APPLIQUÉ: VCUarts Qatar Annual Fashion Show 2017

The VCU Fashion Department is excited to announce that this year we will be sending four students to show their collections at the VCUarts Qatar annual fashion show, “Appliqué”. The students selected are Josh Bigelow, Skyler Crawford, Lydia Critchfield, and Deborah Sedlacek. “Appliqué” showcases the work of VCUarts Qatar fashion design sophomores, juniors and seniors, launching graduates into professional careers. The show will take place on April 12 and 13 and is hosted by Salam Stores at The Gate Mall. Ahmed El Sayed, the co-founder of House of Nomad and a VCUarts Qatar alumnus, will be the guest designer at the show, where he will present his most recent collection. Live stream the fashion show from http://www.qatar.vcu.edu/events/applique-fashion-show on April 13 at 11:30AM in Eastern Standard Time.

Josh Bigelow

(B.F.A. 2017) Fashion Design

Skyler Crawford

(B.F.A. 2017) Fashion Design

Lydia Critchfield

(B.F.A. 2017) Fashion Design

Debbie Sedlacek

(B.F.A. 2017) Fashion Design

“Inspired by the defiance of hope in times of oppression and violence, this collection explores the beauty of human compassion in the darkest and evil times. Beaded, studded fabric and skull lace texturizes darker, painful, and heartache and darker emotions. Furthermore, the red and yellow accent colors are the universal cautionary colors, however, they are also the only colored plants that tend to bloom in freezing and cold temperatures. They give hope to the rest of the living that are asleep. The genocide in Aleppo is a perfect example where hope is not forgotten in its darkest and bloodiest days. A tribute to the brave man, woman and children of Syria and people fighting for justice all around the globe.” 

Rafie Khoshbin, VCU Fashion 2016 B.F.A. graduate, showed his Women’s Avant-Garde Fall/Winter 2017 collection at Charleston Fashion week on March 17. See more photos at http://charlestonfashionweek.com/photos/emerging-designer-rafie-khoshbin.

Design aesthetic:
“Constantly rediscovering contemporary silhouettes and incorporating traditional hand-work.”

First fashion encounter: “I always played with fabrics as a child but definitely it was Shirley MacLaine’s Coco Chanel in 2008… it completely blew my mind!”

In 5 years: “I feel like if I set a certain goal I may blind myself to an opportunity. In 5 years I began college wanting to pursue medicine and now I am a graduate of fashion design. I just hope to keep moving forward.”

Last thought: “I truly believe that in the darkest and most evil time the beauty of humanity compassion soars. As designers, we are as equally responsible as the politicians to raise our voices and use our art as a vessel for those who’s voices that have be silenced.”

VCU put together an amazing behind the scenes look at how much goes in to producing the fashion show at VCUarts. Take a look at some of the photo highlights from the night, and be sure to watch the behind the scenes video at the end!

Photo by Allen Jones, VCU.

Katherine Manson, Corinne Napper , Jessica Fatherly, Caroline Gotlieb, Madison Moran, Robert Rey Layson, and Amanda Data competed against hundreds of students from major universities across the country including Parson, Harvard, FIT and Wharton School of Business. This was VCU’s first year as a Fashion Scholarship Foundation approved educational institution, and seven of eleven submissions were selected.   Each student submitted a case study that identified innovative ways to retain the existing customer base and also developed ideas on how best attract new customers for the subscription service Birchbox. The awards ceremony took place on January 12^th at the Marriot Marquis in NYC. The winning students also received placements at internships at numerous fashion organizations including Phillips Van Heusen, Rachel Comey and Perry Ellis to name just a few.

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts has hired Patricia Brown as chair of the Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising.

“After conducting a national search, we could not be more pleased with the talent and vitality Patricia will bring to the Fashion department,” said Joseph H. Seipel, dean of the School of the Arts. “I look forward to seeing what new direction she will bring to her department.”

Brown is a fashion industry veteran with more than 20 years of design and design direction experience. In 2008, she founded Patricia Brown Designs, a high-end fashion, jewelry and accessory design firm. She has worked with some of the best names in the business, including Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein Collection, Adrienne Vittadini, Ann Taylor and Banana Republic.

Brown graduated from the College of William and Mary with a major in economics and a minor in English. She then earned a bachelor of fine arts in fashion design, with honors and a Gold Thimble Designer Critic Award, from Parsons School of Design in New York City.

Jame’t Jackson was awarded 1st place for Cotton Incorporated’s “Innovation in Design” and received a $1,000.00 prize.

Emilia Hernandez was awarded the Undergraduate Alvanon Creative Design Award and will be awarded an Alvanon ASTM Missy Studio Dressform.

Congratulations to four fashion design alumni for having their work exhibited at the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) Conference in Charlotte, NC, November 12-16, 2014

Alice Kim, Jame’t Jackson, Emilia Hernandez, and Tyler Bowers .

Monday October 6th
2:00-3:15
DEPOT Interdisciplinary Space
814 W. Broad Street

VCU Fashion is excited to welcome Sass Brown.  Ms. Brown will be working with fashion design and merchandising students and give a talk on sustainable design and eco fashion.

Sass Brown is Acting Assistant Dean for the School of Art and Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology.  As a researcher, writer, blogger and educator, her area of expertise is eco fashion, in all of its various expressions, from slow design and heritage craft skills to recycle, reuse and new business models. Ms. Brown communicates and promotes the best in eco fashion design, through a multitude of media, most notably her books; Eco Fashion and ReFashioned, her website www.ecofashiontalk.com and her journalism.