Posen and Loulou de la Falaise speak of their experience as designers. They explained the difficulties of designing and did not hold back on their own personal challenges. I think it was important to hear about the difficulties in the industry, so students understand that it is not always glamorous. Charlotte Lurot is incredibly funny and bright. She works in another very challenging industry, which entails the involvedness of constantly dealing with people. After spending the day with Titti, I learned a lot from her. I think the panel discussion was difficult for her, as her English is not extremely developed. She is a very strong woman with great respect for the fashion industry.

Here are quotes from the panel that I felt were influential:

“You have to follow your creative visions and create word of mouth.” – Zac Posen

“I am a thorn in the side of designers.” – Robin Givhan

“Fashion is all about passion!” – Loulou de la Falaise

“Clothes are incredibly symbolic.” – Robin Givhan, when referring to Nancy Pelosi and her various scarves on her Middle East visit.

“Passion is necessary to build your own identity.” – Titti Matteoni

“It’s difficult out there. Get the right team around you, because you cannot do it on all your own!” – Charlotte Lurot

Written by Sydney Pfaff, BFA Fashion Journalism

Fashion School News: School of Fashion Announces Guests of Honor Loulou de la Falaise, Robin Givhan and Zac Posen

School of Fashion Announces 2007 Honorary Doctorate Recipients

The School of Fashion will honor fashion icon Loulou de la Falaise, formerly Yves Saint Laurent’s muse who now designs her own lines of ready-to-wear, accessory and home products, the only Pulitzer Prize winning fashion editor, Robin Givhan of The Washington Post, and fashion designer Zac Posen on Friday, April 27, 2007 at the Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony at 601 Brannan Street (at Fifth Street).

The three guests of honor will each receive a Doctor of Humane Letters for their contribution to the world of art and design from University president Dr. Elisa Stephens.

“We are honored to have three very important fashion industry leaders,” said Dr. Elisa Stephens, president of the University. “We strive to give our students every opportunity possible to learn and become more excited about the fashion world.”

The 2007 guests of honor will address the student body in a panel discussion on Thursday, April 26th and meet with senior students to view portfolios and design work before the show on Friday. The guests of honor often select interns and have hired graduates on the spot after meeting with and viewing their work.

Zac Posen, fashion designer

Fashion designer Zac Posen was born in Brooklyn in 1980. At sixteen, he interned under at the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute, and later worked at Nicole Miller and Tocca. He was part of Gen Art’s 2001 Fresh Faces and started his business that same year.

After being backed by Sean Combs in 2004, he presented his first major runway show and was awarded the CFDA Swarovski-Perry Ellis Award for Ready-to-Wear. Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s carry his RTW line. He also designs limited-edition jeans for 7 For All Mankind available at Neiman Marcus.

In San Francisco, he retails at Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. His website is www.zacposen.com.

Robin Givhan, fashion editor of The Washington Post

In 2006, Robin Givhan, fashion editor of The Washington Post, won the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism for her fashion coverage. She is the only Pulitzer Prize winning fashion editor.

Born and raised in Detroit, she received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Princeton University in 1986 and a Masters of Science in journalism from the University of Michigan in 1988.

She first worked as a general assignment reporter and later a feature writer covering the fashion beat for the Detroit Free Press where she spent seven years. She briefly worked as a feature writer for the San Francisco Chronicle before joining The Washington Post in 1995 where she covers the news, trends and business of the international fashion industry. She has also covered the 2000 presidential election, the Atlanta Olympic Games and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Her work has also appeared in the International Herald Tribune, American Vogue, Marie Claire, Town and Country, and Essence. She has contributed to several books including “Runway Madness” and “No Sweat: Fashion, Free Trade and the Rights of Garment Workers.” She lives and works in New York City. Her humorous blog can be read at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fashion/.

Loulou de la Falaise, fashion icon, accessory and ready-to-wear designer

Loulou de la Falaise, close friend, muse and designer of Yves Saint Laurent for nearly 30 years, began as a model for Vogue, designed prints for Halston, and worked on Saint Laurent’s couture and RTW collections building her reputation as a designer.

She was born into a highly aristocratic family that would predispose her to a life directed by fashion and art. She is considered one of the best-dressed women in the world.

After a thirty-year partnership, Yves Saint Laurent retired. Loulou de la Falaise started her own label in February 2003. Her boutique at 21 rue Cambon is a fanfare of color and rich materials, reflecting her passion for her flower-filled country garden and her travels to far-flung destinations. She creates collections of jewelry, a ready-to-wear line, accessories and decorative objects for the home. Her collections are carried in boutiques and department stores in Tokyo, New York, Casablanca, Toronto, Hong Kong, Brussels, London, Berlin, Geneva, and Zurich. In California, her jewelry retails at the home store of ‘At Home at Sweet Things’ in Tiburon. Her website is www.louloudelafalaise.com.