As anyone who attends FIT can tell you, the college is not exclusively about Fashion Design. There are many creative fields that all support the fashion world, and many of these talents are fostered here. As red carpet season comes to a close, we bring your attention to some of the FIT alumni whose work—styling, hosting, and yes, designing—has pleased audiences at this year’s awards shows.
Wayman and Micah
Hollywood power stylists Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald, known as Wayman and Micah, both attended FIT. It is the singular flair they bring to selecting and styling clothes for their clients that ranks them among the most powerful in the business.
During this year’s awards season, the team was responsible for dressing and styling the following clients for the Golden Globes, Emmys, Grammys, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Academy Awards: Colman Domingo, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Taraji P. Henson, Jon Batiste, and Regina King. (Randolph won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress last night.)
Colman Domingo, considered one of the best-dressed men in Hollywood, was up for a Best Actor Academy Award. Wayman and Micah recently broke down client Domingo’s awards-show looks for the Today show.
Laverne Cox
Fashion Merchandising Management alumna Laverne Cox has been hosting E!’s red carpet coverage since January 2022, quickly becoming a fan favorite for her conversation as well as her frocks.
Cox is no slouch as a fashion historian, either. Catch her recent discussion of The Museum at FIT’s Thierry Mugler holdings.
Daniel Roseberry
The creative director of Schiaparelli has garnered much attention and praise from all corners of the fashion world. Roseberry’s designs have been a consistent presence on the red carpet this season, from wowing the Swifties at the Grammys to bringing the Barbie pink to Margot Robbie’s SAG Awards appearance.
Here’s a list of celebs we’ve spotted wearing his work—some are included in the slideshow above: Dua Lipa, Carey Mulligan, Natasha Lyonne, Taylor Swift, Margot Robbie, Sandra Hüller, Emily Blunt.
Reem Acra
We were pleased to see SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher in FIT alumna Reem Acra (below) at the Screen Actors Guild Awards the year after she helped resolve the actors’ and writers’ strikes. Also, we heard Katherine Heigl was spotted in Acra at the Emmys.
Francesco Risso
You can usually find the Marni creative director’s work on actors who are a little edgy, since his designs definitely take risks. This year at the Emmys The White Lotus’s Simona Tabasco wore a floral number by the avant garde alumnus.
Cori Strike
Cori Strike is not even an alumna yet! A current student studying Fashion Design, Strike created a golden gown for saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin for the Grammys where she was nominated for three awards: Best Instrumental, Best Jazz Performance, and Best Instrumental Composition. We look forward to more red carpet roundups with this designer in the future.