Parsons MFA graduates showcase collection during NYFW
This past Monday, September 11th, Parsons masters students presented their collection “WE DEM KIDS,” as an activation for the Fashion Design and Society program during New York Fashion Week. This was the 12th generation of graduates to present an activation, which was held at the Brooklyn Museum. The show was joined by two new faculty members for FDS: Lucia Cuba, the new program director, and Sariah Park, the associate director.
As educators, they are both guided by an interest in social justice and expanded fashion practices. This change in direction of leadership marks the beginning of a new era for the Parsons MFA program. One that focuses on the designer’s capacity to impact society as well as the planet.
The activation featured 12 graduates’ work: Anna Roth, Chang Liu, Fabiola Saovela, Hsao-Han Kuo, Mel Corchado, Nan Jiang, Natsum Aoki, Pipenco Lorena, Ren Haixi, Siri, Story, Sunny Ning, Yamil Arbaje, Ying Kong, and Yu Gong. As a collective, their focus was “[reflecting] on the beauty of shared experiences, the resilience of heritage, and those unshakeable bonds that tie us to the past and propel us into the future.” The show was creatively directed by Jeff Karly Drouillard, a Parsons School of Fashion faculty member, with production by Tiffany Webber, and assistance from students across the SoF. It was divided into three chapters called: Heritage, 2113, and Generational. The first of the three focused on the roots historically and culturally being presented featuring looks from Ning, Soavela, Siri, Ku, and Story. In 2113, the designers zoomed out into the future, envisioning a world “where technology and creativity have intertwined in unprecedented ways,” the looks featured were by Roth, Jiang, Gong, Kong, and Aoki. Closing out the show was a celebration of the “passage of time and the interconnectivity of different eras,” with looks by Corchado, Lui, Arbaje, Ren, and Lorena.
Looming large in the show was the setting of the Brooklyn Museum, usually teeming with visitors from near and far, it was closed to the public for a more intimate show. As the models walked down the runway set up in the lobby, the music echoed in the halls where people normally chatted by the giant KAWS statue near the front ticket kiosk as cameras clicked. When the show ended, and people clapped for the collection, the chatter returned, this time focusing on not only the stationary art, but the moving art too.
Each look was captivating in its ingenuity and precision with masterful use of color and silhouette. Some were more subdued with pastels like lavender or key lime green in body-hugging figures. While others took a more sculptural approach with bulbous forms and exaggerated proportions.
Featured photo courtesy of Aleksandr Karjaka