Academy School of Fashion MFA Students Win Raves at NY Fashion Week

Academy of Art University School of Fashion MFA candidates pose with models backstage at New York Fashion Week. Contributors to this year's much-lauded collection are, from left, Sabah Mansoor Husain, Steven Oo, Hyo Sun An, Naomi Sutton, Bethany Meuleners and Marina Solomatnikova.

“How was it possible,” wondered The New York Times, “that clothes from six selected students with global origins … could seem more inventive and creative than established New York brands?” The occasion being described was the big Bryant Park show for New York Fashion Week, and all six students referenced are Academy MFA candidates.

Academy students’ NY Fashion Week shows have been setting the standard for fashion schools nationwide with their stunning collections in recent years, and the work they showed Feb. 13 at Bryant Park was no exception. This year’s participants won accolades for inspiring design from fashion commentators, magazines, blogs and even the mainstream press — across the nation and internationally. “The inspiration level was as high as the imagination at the Academy of Art University show,” enthused the Times. “While New York fashion tends toward the dutifully wearable, the San Francisco-based fashion college gave food for thought.” WWD.com said, “The clothes sent out by six MFA students at this San Francisco school surpassed some of the contemporary shows already seen for fall.”

MFA student Marina Solomatnikova's creations in suede and chiffon were among the designs praised by fashion media nationwide.

Kristy Siefkin of the Academy’s School of Multimedia Communications offers a video review of the show and the students’ designs below.

Read the complete articles from The New York Times and WWD.com here and here. And you can view a backstage video interview from MSN.com with School of Fashion Executive Director Gladys Perint Palmer here.

Congratulations for another remarkable NY Fashion Week triumph to this year’s six School of Fashion designer-contributors: Sabah Mansoor Husain, Steven Oo, Hyo Sun An, Naomi Sutton, Bethany Meuleners and Marina Solomatnikova.