Innovating Graduate Shows For a Digital Age

Last Autumn, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) graduates collaborated on a candid, user-generated fashion film Fashion in Frame, turning the restrictions imposed by the pandemic into a springboard for creativity and connection.

“While we were coming up with the idea of the fashion film, we were seeing in real-time the couture shows and then moving into the ready-to-wear season, and everything looked the same — and boring if I am honest with you. So, the idea of utilising user-generated content and short format meant we could show the joy and creativity the students accomplished despite the events of the year,” explains Michael Fink, Dean of SCAD’s School of Fashion.

SCAD’s “answer to the future of the fashion show,” was a high-concept, multimedia production between students and graduates from the School of Fashion, School of Digital Media and School of Entertainment Arts. The film generated 60,000 views in its first week alone. “The UGC opens up a whole new way of showcasing clothing — and it’s more inclusive, which is what this generation is teaching us. Social media can be our best friend and we can generate our message in a much bigger way,” continues Fink.

The initiative is consistent with SCAD’s agility in reflecting industry needs and transformation. With a constantly evolving curriculum, SCAD offers more than 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students over 100 academic degree programmes in more than 40 majors.

“We really believe in pushing forward innovation — what’s next five years from now, or 10 years from now? My responsibility is to guide students for real jobs in the world, and those jobs right now are being reinvented. So, we need to address that in the curriculum through in-depth courses in sustainability, design diversity, inclusivity, computer-generated design. Our last employment report saw 99 percent of our graduates either employed or pursuing degrees in higher education,” continues Dean Fink.

Now, BoF sits down with a selection of the students from the BFA fashion class of 2020, to hear more about the virtual showcase, how the school supported its graduating students and what it does to equip them with the skills for working in a disrupted industry.

Kahmani Zeon

“SCAD enables you to not only collaborate with your current peers but also collaborate with those from the past.”

What did the Fashion in Frame film experience mean to you?

It was a huge relief to be able to show the world what I’ve been working on. The Fashion in Frame film pushed people and gave them something to work for, to have the opportunity to present their garments. We are preparing for years for that end of our college career, and when Covid hit, it seemed like we were not going to have that spectacular ending.

I think the film was incredible because it was able to promote creativity and motivate us to keep going in such a hard time. Even for the students that didn’t have the opportunity to show their work, the film still supports them as it demonstrates how powerful and innovative SCAD, their alma mater, is.

How did the film’s format support you in expressing your creativity?

My goal was to create designs that embodied movement and provided a celebratory feeling, so the UGC format was perfect because, with the models wearing my garments while walking down the streets of New York, you could see the movement, you could see the emotion. I still felt my audience could see exactly what I was trying to show.

Then, the supporting photography highlighted the vibrancy of my colours — it still translated how I wanted it to. It was able to show a bigger picture, while also providing imagery that showed the details of my garment.

How collaborative was the project?

SCAD enables you to not only collaborate with your current peers but also collaborate with those from the past. I’ve met so many people because of the film that I didn’t know before. It’s opened many doors because of it. I feel like we are a huge family — even like a sorority together.

SCAD teaches you to love your process and understand how important it is.

I still talk to a fellow SCAD student almost every week and they’re definitely help me keep going. I’ve also already worked with the university since graduating on the Ruth E. Carter exhibition at SCAD FASH in Atlanta.. They like to do everything with their students. That community stays there, and they look to tap into it whenever they can.

How has SCAD help prepare you for working in the industry?

SCAD has helped me enhance my adaptability, nurture and evolve my skills, and increase my endurance. It is such a fast-paced school, and you have to be prepared for change at all times. SCAD teaches you to love your process and understand how important it is. It has given me the strength to endure the ugly and the unfinished, which I think is so important.

This presentation drew the future out plainly to me and the future is tech. For example, I have been learning how to programme and I plan to take my knowledge from a fashion education and combine it with the tech industry. This project really showed us that we need to find ways to make fashion more digital — that’s just the world we are going into now.

Max Condon

“I was mentored by Christopher John Rogers throughout my senior year, and seeing him, his vision and business take off is super inspiring.”

What did the Fashion in Frame film experience mean to you?

SCAD supports us to understand different ways of presenting, both physically and through social media and digitally. Now that everything’s online, it is important to know how to captivate someone through a screen, through visuals and graphic design — and all these presentation techniques SCAD ingrained in us and are exemplified through the film. It’s helping us reach the industry digitally.

Even before the pandemic, my professor was pushing us to think digitally, showing us rendering companies like The Fabricant and different ways of presenting for platforms like Showstudio — more technologically advanced methods. It encouraged us to think in new ways, with new references and resources to pivot our presentation and thinking of what the clothes could be beyond the rack.

How did the film’s format support you in expressing your creativity?

I really loved seeing my collection on the model, Casil McArthur. As a person and model, he really connected to the story of my collection, which I felt offered the clothes a whole new identity and broadened the reach of who was going to be wearing them. I also designed the clothes for the street, for wearability and function, and the film showed my designs in a more appropriate and natural setting, giving it its own context.

SCAD created a whole new showcase and format, using top industry models and influencers, leveraging their outreach and audience as well as the SCAD audience. It was really interesting to see the format SCAD chose to present our work, with a variety of techniques, whether it was a FaceTime shoot or an actual film shoot.

How collaborative was the project?

It was great to give my work to someone else and see how they would use it, how they would interpret it — giving them complete freedom to put their own spin on it. When it’s given to someone else, it gives it new life.

There’s an automatic sense of connection and support between lowerclassmen and upperclassmen, which extends into mentorship from alumni.

SCAD prepares us with a really strong sense of collaboration and teamwork. It’s a great fostering and learning process. We really leveraged that during the pandemic — I have friends in the graphic design, photo and film majors, and we were able to bounce ideas off each other, from technical skills to how to interpret a website. It’s a great way to check yourself and really understand how different people will look at your work.

How has SCAD help prepare you for working in the industry?

There’s an automatic sense of connection and support between lowerclassmen and upperclassmen, which extends into mentorship from alumni. I was mentored by Christopher John Rogers throughout my senior year, and seeing him, his vision and business take off is super inspiring.

I think what draws people to the SCAD locations are the excellent resources and facilities — but also the university’s network. Everything they provide for you and everyone they bring in gives you that global outreach beyond the location that you study in. I really utilised their multi-campus opportunity — I went over to Hong Kong for three semesters, so you can see urban and non-urban, which helps you grow in different ways.

Caroline McCoy

“When you see your garment on a real person, their personality shows through and adds even more to the clothing.”

What did the Fashion in Frame film experience mean to you?

Not only did I get to see my work being showcased, but I got to do so with the other people that I’ve worked with and bonded with over these past few years. To see them be successful meant so much to me.

A big highlight was meeting Kate Bosworth via Zoom. She was so inspirational and having her talk to me one-on-one was an eye-opening experience, hearing why she picked my garment to wear and seeing how she brought it to life. The experience pushed me to become a better designer.

How did the film’s format support you in expressing your creativity?

The UGC format really brought my designs to life. When you see your garment on a real person, their personality shows through and adds even more to the clothing. It wasn’t just a garment anymore — it was part of her personality. It was about how she was able to express herself with the help of my garment.

I have learned how important connections are, how important it is to market yourself to as many people as you can.

The digital format also worked so well for me and my peers because we could show the project to more people than we would otherwise — I could send it to my family quarantined at home; to my aunt in Texas; to my cousins in Colorado and Australia. That’s something you can’t do with a runway show.

How do you feel SCAD has prepared you for working in the industry today?

SCAD has really helped me with how to network. I have learned how important connections and relationships are, how important it is to market yourself to as many people as you can, because you never know when that person is going to be your ticket somewhere.

They also have great industry connections, like with CLO for 3D design, which was first introduced to me in my freshman year. We also have amazing mentors. My mentor, Anthony Miller, has helped me more than I could have ever imagined. Then, my counsellors are within a phone call away and they’re always there to help. I felt like family here. I’m now pursuing an MFA in fashion here at SCAD, focusing on the future of women’s golf wear. This university has always helped push me out of my comfort zone.

This is a sponsored feature paid for by SCAD as part of a BoF partnership.