02 16 2014 San Francisco Chronicle

INSIDE The iS List: Listen up!

Headphones become a fashion accessory.

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Social Studies: Beverly Johnson seeks diversity on the runway. Page 4

Miss Bigelow: S.F. Symphony celebrates Lunar New Year.

Page 11 Scene: Haute Dog show puts pups center stage at benefit. Page 10

L6 | Sunday, February 16, 2014 | SFChronicle.com and SFGate.com

SFChronicle.com and SFGate.com | Sunday, February 16, 2014 |

L7

Cover Story

ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY

A PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN

It all builds into a frenzy — spectators squeezing up front, models and designers primping to make everything just so — and then the rush unleashes onstage.

The hair, makeup, clothes and strut all come together, and in the end, a lone lint remover is the last sign of a fetching event.

NEW YORK — San Francisco’s Academy of Art University’s fashion show at Lincoln Center has become one of the must-attend events of New York Fashion Week since the school’s debut in 2005.

The quality of the collections continues to attract attention from both San Franciscans who make annual trips for the occasion and New York celebrities looking for the next up-and-coming designers. This year, 13 designers presented to a celebrity-filled house on Feb. 7; four collections featured collaborations between fashion and textile design students and graduates.

The show started with a standout pop of pop culture with Jaci Hodges and Nisha Hanna Btesh’s psychedelic, shibori-felted collection inspired by “The Brady Bunch.” The mood changed dramatically with Frank Tsai and Andrea Nieto’s urban decayed menswear, which made use of laser-printing technology in subtle herringbone details. Arijana Kajdic experimented with masculine-feminine balance, juxtaposing hand-dyed lace and beading with relaxed, unstructured shapes, reminiscent of early 1980s Japanese experimental fashion.

Flora Cervantes utilized a mix of canvas, cotton, wool and latex for her collection with Lori Solem, whose prints were drawn from the work of 19th century French illustrator Gustave Dore. Earnest Haung and Hong Ni mixed natural materials and man-made fabrics, including Phifertex and viscose, with a range of influences including Hong Kong streetwear, aerial photography, and sociological relations of space and class.

Elizabeth Castellon tailored her menswear collection with an eye toward futuristic architecture and a nod to the 1930s. Jasmine Gonzales’ sculptural, oversize knits were created from yarn the designer made by hand as well as hand-dyed velvet. Mingyu Du and Joseph Khawane repurposed Army tenting, wool blankets and parachute material in a collection inspired by 1960s DIY youth quakers.

Following the show, writer and man-about-Manhattan Michael Musto gave the academy the ultimate New York endorsement: “I only see two shows at fashion week,” Musto said from his perch in the front row. “The Blonds and the Academy of Art University.”

— Tony Bravo The collection, above left, by Academy of Art University’s Flora Cervantes and Lori Solem blends canvas, cotton, wool and latex. Thirteen students presented their collections at Lincoln Center tents.

Photos by Philip Montgomery / Special to The Chronicle; Randy Brooke / Academy of Art University