An official statement from President Joyce F. Brown was sent to the FIT community about the reactions to this show. Read the statement here.
On Friday, February 7, FIT held its first ever Fine Art of Fashion and Technology Show at Pier59 Studios during New York Fashion Week in honor of its inaugural Fashion Design MFA class. The runway show, FIT’s first at Fashion Week, was a high point among a year of celebrations for the college’s 75th anniversary.
Ninety-plus looks by 10 alumni from FIT’s inaugural Master of Fine Arts class in Fashion Design walked the runway. The designs speak to the skill and craftsmanship of the designers and reflect the highly personal stories and histories embedded in their work. Garments not only depicted a visual future for the fashion world, but spoke to topics that concern the larger industry—including gender roles, sustainability, smart fabrics, inclusivity, and more.
Professor Jonathan Kyle Farmer, the founding chair of the department, developed a curriculum that intentionally rejects the breakneck pace of the fashion system because it hampers creativity and results in a glut of clothes without meaning or intent. The first class graduated from FIT’s Fashion Design MFA program in May 2019, sending these highly original individuals into the world to change fashion. The program seeks unconventional students with diverse backgrounds, and encourages fresh approaches to fashion, design, craft, and technology. Each semester has a theme—Play, Focus, Edit, Conclude—as the students, guided by faculty and mentors, take their thesis from concept to collection.
The designers whose work went down the runway were:
- Moon Chang
- Yunray Chung
- Yuchen Han
- Junkai Huang
- Yi-Ting Lee
- LENNY VUITTON
- Kritika Manchanda
- Na Rena Ren
- Utkarsh Shukla
- Jingqi Gina Yang
- Wu Yutong
The show was presented and produced by NAMES LDN. Brother International Corporation, a leading name in sewing, embroidery and crafting, continues to support the next generation of fashion designers by sponsoring this event. Hair and makeup were conceptualized by the Academy of Makeup, Michelle Webb, and Brendan O’Sullivan.