San Francisco, CA, September 10, 2010 – Louie Llewellyn, M.F.A. Men’s Wear Design, and Xiang Zhang, M.F.A. Knitwear Design, premiered their collaborative men’s wear collection at the Academy of Art University fashion show of recent graduates on Friday, September 10th at 8:00 PM in The Theater at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center.
Boston native Louie used the theme of a ‘disagreement’ between a hard and soft men’s wear silhouette. He designed the woven pieces with sharp edges and bold lines, and then added softer fabrics for contrast. He used one of his favorite paintings, Incision by Jay Defeo, for the color inspiration and selected fabrics to evoke a feeling of strength and desire. His favorite fabric for this collection is a cotton-silk blend piqué in lavender and black.
Shanghai native Xiang designed the knitwear pieces for the collection. Over 30 swatches were created before the final color combinations were selected. A time-consuming plating technique, knitting with two strands of yarn held by hand and twisted to obtain the desired effect and color combination, was used. Each knit piece took approximately 50 hours to finish.
Since 2005, the School of Fashion at Academy of Art University in San Francisco has premiered the collections of recent graduates during New York Fashion Week. “We view this show as the University’s commitment to help launch the careers of these young designers,” said Dr. Elisa Stephens, president of Academy of Art University. “To be a part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is an incredible opportunity.”
About Academy of Art UniversityWith more than 16,000 students, Academy of Art University is the nation’s largest private art and design university. Established in 1929, the school offers accredited A.A., B.A., B.F.A., M.A., M.Arch and M.F.A. programs in Advertising, Animation & Visual Effects, Architecture, Art Education, Fashion, Fine Art, Game Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture & Design, Motion Pictures & Television, Multimedia Communications, Music for Visual Media, Photography, and Web Design & New Media. Online degrees are offered in most of the 16 majors. Academy of Art University is an accredited member of WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges), NASAD, Council for Interior Design Accreditation (BFA-IAD) and NAAB (M.Arch).
About the School of FashionOver 2,500 fashion students study under the guidance of experienced fashion professionals in the School of Fashion, which houses ten areas of specialization: Fashion Design for Women’s Wear, Men’s Wear, and Children’s Wear; Technical Design; Textile Design; Knitwear Design; Accessory Design; Costume Design; Fashion Illustration; Fashion Journalism; Fashion Merchandising; and Visual Merchandising.
Photos by Randy Brooke, Courtesy of the Academy of Art University.
It is always thrilling to receive the look books of Chinese designer Chi Zhang, who, at a young age, exhibits astonishing talent.
