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By Rebecca Blaho and Rebecca Greenspan The fashion elite will gather in Savannah as the Savannah College of Art and Design presents the annual fashion show May 15 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Trustees Theater, 216 E. Broughton St. A recent scene in Henry Hall, a little less than a week away from final presentations, gave an indication of the big event on the way. While garments were strung from near to far and scraps of fabric and trims littered every surface, students calmly went about their work, making final decisions, grabbing a late dinner as they took a break from the sewing machine, pressing garments and reviewing their work with a critical eye. To the unaware, it might seem like just another night at the lab. For the 46 students featured in “Runway 25,” an already hectic quarter has been shortened even more by the upcoming G8 Summit. Students had barely seven and a half weeks to prepare their garments for the event they’ve anticipated for nearly four years. “You don’t eat, you don’t sleep, but it doesn’t feel like that. It’s your dream so you just do it,” said Erika Lapins. A quick glance at the collections represented this year shows that these students are dedicated to their craft. Mildred Santiago estimates she spends 10-12 hours a day at Henry Hall working on her collection, a mix of lamb skin, wool and organza. “Windward Seafarers,” inspired by the idea of a woman pirate, combines the colors of a threatening sky, gray, white and lilac, with an interesting use of fabric. Lyndsey Lewis has dedicated her children’s wear collection, “Little Girls and Their Mother’s Pearls,” to her mother who passed away last year. Designed as flower girl dresses, the garments are trimmed with hand beading and lace and will be modeled by the children of several professors and staff members. Lapins’ collection combines shiny metallic leather and fur with details such as pin tucks and antique brooches. Lapins came to SCAD three years ago as a transfer student who didn’t even know how to sew. The completion of her collection has reaffirmed the fact that she can hold her own now. “I knew nothing when I came here and now I’ve done all this. I’ve accomplished quite a bit,” she said. As for plans after the fashion show and graduation, these students are keeping an open mind. “I’m ready for anything,” Lewis said. That’s a good thing. With SCAD graduates working for such companies as American Eagle, The Gap, Bill Blass, Nike, Nordstrom Product Group, Spanx, Inc., and Haute-Couture Bridal Company, among others, the possibilities are endless. Over the last several years the SCAD fashion show has made a name for itself, garnering coverage in publications such as Women’s Wear Daily, Vogue and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. At the 8 p.m. show, Vogue editor-at-large and SCAD board of trustees member André Leon Talley will honor fashion newcomer Zac Posen with the André Leon Talley New Look Award. In May 2000, the college honored Talley with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was renamed the André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award and has been presented successively to Oscar de La Renta, Karl Lagerfeld and Miuccia Prada. For Posen, what has always mattered most about fashion is craft. “The glamour behind fashion was never the driving force for me,” he explained. “I was much more aware of construction. I probably spent five years finding all the different ways a circle can fit on the body or looking at how the seam of a garment is as important as the actual silhouette.” Recently, Sean John, a clothing franchise founded by rap mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs with annual retail sales in the United States of more than $450 million, formed a joint venture with Posen, calling him a “true design talent.” This partnership allows Posen to continue expansion of his ready-to-wear collection while developing an accessories line. “He’s got what it takes,” Combs said. “And Sean John is going to give his company an opportunity to grow because we believe in him.” Posen has spent most of his life sharpening his convictions about design. The son of painter Stephen Posen, the 23-year-old New York City native grew up in SoHo and has been designing clothes since childhood. He enrolled in the pre-college program at Parsons School of Design as a high school freshman and spent two years interning at The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art under the mentorship of curator Richard Martin. Posen spent his teenage years at his sewing machine, designing clothes for friends and staying after hours at the Met analyzing the virtuoso bias cuts and legendary draping of Madeleine Vionnet’s dresses. He was accepted to London’s prestigious Central St. Martins College of Art and Design at the age of 18. It was at St. Martins that Posen refined his approach to design. When he designed a bold leather dress for “Curvaceous,” an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, it earned the V&A Prize and was acquired for the permanent collection. The first full application of Posen’s design philosophy took place on New York City’s Lower East Side at “Artemis,” his debut runway show for fall 2002. With his second collection, “Circe,” for spring 2003, Posen proved that he is a new leader of international fashion design with the collection, named after a mythological enchantress of the Greek islands. From a vivid red bias cut day dress to a chevron-striped pantsuit to a sheer golden mini, the mood was strong, elegant and deceptively simple. As serious as the designer is about the artistry of fashion and the crafts of cut and construction, he is also very pragmatic. “Business is what supports new ideas,” Posen said, refusing to let art overwhelm commerce. The designer runs his atelier in TriBeCa where, along with his mother Susan, who serves as CEO, and his sister Alexandra, the company’s creative director, there is a growing team of pattern-makers, tailors, sewers and interns working in his studio. He continues to push personal and industry boundaries with his latest collections: “Leagues and Fathoms,” fall/winter 2003; “Sargasso,” spring/summer 2004; and “Blixen,” fall 2004. Posen’s work as a private couturier attracts a style-conscious clientele, including Halle Berry, Claire Danes, Julianne Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman and Liv Tyler. His collection is now available in the United States at leading retailers, including Bagutta, Barneys, Bloomingdale’s, Jeffrey, Neiman Marcus and Tracey Ross, and is also sold abroad in England, Japan and Canada. The 4 p.m. fashion show matinee is free and open to the public, but has limited general admission seating. Reserved seating tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $20 per person. Tickets may be purchased at the Trustees Theater box office, 216 E. Broughton St., or charged by phone at 525-5050. In addition, a live Web cast of the 8 p.m. show will be broadcast at www.scad.edu. Blaho oversees the college’s mailing list and Greenspan is media relations manager. |
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