The Savannah College of Art and Design presents SCAD FASHION/2023
The new stars of fashion debut cutting-edge collections live on the runway and in the multiversal realm of SCAD's latest fashion film.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA — The Savannah College of Art and Design is thrilled to present SCAD FASHION 2023, the university's hotly anticipated showcase of sartorial style, innovation, and originality from SCAD School of Fashion senior and graduate students. SCAD FASHION 2023 will debut live from SCAD Atlanta, Friday, May 19, at 8:30 p.m. ET, inviting global audiences and fashion enthusiasts to experience the supreme design talents of the next generation of fashion superstars via livestream.
"Contemporary American fashion lives right here in the great state of Georgia, where our new class of elite SCAD grads emerge every spring, ready to conquer the world. These wildly inventive designers make their grand debut at an event all of Atlanta celebrates — SCAD FASHION 2023 — in the heart of Midtown."
Paula Wallace | SCAD President and Founder
SCAD FASHION 2023 opens with the premiere of the university's latest fashion film, Dimensions, directed by SCAD alum Chris Finn (B.F.A., motion media design, 2015) of the award-winning creative production studio Scholar. Filmed on the cutting-edge LED volume stage at SCAD's Savannah Film Studios, Dimensions takes viewers on a journey through interstellar realms as five heroes from distant worlds reveal the boundless possibilities and empowerment of fashion. Featuring inventive garments, jewelry, accessories, and sneakers from more than 100 SCAD School of Fashion students, with exuberant performances by SCAD student actors and models, Dimensions reveals the collaborative brilliance of student creatives and accomplished alumni.
"I'm thrilled to have worked with the next generation of incredible fashion designers to create this exciting film for SCAD FASHION. Conceptualizing and designing this film around such a diverse collection of garments, immense creativity, and craftsmanship is a rare opportunity that I have cherished throughout this process. The students' talents and dedication to their future in the industry have inspired me to combine many of my own aesthetic and technical passions into this mixed-media film. My time as a SCAD motion media design student equipped me with a diverse set of tools that I still use today in my approach to any creative brief. SCAD truly prepares its students for success in the industry, and I'm grateful for the foundation it gave me."
Chris Finn | SCAD B.F.A., motion media design, 2015, creative director, Scholar
Following the film, SCAD FASHION 2023 seamlessly segues into the live runway show, featuring a dazzling array of more than 175 stellar designs from more than 55 designers that represent the pinnacle of students' studies at SCAD and showcase the future of fashion on the international stage.
Through the university's Style Lab mentor program, graduating SCAD fashion students have the unique opportunity to engage with a dedicated cadre of industry experts as they complete their looks for the runway. The collections featured at SCAD FASHION have also been expertly critiqued by a jury of some the most influential figures in the fashion industry today, including designer LaQuan Smith; designer Waris Ahluwalia; Nicole Phelps, global director of Vogue Runway; photographer and designer Tommy Ton; designer Italo Zucchelli; Sara Kozlowski, vice president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America; Pierre Rougier, founder of PR Consulting; designer Camilla Stærk; stylist Paul Cavaco; Peter Arnold, executive director of the Fashion Scholarship Fund; Noah Johnson, global style director of GQ; David McKenzie, head of design at Puma; and Hillary Taymour, creative director of Collina Strada, among others.
"This year we are incredibly excited to be hosting our fashion show in Atlanta, and I'm pleased to say that what you'll see on the runway matches the energy that you feel in the city. I have been deeply impressed by the craft, artistry, and sheer hard work that our graduating students have brought to their final collections. This new generation of designers look less to outside influences than to their own histories, experiences, and identities. Out of that comes clothes rich with emotional resonance. I can't wait to see these creative talents tell their individual stories on a global stage."
Dirk Standen | Dean of the SCAD School of Fashion
SCAD FASHION 2023 programming includes the annual SCAD Jewelry Trunk Show, presented Thursday, May 11 and Friday, May 12 at Jen Library in Savannah, featuring one-of-a-kind creations from SCAD jewelry students. The university will also honor famed photographer Ellen von Unwerth with the prestigious SCAD Étoile for her illustrious contributions to photography, film, and fashion on the occasion of her new exhibition, Ellen von Unwerth: This Side of Paradise, opening May 18 at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta with an avant-garde glam masquerade ball at 8:30 p.m., free and open to the public.
SCAD offers one of the most elite, connected, and comprehensive fashion programs in the world with undergraduate and graduate degrees in fashion, accessory design, jewelry, fibers, and fashion marketing and management. The SCAD School of Fashion centers real-world expertise. Students study sartorial history and process, meet career-making brand reps and editors, and get one-on-one mentorship from leading designers like Anna Sui, Mary Katrantzou, Phillip Lim, Brandon Maxwell, Miuccia Prada, Christian Siriano, and the late Vivienne Westwood. SCAD students and alumni continually move fashion and design forward in new ways and are known around the globe for their industry-redefining brands and ventures. SCAD fashion alumni helm international houses like Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Thom Browne, and Marc Jacobs; lead powerhouse brands like The Row and Anthropologie; and dress cultural legends like Beyoncé, Michelle Obama, Zendaya, Rihanna, Heidi Klum, and Tracee Ellis Ross. Additionally, SCAD fashion students and alumni have earned the industry's most prestigious awards and honors, including accolades from the CFDA, the LVMH Prize, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute, the Fashion Scholarship Fund, and the International Design Awards, as well as features in leading international fashion, art, and design publications.
SCAD FASHION 2023 Schedule of Events
Thursday, May 11–Friday, May 12
11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
SCAD Jewelry Trunk Show
Jen Library | 201 E. Broughton St., Savannah
Thursday, May 18
8:30 p.m.
Ellen von Unwerth: This Side of Paradise exhibition opening and presentation of SCAD Étoile
SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film
1600 Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta
Friday, May 19
8:30 p.m. ET
SCAD FASHION 2023 runway show and film premiere
By invitation only
Watch live
SCAD Style Lab 2023 mentors
John Caruso
Designer and brand consultant
Ben Chmura
SCAD B.F.A., fashion, 2001; director, color and trend, Under Armour
Briana Danyele
SCAD B.F.A., fashion, 2009; designer
Amber Halford
Creative director, 69
Camilla Stærk
Designer and founder, STÆRK; co-founder, Stærk&Christensen
Frederic Tremblay
Design consultant
Media Contacts
JJ Maxwell
AVP for Public Relations [email protected]
[email protected]
912.525.5362
Scottie Walden Albertson
Director of Public Relations
[email protected]
470.637.4161
SCAD School of Fashion
The SCAD School of Fashion offers a dynamic, innovative curriculum in design and construction, fashion history, and merchandising and marketing. Fashion students hone their creative and intellectual thinking, master inventive design skills, and gain the practical expertise necessary to succeed in global fashion careers.
SCAD's Savannah style HQ, Number Nine, offers leading-edge technology. In Atlanta and Lacoste, France, SCAD fashion students enjoy access to SCAD FASH museums, which show acclaimed exhibitions by fashion luminaries like Christian Lacroix, Julien Fournié, Horst P. Horst, Azzedine Alaïa, Isabel Toledo, Christian Siriano, Carolina Herrera, Pierre Cardin, Oscar de la Renta, and Guo Pei. The School of Fashion welcomes prominent designers and industry professionals who give lectures, lead workshops, and provide valuable insight through one-on-one interactions with students. Past visitors have included fashion designers Christian Siriano, Robert Wun, Becca McCharen-Tran, Mary Katrantzou, and Peter Som; Vogue's Sally Singer and Tonne Goodman; fashion journalist Véronique Hyland; and fashion photographer Robert Fairer.
SCAD: The University for Creative Careers
SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering more than 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. SCAD enrolls more than 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 120 countries. The future-minded SCAD curriculum engages professional-level technology and myriad advanced learning resources, affording students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real-world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university's renowned research lab and prototype generator. SCAD is No. 1 in the U.S., according to Art & Object's 2023 Best Art Schools ranking, with additional top rankings for degree programs in interior design, architecture, film, fashion, digital media, and more. Career success is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. For the past five years, 99% of SCAD graduates were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 10 months of graduation. SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more.