Fashion School News Alumni Spotlight: Two School of Fashion Graduates Included in Prestigious World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards Show in New Zealand

Yu-Shin ‘Mue’ Kim, 2007 MFA Fashion and Knitwear Design graduate, and Lynn Christiansen, 2005 BFA Fine Art/Sculpture graduate, were included in the September 21st World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards Show in New Zealand.
While visiting the School of Fashion this past spring, representatives from WOW saw Mue’s collection and asked that three looks be included in their show.

A native of South Korea, Mue created this collection for the April 27th 2007 San Francisco show. She decided to move away from a contemporary fashion look and used the sculptures of Tony Cragg, the knitwear craft art of Mark Newport, wardrobes of comic-book heroes, and the performance costumes of Leigh Bowery as inspiration.

Mue’s collection was also shown in the 2007 Macy’s Passport show and will be in the upcoming Avant Guardian issue of Surface magazine.

Lynn created two looks, Swiss Maid and Double Chocolate Decadence, made to look like chocolate and whipped cream. In 2005, Lynn was the first Fine Art/Sculpture student to collaborate with a School of Fashion student on a collection for the spring fashion show. Canadian-born, Lynn now lives in Australia.

Executive Director of Fashion, Gladys Perint Palmer, was invited by Tourism New Zealand to be a guest of the country and attend New Zealand Fashion Week. She was the guest international judge for WOW, responsible for choosing the most outstanding international entry for the event, although she was not allowed to vote for Mue or Lynn. She also met with local designers and fabric mills.

Fashion Illustration School News: Gladys Perint Palmer Illustrations in New Book

Ultimate and unprecedented, American Fashion is a richly illustrated celebration of the history of fashion in this country. Commissioned by the CFDA, AMERICAN FASHION by Charlie Scheips is a visual journey beginning with the protean creators in Hollywood and New York during the 1930s and the significant and creative expansion that took place in the years surrounding World War II.

Our own Fashion School Executive Director Gladys Perint Palmer has her own page.

Fashion Illustration School News: Gladys Perint Palmer illustration of Carla Sozzani in New York Times Magazine

In the upper right hand corner is an illustration of Carla Sozzani by fashion illustrator Gladys Perint Palmer, also the Executive Director of the School of Fashion at Academy of Art University.

Carla Sozzani was a 2005 guest to the fashion department and chose student Jamie Mihlrad to work with her in Milan, Italy.

Fashion School News Alumni Spotlight: Recent graduate has senior collection selected for prestigious World of Wearable Art awards show in New Zealand

Yu-Shin ‘Mue’ Kim, MFA Fashion & Knitwear Design 2007, has had three looks from her senior collection chosen to be included in the World of Wearable Art WOW Fashion Show and Awards in Wellington, New Zealand on September 21, 2007.

Mue created this collection for the April 27th 2007 San Francisco show. She decided to move away from a contemporary fashion look and drew inspiration for her collection from the sculptures of Tony Cragg, the knitwear craft art of Mark Newport, wardrobes of comic-book heroes, and the performance costumes of Leigh Bowery. She is from Incheon, South Korea.





One of the most interesting cultural phenomena in New Zealand over the past 15 years has been the spectacular success of WOW, an annual competition and awards show that explores the intersection between fashion and art, through a genre popularly known as wearable art.

This unique event has encouraged an explosion of creative activity, inspiring a wide range of fashion designers, artists, costume makers and other craft artists from all over the world to participate.

The range of the garments produced for this event are breathtaking, as the rules of the competition mean that anything of quality that is in any way wearable can find a place on the runway. Garments are constructed from an array of materials - car parts, wood shavings, potato chip bags, seaweed, telephone parts, paper clips – the list is endless.

Every year since 1987, WOW choreographs a unique performance that fuses art, fashion, light and sound. The award show draws over 30,000 art lovers, fashionistas and media from around the world to witness designers truly testing their creative mettle.

WOW is an internationally recognized arts competition and the largest single arts event in New Zealand. Designers from all over the world have participated with over $100,000 worth of prizes offered.

Tourism New Zealand has recognized the powerful impact WOW has brought to the country and works with the organizers of WOW and New Zealand Fashion Week to bring international guests to participate.

This year Gladys Perint Palmer, Executive Director of the School of Fashion, has been invited as guests of New Zealand to participate in the WOW Awards Show and New Zealand Fashion Week. Gladys will be a guest international judge for the awards show.

Tourism New Zealand has created a schedule for the VIP guests to meet with local art experts to discover the region’s treasures, visit local and international artist studios, meet with designers, fabric and fiber producers for both traditional and organic fabric, as well as visit the historic WOW Museum. They will attend select runway presentations of RTW designers and visit with local design schools offering degrees in fashion.

Fashion Illustration School News: Gladys Perint Palmer’s Illustrations Included in Four Leading European Exhibitions

Gladys Perint Palmer, executive director of the School of Fashion, has been recognized for her work as a leading fashion illustrator by the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in London. Her lively illustrations are featured in the V&A 150th Anniversary Exhibition. As one of the world’s foremost museums of art and design, the V&A invited 150 leading designers, architects, photographers, fashion designers and artists to contribute a page to their Anniversary Album.

Three of Gladys’ illustrations have been included in the recently published book 100 Years of Fashion Illustration by Cally Blackman (Laurence King Publishing). This 384-page book is a visual feast of 400 images. To coincide with the publishing of 100 Years of Fashion Illustration, William Ling and the new Fashion Illustration Gallery (FIG), at 97 Golborne Road in London, held an exhibition of rare and precious drawings that included a select group of illustrators featured in Blackman’s book. Three of Gladys’ original drawings are featured alongside the work of Antonio, Cecil Beaton, Manolo Blahnik, Rene Bouche, Alfredo Bouret, Carl Erickson and Rene Gruau. This month, the exhibition moves to The Summer Fair Olympia (summerfairolympia.com) where close to 300 international exhibitors present thousands of the finest works of art and antiques.

In addition, Printemps Department Store Paris, 56 Boulevard Haussmann, will be exhibiting 31 of Gladys’ original drawings as part of their summer event “The French Fashion Touch” from July 26th through September 9th. Founded in 1865, Printemps is a leading department store in Paris. By examining the manner in which the French are perceived abroad, they have created this event to take the visiting tourist on an in-store tour of their vision of the best of contemporary French culture. Gladys’ selected illustrations are of French fashion and personalities from her coverage of Paris Fashion Week over the years. Also included are photographer Jean-Michel Berts, Paris Première, the upscale French cable channel, La Belle Ecole, the first School in Europe to specialize in French étiquette classes, Serpette et Paul Bert, the internationally reputable flea market, and Alain Ducasse, the famous four-star French chef.

San Francisco Fashion Show April 2007

Illustration by Gladys Perint Palmer.

BFA and MFA Graduates of the School of Fashion presented their runway collections in the biggest fashion show San Francisco has seen in years. A tent was constructed reminiscent of New York Fashion Week with over 1500 people at each of the three showings. The School of Fashion promotes its recent graduates with a show of this magnitude to showcase the young designers’ debut collections to an audience of local, national and international media, fashion industry and store executives, recruiters, designers, society, and HR executives, to help secure job placement and to launch their careers.

GPP Spotlight: March 24, 2007 Gladys Perint Palmer Lecture at de Young Museum on Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE

On Saturday, March 24, 2007, at 10 AM, Gladys Perint Palmer, Executive Director of Fashion at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, will speak on and present a slideshow of her drawings of renowned British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE entitled “Vivienne Westwood: From Anarchy to Aristocracy – Fig Leaf to Crown” at the de Young Museum for the Textile Arts Council. Following there will be a question and answer period.

“I am honored to speak on such an important fashion industry leader,” said Gladys Perint Palmer. “I have covered Dame Vivienne Westwood’s fashion shows for many publications and have enjoyed drawing her daring and sometimes outrageous collections throughout the years.”

Speaker Series: March 4, 2007 Famous British Fashion Designer Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE

After touring the studios and meeting with students in the School of Fashion, British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE (Dame of the British Empire) was honored with a luncheon where she received an Honorary Doctorate from Academy of Art University President Dr. Elisa Stephens on Sunday, March 4th, 2007.

After the luncheon, she joined the student body in Morgan Auditorium for a question and answer period.

Gladys Perint Palmer, fashion illustrator and executive director of fashion at Academy of Art University, presented Vivienne Westwood with an illustration of one of Vivienne’s past runway showings in Paris.

The Honorable Martin Uden, Consul General of Great Britain, presented Vivienne Westwood with a Proclamation from Mayor Gavin Newsom’s office declaring March 4, 2007 “Vivienne Westwood Day in San Francisco!”

The luncheon also showcased an exhibition of Gladys Perint Palmer’s illustrations of Vivienne Westwood’s collections through the years and also while on the set of Robert Altman’s movie ‘Pret-A-Porter’ (Ready To Wear), which was released in 1994.

The caterers prepared a raw food meal for Vivienne as she had just started a raw food diet three weeks before. The feast ended with a chocolate dessert in the shape of a Vivienne Westwood platform-heel shoe, which had guests exclaiming “Bravo!!” as they were being served.

Vivienne Westwood, Gladys Perint Palmer, and Dr. Elisa Stephens

Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE and Zandra Rhodes CBE

Table settings with Gladys Perint Palmer’s illustrations on display

Christine Suppes of FashionLines.com and Heather Brown of Workgroup LTD.

Richard Klein of Surface Magazine with Brad Lande.

Dodie Rosekrans (John Galliano’s former patron) and Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE.

Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE and Academy of Art University President Dr. Elisa Stephens inspect the chocolate dessert in the shape of a Vivienne Westwood platform-heel shoe and filled with chocolate mousse.

Other guests included:
Zandra Rhodes CBE (Commander of the British Empire), fashion designer
Dodie Rosekrans, San Francisco philanthropist
Maryann Opperman, San Francisco philanthropist
Julie Chaiken, owner, Chaiken Clothing
Doris Raymond, owner of The Way We Wore, vintage clothing collector
Ian Hannula & Joe Haller, fashion designers, Nice Collective
Sande Schlumberger, gallery owner
Christine Suppes of FashionLines.com wearing head to toe Westwood
The Honorable Martin Uden, Consul General of Great Britain
The Honorable Rolf Schulte, Consul General of Germany
The Honorable Eva Voisin, Honorary Consul General of Hungary

School of Fashion Students Asking Questions

After being presented with her Honorary Doctorate from Academy of Art University in San Francisco by President Dr. Elisa Stephens, Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE addressed the audience of luncheon guests and approximately 1,000 fashion students in a question and answer period moderated by Gladys Perint Palmer, executive director of fashion at Academy of Art University.

British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes CBE also took part in the lively talk. “I’ve been called the princess of punk, and she, the queen of punk,” said Rhodes, who lives in Southern California. She stopped in San Francisco on her way to Houston where she is designing the sets and costumes for the Houston Grand Opera’s upcoming production of ‘Aida.’

Vivienne Westwood and Zandra Rhodes spent one hour answering questions from the students. The discussion touched on politics with Vivienne exclaiming that “George Bush doesn’t even care about the rest of the world.” She challenged the students to not just accept how things are done and. “We have lost our freedoms when someone can be locked up with no charges against them,” she said. “We should not accept things at face value. Why do you allow people to tell you this is OK?”

Westwood advised the students to look everywhere for inspiration. “You have to study the past in order to avoid being horizontal in your thinking. The understanding of what went before is what informs a deeper level of knowing.” She added that “talent is rare [but that] you are only young once.”

She advised the students that “If you want to be a fashion designer, don’t look at fashion magazines. Don’t care about them. Look at costume.” In addition to sources from costume to biology, she told them to visit museums and focus on a favorite painting. She asked them to decide which painting they would save if a fire broke out and to rethink this decision every six months as their tastes will grow and change as they expose themselves to more art and culture.

Vivienne herself enjoys fine art, costumes, museums and music such as classical and opera. “You must know culture and the past to be a good designer,” she urged them.

After the discussion, she asked to be dropped off at the Asian Art Museum to enjoy some of the culture that San Francisco has to offer.

Speaker Series: November 30, 2006 Industry Panel Discussion

November 30th School of Fashion
Open Studios and Fashion Industry Panel Discussion

The School of Fashion at Academy of Art University in San Francisco held Open Studios on Thursday, November 30th for guests to walk around classrooms and mingle with MFA and BFA fashion students “in action” during design, drawing, knitwear and textile studios.

Drawing Studio.

Melissa Ceria of Shareyourlook.com and Harper's Bazaar.

Textile Lab.

After touring the Open Studios, guests and students went to the Palace Hotel for the Fashion Industry Panel Discussion. The panel included:

• Retailers Wilkes Bashford, owner of The Wilkes Bashford Company; and Susan Foslien, owner of stores Susan and The Grocery Store.

• Journalists Christine Suppes, publisher and editor-in-chief of FashionLines.com; Melissa Ceria, journalist and co-founder of ShareYourLook.com; and Donna Kato, style editor of San Jose Mercury News.

• Designers Joe Haller and Ian Hannula of Nice Collective; and sisters Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte.

The panelists spoke on their roles in the fashion industry and addressed student questions.

Dodie Rosekrans (John Galliano's patron) and Gladys Perint Palmer, Executive Director of the School of Fashion

An illustration by Gladys Perint Palmer showing the participants of a runway show which she used to introduce the Industry Panel Discussion.

The crowded room full of fashion students.

Gladys Perint Palmer

Fashion Industry Panel.

Fashion Designer Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte.

Journalist Melissa Ceria.

Retailer Susan Foslien of Susan of Burlingame and The Grocery Store.

Retailer Wilkes Bashford.
Donna Kato of San Jose Mercury News.
Fashion Designer Ian Hannula of Nice Collective.
Fashion Designer Joe Haller of Nice Collective.
Fashion Designer Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte.

Following the student question and answer period, the panelists and guests walked across the street to the Academy of Art University Gallery at 79 New Montgomery Street to enjoy a reception, more fashion conversation, and view the current student exhibition.
Margaret Pluvinage, Jane Gillespie & Christine Suppes at the reception.
Stanley Shimamoto of Susan of Burlingame with Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte.
Susan Foslien.

Gladys Perint Palmer talking with Ian and Joe of Nice Collective.