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95th ANN UA L CO NNECTIO NS Cashmere Sponsor
FASHIO N DESIGN AT
THE SAM FO X SCHO O L
The Sam Fox School’s fashion design program offers a multifaceted course of study focused on the intersection of clothing and culture. Moving through a curriculum that begins with a foundational understanding of textiles, design, fashion history, research, and culture, students take on projects exploring a spectrum of garment design challenges, fabrication strategies, and visualization options. By thinking in abstract, visual, and futuristic ways, students shape the changing fashion landscape with relevancy and purpose.
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RDER O F SHO W
LONGEVITY
Pants by the Intro to Fashion class
EXPLORATION
Laser cut and etched tops and dresses by Textile Design class
DISCOVERY
Student-defined final projects and textile upcycling with RELCLÉM by Fiber Manipulation class
RESILIENCE
Dresses by Patternmaking and Production class
This year’s show highlights our program’s continued dedication to fashion for good with methods that preserve our planet for future generations. Our students engage with new technology and sustainable practices while working creatively to communicate their vision for utilizing fashion as a positive force. Today’s lineup includes garments designed and produced in a range of preparatory classes culminating in the BFA Senior Capstone.
SCHEDULE
7 p.m. Welcome
Mary Ruppert-Stroescu, Ph.D, Fashion Program
Area Coordinator and Becky Domyan, SVP/Market Manager at Audacy, Inc., Master of Ceremonies
7:05 p.m. General Coursework Presentations
7:25 p.m. Senior Capstone Collections
8 p.m. Awards Presentation
8:30 p.m. Closing Remarks
Featuring our Cashmere sponsor
8:30–10 p.m. Networking and Meet the Designers Reception
Cover: fashion illustration by Kristin Morse, BFA ‘94, Morsekode Design
PARALLELS
Shirts and pants by Patternmaking and Production class
MOVEMENT
Knitwear by 3D Fashion Design Foundations class
METAFASHION
3D animation of virtual clothing by Digital Fashion and Textile Design class
SLEEPING BEAUTY
Met gala gowns by 3D Fashion Foundations class
BFA CAPSTONE COLLECTIONS
LIFELINES by Ella Dassin
NOSTALGIA by Josie Zimmerman
FIGHTERS by Michael Hunziker
MIRAGE by Leena Bekhiet
FEATHERPLIGHT by Maxine Roeder
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95th ANNUAL
2O 24 BFA IN FASHIO N DESIGN GRADUATING CLASS
This show reveals the capstone fashion design collections by BFA seniors at Washington University in St. Louis. Each of these students has developed a clothing line that shows a specific visual vocabulary and design aesthetic, conceptually grounded and created through a rigorous process of research, material development, ideation, prototyping, and final realization. This process has spanned nine months and involved extensive engagement with faculty, industry professionals, alumni, and staff.
Clockwise from top right: Maxine Roeder, Josie Zimmerman, Leena Bekhiet, Ella Dassin, Michael Hunziker. Photography by Philip Hamer.
ABO UT THE FASHIO N EXHIBITIO N CLASS
The Fashion Promotion and Exhibition class has produced and directed this 95th annual fashion design show.
SHOW PRODUCER AND COURSE INSTRUCTOR: Mary Ruppert-Stroescu, PhD
CO-DIRECTORS: Indigo L. Amunategui, Emily B. Carlin
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Brooke J. Cowan
FRONT OF HOUSE MANAGER: Anya K. Letson
BACK OF HOUSE MANAGER: Alyena Gilani
DESIGNER REP/STYLISTS: Gabriela Brenes, Nicole
Briceno, Ash Wang, Indigo L. Amunategui, Gloria Nishimwe
MODEL AND DRESSER CHAIR : Maggie L. Maichel
PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO MANAGER: Coco Wu
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER: Victoria Yu
PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER: Julia Yuan
COMMUNICATION DESIGN CO-MANAGERS: Grace Demba, Annie W. Kim
SPECIAL EFFECTS AND ANIMATION: Adrian E. Fuller
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ELLA DASSIN
New York, NY
BFA Fashion Design
My designs are a reflection of my hometown, New York City, and my love for streetwear, print design, and photography. With my innovative approach to print design, neutral color palette, and simple silhouettes, I aim to make clothing that appeals to people of all genders and ages.
LIFELINES
Lifelines explores the general idea of relationships through print and clothing. When we hear the word “relationship,” we tend to think of a couple. However, this collection will reflect on a broader sense of the term, such as how humans view and interact with the world around us, how relationships evolve over time, and how cultures shape relationships.
This line features original prints of my photos and drawings. The simple silhouettes and neutral color palette make the prints the center focus of this line.
My target market includes students and those just entering the workforce who need practical products that align with their lifestyle. These individuals are at a point of introspection on the profound impact that their relationships have had on their lives. They view clothing not only as a fashion statement, but also as a way to express themselves and connect with others.
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JOSIE ZIMMERMAN
New York, NY
BFA Fashion Design
As a young designer, I aim for my designs to bring a sense of playfulness and nostalgia into one’s mind when they are wearing my garments. Utilizing bold colors, unique cutouts, and whimsical prints, I want my clothing to let one feel mature, outgoing, youthful, and bold, all at once.
NOSTALGIA
How can I hold onto the nostalgia of my childhood as I begin my journey into adulthood? As I graduate college and begin a new chapter in my life, I want my collection to be a celebration of my childhood in an adult manner. My goal is for my designs to feel nostalgic and sultry at the same time.
I want my collection, Nostalgia, to be a retro futuristic spin on a dainty aesthetic. The collection is heavily inspired by the material exploration and bold colors used in fashion during the Space Age, as well as my interest in the girly-girl and ballet-core, where the super feminine combines with the athletic.
Nostalgia is a resort wear, ready-to-wear collection made for all the girls who love fashion-forward, trendy pieces. From using bright colors to revealing cutouts, my looks aim to feel scandalous, while reminding one of the clothing they used to dress their Bratz Dolls and Polly Pockets in as a child.
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MICHAEL HUNZIKER
Anchorage, AK
BFA Fashion Design
I am fascinated by the human condition—the inescapable dynamics of suffering, hope, warfare, death, love, miracles, divine worship, and connections in this lifetime. Through my creations I hope to shed the conditioning of the ego to encourage us to come together as a species.
FIGHTERS
Buddhism describes the human experience as “life is suffering.” We all have hardships, things that we wish we would have done better, things that we regret, scars, bruises, sadness. However, that same discomfort is a catalyst that allows one to grow, develop character, and become stronger—all depending on one’s perspective. Let us honor and face these scars. Humans are born fighters, whether you are a ballerina, boxer, janitor, mother, or a man on the street. In this collection, I am using the extreme juxtapositions of life as a visual metaphor to represent the human condition. Like yin and yang, hard and soft, euphoria and misery, push and pull, the human experience is about existing in between these extremes to ultimately learn something about your soul.
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LEENA BEKHIET
Milwaukee, WI
BFA Fashion Design
I create with themes of home and heritage, blissfully inviting color and foreignness into the mundane. My muse is my motherland. I invite gallivanters to indulge in a new form of assimilation, one that observes the dress of its surroundings and erupts culture and philosophy into it.
MIRAGE
A contemporary women’s and men’s wear collection revealing the animated qualities of Egypt, Mirage explores representation of a place not understood by the western eye. Mirage explores the illusion of a culture conventionally defined by antiquity. Curated for 26–37-year-olds searching for multi-functional, unique, and elevated casualwear while indulging at a luxury price point.
This collection ponders what it means for landmarks to live harmoniously with the people of the land. When viewing Egypt from a distance, stationary and proportionally large landmarks may only be discussed. When magnified, Egypt’s tiniest crevices hold mounds of maximalism discovered through adjacency. Mirage is characterized by the revelation of embellished surface design beneath a layer of exterior beauty.
A rectified representation, Mirage encapsulates actuality through exaggerated and architectural proportions, an emphasis on pleating and beading, and the juxtapositions between solid and ornamented, stationary and moving.
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MAXINE ROEDER
New York, NY
BFA Fashion Design
I am a fashion designer specializing in eveningwear and eco-effective fashion. My work traverses the scientific and the emotional, using fashion to examine the experiences, beauties, and struggles of humans and nature. Detailed textile manipulations and sustainable materials and practices such as upcycling scraps are key to my work.
FEATHERPLIGHT
Featherplight is an eco-conscious couture collection inspired by the beauty of birds and their struggles resulting from human actions. It engages the contrast between birds’ purity with their menacing fate by juxtaposing beauty with discomfort, freedom with constriction, and vitality with decay. The collection emphasizes the state of birds and the evolutionary disruption and ecological imbalance resulting from bird decline.
Dense textile manipulations, hand beading and complex structural shapes reflect the complexity of bird evolution, patterns of dispersal, and reactions to the obstacles birds face, while overlapping sheer materials express sensitivity. Linear elements from style lines and manipulations represent the ecological framework birds are a part of and become visually fragmented in later looks to signify disruption. The collection unfolds narratively, from colorful and balanced to asymmetrical, haunting, and deconstructed, reflecting the grim trajectory of bird decline. Primarily made to order, the garments are made of innovative, sustainable, and/or deadstock and scrap materials and range $5,000-20,000/outfit.
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GUEST SPEAKERS AND MENTO RS
BFA Senior Capstone students learned to conceptualize and visually communicate their collections and refined their presentation and oral communication skills through mentoring sessions with the following fashion industry professionals.
Daphne Benzaquen, Co-Founder, EMERGE
The Agency and Founder, daph.
Joan Berkman, CEO of Face Watchers
Ali Breitbach, Fashion Artist, Designer
Caira Butler, Brand Experience Lead, Neiman Marcus Group
Jane Glidden, Weavers’ Guild of St. Louis
Dale Goad, Fiber Spinning Master, Weavers’ Guild of St. Louis
Angelique Joseph, Vice President, Design, Naturalizer
Daniel Kramer, Store Director, Neiman Marcus, Frontenac
Natalie Papageorgiadis, Set decorator at Bridgerton on Netflix, and Interior Designer
Jason Ross, Founder and Designer, Artemas Quibble
Laura Sawyier, Founder and Stylist, LKS Consulting
Susan Sherman, Co-founder and CEO, Saint Louis Fashion Fund
Stuart Trevor, Founder of All Saints, Bolongaro Trevor & STUART TREVOR
Brandin Vaughn, CEO and Designer, Brandin Vaughn Collections
Stuart Weitzman, Founder, Stuart Weitzman
ALEXANDRE NICAUD CASSART, CAPSTONE CLASS MENTOR
Alexandre Nicaud Cassart connected with the senior Capstone class closely through Zoom and a oneweek intensive residency on campus.
Nicaud Cassart focuses on sharing values between tradition and modernization, creating a cloakroom with hybrid materials that gives each piece a particular volume, feel and look. His Ksrt studio designs for various worlds, as diverse as sportswear and couture. Hand work using his exclusive techniques from several years of development, embellishment, assembly, and construction gives a unique hybridization and promises his customers a singular and inimitable style.
STUART TREVOR, FOUNDER OF ALL SAINTS, BOLONGARO TREVOR & STUART TREVOR
Stuart Trevor reviewed the student work and discussed concepts and directions when he visited St. Louis to feature his STUART TREVOR collection in the Gent Fashion show.
“The last thing the world needs is another clothing company. Rather than creating more, I’ve decided to work with what we already have. Welcome to the clothing brand that doesn’t produce any clothes. Instead of ‘producing’ new materials for our clothes, we use: 1. Surplus vintage clothing desperate for a new life; 2. Millions of meters of dead stock fabric from fabric mills; 3. Gorgeous pieces with potential that have slipped through the net. We want to turn this ‘dead stock’ into ‘living’ stock.”
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AWARDS
THE FASHION CITIZENSHIP AWARD
This award is presented to an outstanding sophomore student who demonstrates civic and community engagement.
THE SILVER RIPPER AWARD
Sponsored by alumna Susan Sanders Block, we are celebrating the 30th year that this award is presented to the sophomore or junior fashion design student who has demonstrated the most growth.
THE RIVERBEND TEXTILES SUSTAINABLE DESIGN LEADERSHIP AWARD
This award is presented to the student who has demonstrated exceptional thought and practice toward sustainable fashion design. In addition to a stipend, the winner will be featured in the found store on Delmar.
THE LILLIE ELISE WILLEMSEN AWARD
THE DOMINIC MICHAEL SILVER SCISSORS
DESIGNER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Sponsored by the Dominic Michael Salon for more than two decades, the award is presented to the senior fashion design student who has shown compelling creativity and exceptional skill in fashion design conception and execution.
THE NEIMAN MARCUS MOST MARKETABLE AWARD
This award is presented to the senior fashion design student whose collection is deemed most marketable. In addition to a stipend, the collection will be on display at Neiman Marcus from May 2–13. Join us on May 11 from 1–3 p.m. for a reception with the designer.
THE STARS DESIGN GROUP AWARD
This award recognizes the student with high business potential by awarding mentorship, and studio space in the Couture Culture incubator.
NEIMAN MARCUS IS PROUD TO SUPPORT THE WASH U STUDENT FASHION DESIGN SHOW
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EVENT SPO NSO RS
Silk Sponsor
Linen Sponsor
Tulle Sponsor
Muslin Sponsors
Lisa Hu, Lux & Nyx | Greg & Becky Smith Family Foundation
SUPPORT
The Burrows Family Endowment
The Saylak Family Endowed Fund
IN-KIND SUPPORT
Cashmere Sponsor: Mother Model Management
Silk Sponsor: Dominic Bertani, Dominic Michael Salon | Thirty Years of Contribution
Muslin Sponsors: Dana Dahl, The Dahl Salon | Ray Maxwell, Founder & Creator at Wild Wine Life | Weavers’ Guild of St. Louis
A Love of Sewing for 78 Years
With a stitched together history rooted in sewing, we are proud to support the Washington University Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts’ celebration of fashion and the art of sewing.
Learn more about the sewing community and brands brought to you by Tacony Corporation at Tacony.com.
SPECIAL THANKS
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION
Chancellor Andrew D. Martin
Beverly R. Wendland, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Indra Russell, Campus Life Event Management
SAM FOX SCHOOL
Carmon Colangelo, Ralph J. Nagel Dean
Amy Hauft, Director, College & Graduate School of Art
Sarah Sligo, Executive Director of Advancement
Kate Poss-Morency, Director of Advancement
Ellen Soule, Associate Director of Advancement
Meredith Gugger, Associate Dean for Finance and Operations
Aggie Toppins, Chair, Undergraduate Design
2023-2024 FASHION
DESIGN FACULTY
Laura Desch*, Lecturer
Jennifer Ingram*, Senior Lecturer
Connie Bourgeois, Lecturer
Kristin Morse*, Lecturer
Lynne Smith, Instructional Assistant
Michelle Kidwell*, Advisor
Mary Ruppert-Stroescu, Associate Professor; Fashion Design Area Coordinator
* WashU alum
UG-24-0092
@wustlfashion