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

Speaker Series: April 2007 School of Fashion creates the first annual Fashion Week

Media Panel Discussion

Fashion journalism students were able to meet and learn from leaders in their field. The Media Panel Discussion included Robin Givhan of The Washington Post who is the only Pulitzer Prize winning fashion editor as well as Ceslie Armstrong, award-winning editor, TV host and editor-in-chief of www.ceslie.com; Charlotte Lurot, director of Bacchus PR in London; Titti Matteoni, editor-in-chief of Fashion magazine in Italy; and Elizabeth Varnell, style director of San Francisco magazine.


Ceslie Armstrong, Charlotte Lurot, Titti Matteoni, Elizabeth Varnell, Robin Givhan

Ceslie Armstrong

Charlotte Lurot

Elizabeth Varnell

Charlotte Lurot and Elizabeth Varnell

Titti Matteoni

Robin Givhan

Ceslie Armstrong

Other discussion included:

Worth Global Style Network, the world’s leading online research, trend analysis and news service for the fashion and style industries, gave a presentation as well.

Fashion merchandising students got a glimpse into Macy’s at The Fashion Merchandising Career Panel. The panel featured executives from Macy’s West who discussed the many fashion merchandising career paths within the areas of apparel, accessories, visual merchandising, and the business of beauty. Macy’s is the largest retail brand of Federated Department Stores, Inc., with more than 800 locations in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Speaker Series: March 16, 2007 Jas Sehmbi from London

On March 16, 2007, Jas Sehmbi arrived from London eager to speak with design students in their classrooms. He even came bearing gifts for each of them.

Jas M.B. bags and accessories are hand-made in London and feature his trademark weightless
construction in design craftsmanship. In 1993 Jas established his name as a leading accessories designer when he created the first ever DJ bag. By Spring 2000, Jas made a departure from nylon and canvas and returned to working using fine Italian leather, this time dyed and treated in-house. The result was a limited collection called Jas M.B, which was quickly picked up
by Barneys New York and YMC in London...selling out within days.

Actress, Denise Van Outen opened the Doors by Jas M.B. boutique located in London's fashionable Soho four years ago and since then, the store has become the one stop shop for many Jas M.B. fans from all over the globe.

The stores name represents the "doors" Jas has and continues to, open for students wanting to work in the fashion industry.

http://www.doorsbyjasmb.com/

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.