96th Annual WashU Fashion Design Show April 26, 2025 Holmes Lounge Ridgley Hall 7:00 PM
Fashion Design at the Sam Fox School—3
96th Annual
WashU Fashion Design Show—3
Schedule—3
Order of Show—3
2025 BFA in Fashion Design
Graduating Class—4
Brooke Cowan—5
Emily Carlin—6
Indigo Amunategui—7
Maggie Maichel—8
Julia Yuan—9
Vivian Nguyen—10
Mentors—11
Guest Speakers—12
Awards—12
Fashion Promotion and Exhibition Class—13
Sponsors and Supporters—15
Special Thanks—16
The fashion design program in the Sam Fox School at WashU 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.
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.
7:00 p.m. Welcome
Mary Ruppert-Stroescu, Ph.D., Fashion Design
Area Coordinator and Jill Manoff, Editor-in-Chief, Glossy
7:05 p.m. General fashion design coursework
7:25 p.m. Senior capstone collections
8:00 p.m. Awards presentation
8:25 p.m. Closing remarks
8:30–10 p.m. Networking and Meet the Designers Reception
Emerge
From first sketches to final stitches, these garments from Intro to Fashion Design represent the beginning of a journey—jackets that signal confidence, individuality, and a newfound voice in fashion.
Strata
In the hands of these Textile and Surface designers, fabric becomes narrative. Using laser cuts, etched surfaces, and embroidery and beading, students explored what lies on top, beneath, and between— the threads.
Iteration
Engaging technology and user-centered design with forward-thinking problem solving, designers in the Textile Technology for Health and Well-Being class show us a perfect unity of fashion and function.
Imprévu
The Experimental Fashion design students leaned into uncertainty, allowing chance to guide creation. The result: garments that defy prediction, embracing the beautifully unplanned.
Muse
Students in Fashion Design 1 crafted these pieces with intention, guided by inspiration both personal and imagined. These are not just garments—they are portraits.
Equinox
Fashion Design 2 students explored athleticism through precision tailoring, dynamic textiles, and modern silhouettes.
Crescendo
Inspired by this year’s Met Gala theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” designers chose a characteristic of the “Dandy Style” as inspiration to create formalwear. Students had draping workshops with alumna Paula Varsalona, owner of Paula Varsalona Bridal in New York.
Photography: Bibi Photography Studio
This show reveals the capstone fashion design collections by BFA seniors at WashU. 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:
Vivian Nguyen
Julia Yuan
Maggie Maichel
Indigo Amunategui
Emily Carlin
Brooke Cowan
Brooke Cowan’s designs are highly influenced by the people and objects around her, drawing from personal stories and antiques. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, her research often begins with exploring family relics from the farm her grandma designed, where her mom and three aunts grew up. Cowan’s designs are for the young woman who understands the power behind understated, chic silhouettes that make her feel elegant, cool, and powerful.
We all collect things. The collections we hold nearest to our hearts often are representations of ourselves, our heritage, and our values. DAYMOON is a FW25 womenswear capsule that aims to explore this deeper connection between people and their collections. It is for the eccentric soul, reinterpreting retro objects and furniture as streamlined silhouettes that showcase a contrast between fluid shapes and more structured leather and metal accessories.
Translating this inspiration of collections and maximalism into a collection fueled by modernist design principles allowed me to find a middle ground between vintage-inspired and more contemporary elements. DAYMOON aims to satisfy a search for beautiful, one-of-a-kind objects that allow customers to reconnect with their clothing and its origins while cultivating a wardrobe that reflects their identity and all of its odds and ends.
Emily Carlin designs because she loves the process of making and finds fashion design to be tangible, personal, and a great way to embrace human connection and femininity. She often draws on personal experience and travel memories. Her designs are playful, colorful, and bold, and intend to create a feeling of happiness.
The purpose of this collection is to use fashion to communicate the essence of happy, tangible moments of perfection. Reverie calls to beauty and romanticism, seeking to combine comfort and style with attention to quality construction and fit. The collection captures positive feelings, a celebration of femininity, and moments of human connection. It resonates with customers through designs that are bright, revelrous, and ephemeral.
Reverie primarily draws on floral and art historical inspiration, offering bright and whimsical designs that provide a balance between structure and fluidity. The collection appeals to women who value nature, beauty, and art, and appreciate fantastical designs that bring joy to the wearer.
Indigo Amunategui fell in love with fashion while filling many sketchbooks with designs and consuming literature and film. She imbues her designs with research and loves finding beauty in unconventional places. Amunategui’s dream is to work in couture and to continue studying fashion, its culture, and its history.
The ideal of a perfect woman is an artificial one. One crafted by artists, designers, directors, and executives. One that is manufactured the same way commercial products are. If the ideal woman is manmade, why not embrace that by becoming completely artificial?
Venus in Chrome provides a semi-ironic solution to the ideal we love to hate. Through this collection of bodies, the wearer can transform themselves into a mechanical form with a glossy finish. The body of the ideal woman is warped and blown out of proportion, representing not only the extremes to which the ideal of beauty can go but also collective anxieties surrounding not fitting into the perfect mold.
In the final look, the transformation is complete. The body is sleek and hard, like a car. It has sprouted wings and a tail, ascending the human, becoming a goddess of manufactured beauty. She is Venus in Chrome.
Maggie Maichel is driven by the fusion of beauty and function. Inspired by nature’s intricate patterns, she finds beauty in the ordinary. Maichel strives for a career centered on collaboration. Fashion, as wearable art, has the power to transform, and she is eager to contribute to positive change.
In a world where perceptions are shaped by digital personas and societal expectations, we often strive for perfection in the hopes of gaining love and acceptance. However, this can lead to losing ourselves behind masks, fostering isolation rather than connection. Open Wing challenges traditional ideas, revealing that true strength comes from vulnerability. Embracing authenticity fosters genuine connections and real love.
This collection embraces sustainability with versatile pieces that can be worn together or styled individually. With some crafted from 100% genuine leather, the designs are made to last a lifetime with proper care. Thoughtfully designed for longevity, these pieces become timeless wardrobe staples.
The inspiration for this collection stems from the remarkable attributes of insects, particularly their wings and exoskeletons which resemble natural armor. This collection uses a visual language of contrasts: symmetrical versus asymmetrical designs, and the interplay of organic shapes with hard and delicate elements.
Julia Yuan’s fashion design philosophy centers on empowering women—helping them look beautiful and feel confident, inside and out—while upholding sustainable and ethical standards. Yuan experiments with a variety of fabrics and materials, exploring connections to technology with innovative and traditional crafting techniques. Through her work, she aspires to celebrate femininity and to join the community of Asian designers in the fashion world.
Infinity explores the origin of souls, past and future lives, and the stages people experience throughout life. The collection combines the four stages of life—birth, aging, illness, and death—into each of the four looks. As someone from a Buddhist family, Yuan often reflects on the meaning of human existence: where people come from and where they are destined to go.
This collection portrays the concept of reincarnation and the cyclical journey of returning to the origins. While initially inspired by Buddhist philosophy, Infinity extends beyond religious contexts. It resonates with anyone who has a sense of purpose or belief in life. It seeks to inspire perseverance and hope, reminding individuals of the infinite opportunities to begin anew, even in the face of hardship. Emotionally charged and deeply personal, Infinity draws from Yuan’s connections with loved ones and aims to create a meaningful bond with its audience. The designs juxtapose elements of Chinese heritage, such as traditional crafting techniques and silhouettes, with contemporary fashion trends, creating a bridge between cultural tradition and modernity.
Vivian Nguyen blends her Asian American heritage with themes of cultural identity, human connection, and personal growth. Through her creations, her pieces reflect the layers of history, memory, and the evolving self, woven together with a profound respect for the power of human connection.
Intertwined is inspired by the traditional red string of fate, symbolizing the connections between Ngyuen’s heritage and her personal relationships. Growing up, her mother wore traditional Vietnamese garments, such as the ao dai dress, adorned with intricate embroidery. Intertwined features of red, black, and rose gold brocade, champagne jacquard, and black wool crepe, with closures and string details symbolizing these connections. Nguyen merges Western influences with her Vietnamese heritage, reflecting her experience as an Asian American.
Designed to be androgynous, Intertwined offers transformative lengths through ruching for lasting wearability. Her designs appeal to artistic, musically inclined women, men, and nonbinary individuals who value life’s moments.
The BFA Senior Capstone development process was mentored by talented and gracious industry professionals. The student designers not only conceptualize and visually communicate their collections, but also refine their presentation and oral communication skills during these mentoring sessions. Student work was evaluated by fashion industry professionals:
Caira Butler, Brand Experience Lead, Neiman Marcus
Natasha Chekoudjian, Design Director, Free People
Anjali Kamra, Founder, Designer, Rungolee
Daniel Kramer, Store Director, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue
Emily Lane, COO, Stars Design Group
Christine Manigot, Color specialist, Paris, France
Jason Ross, Founder and Designer, Artemas Quibble
Bret Schnitker, CEO, Stars Design Group
Susan Sherman, Co-founder, Saint Louis Fashion Fund
Brandin Vaughn, CEO and Designer, Brandin Vaughn Collections
Antonio mentored the students closely during many virtual sessions from Paris.
Born in Montreal to an Italian family, Antonio Azzuolo studied international relations and fine arts before attending Ryerson University in Toronto where he graduated with a BAA in apparel design, specializing in tailoring. After graduation, Azzuolo moved to Milan with his first collection. He entered the prestigious “International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Fashion Accessories” in Hyères, France, and won first place. For the next 10 years, he cultivated his proficiency for design by working at Hermès, Kenzo and Galeries Lafayette in Paris. There, he refined his creative aesthetic and skills in artisanal and sartorial craftsmanship. Items from his AA collections in Paris were selected by the Musée de la mode et du textile, Palais du Louvre to be a part of the permanent collection.
Azzuolo joined Ralph Lauren as design director for Purple and Black Label before launching A.A. Antonio Azzuolo in 2008 - a bespoke and read-to-wear label based in New York City. The brand is a hybrid of sartorial and street cultures that explores youth archetypes and reflects an intercultural, gender-neutral aesthetic. In 2011, Azzuolo was a finalist for the CFDA / VOGUE Fashion Fund and VOGUE Italia “Talents.” He was nominated for the FGI Men’s (2011) and Women’s (2012) Apparel Rising Star Award. In 2012, he was nominated for the CFDA Swarovski Menswear Designer of the Year Award. In 2014, Azzuolo was a U.S. nominee for the International Woolmark Prize. A.A. bespoke’s focus today is on customizing and co-creating with like-minded innovators and high-end brands, to build on “the existing” and cultivate a concept of luxury that nurtures collaboration, craftsmanship, and artistry.
Editor-in-Chief, Glossy, Jill Manoff
Marketing and Brand Relations Manager, Stars Design Group, Saba Desta
Chief Strategy Officer, Stars Design Group, Emily Lane
CEO and co-inventor of CiCLO Textiles, Andrea Ferris
Founder/Creative Director, sg files, Sharon Graubard
Designer and Founder, Brandin Vaughn Collections, Brandin Vaughn
CEO, Stars Design Group, Bret Schnitker
Co-Founder, Golden Gems, Susan Logsdon
Co-Founder, Golden Gems, Amanda Helman
Master Weaver, Jane Glidden
Master Fiber Spinner, Dale Goad
Founder, Liberated Roots, Kimberly Hicks-Franks
Composer & Conductor, Artistic & Music Director, St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, Darwin Aquino
Founder, Retta Jane, Retta Leritz Tussey
Founder, The Normal Brand, Jimmy Sansone
Founder, Ardently, Theresa Mucelli
Founder, Alluvion, Rich Petty
Founder, Arch Apparel, Aaron Park
Founder, Audra, Audra Noyes
The Fashion Citizenship Award
This award is presented to an outstanding student who demonstrates civic and community engagement.
Galore Atelier Excellence in Textile Design Award
Textile design that demonstrates excellence in craft, aesthetics, and creativity. All students eligible.
Susan Sanders Block Silver Ripper Award
Sponsored by alumna Susan Sanders Block, we are celebrating the 31st 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.
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 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 4-13. Join us on May 11 from 1-2 p.m. for a reception with the designer.
This award recognizes the student with high business potential by awarding mentorship, and studio space in the Couture Culture incubator.
This semester the following team worked together to produce the 96th Annual WashU Fashion Design Show
Instructor – Mary Ruppert-Stroescu, Ph.D.
Director – Oli Zhang
Creative Director – Talia Zakalik
Front of House Manager – Neil Narayanan
Guest Manager – Hannah Bess
Back of House Manager – Andy Li
Model Chair – Lisa Feng
Dresser Chair – Aaliya Malhotra
Stylist Chair – Jackie Isaacson
Communication Design Co-Chairs
Bianca Rodriguez Pagano– Program
Soobin Ahn – Show Projection
Grant Brewster – Pre-show Projection
Social Media – Sophia Weinberg
Public Relations Co-Chairs
Asher Schwartz
Mary Charlotte Peacock
Senior BFA looks will be on display at the Neiman Marcus Frontenac store May 4-13. Join us on May 11 from 1-2 p.m. to toast the graduates!
NEIMAN MARCUS IS PROUD TO SUPPORT THE WASH U STUDENT FASHION DESIGN SHOW
Supporters
Dominic Bertani, Dominic Michael Salon—
31 Years of Contribution
Susan Sanders Block, The Designing Block—
31 Years of Contribution
Kelly Hurley, The Hurley Co.
Lisa Hu, CEO, Lux & Nyx
With a stitched together history rooted in sewing, we are proud to support the Washington University Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art's celebration of fashion and the art of sewing.
Learn more about the Baby Lock sewing community at babylock.com.
Your creativity, innovation, and craftsmanship are shaping the future of fashion right here in Saint Louis.
Washington University Administration
Chancellor Andrew D. Martin
Beverly R. Wendland, Provost and Executive
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Sam Fox School
Carmon Colangelo, Ralph J. Nagel Dean, Sam Fox School; E. Desmond Lee Professor for Collaboration in the Arts
Amy Hauft, Director, College & Graduate School of Art; Jane Reuter
Hitzeman and Herbert F. Hitzeman, Jr. Professor of Art
Emily Hellmuth, Director of Communications
Audrey Westcott, Senior Graphic Designer
Sarah Sligo, Executive Director of Advancement
Kate Poss-Morency, Director of Strategy
Aggie Toppins, Chair, Undergraduate Design
Meredith Gugger, Associate Dean for Finance and Operations
Jessica Erickson, Assistant to the Director, College and Graduate School of Art
Livia Xandersmith, Undergraduate Program Coordinator
Leland Orvis, Manager, Facilities Services
Charis Norell, Dean’s Suite Coordinator
Liam Otten, Senior News Director, Arts and Humanities, University Marketing and Communications
Vendors
TSV Sound and Vision
Bibi Photography Studio
Brandon Sloan, Videographer, Dancing Shoes Productions
Premier Party Rental
2024-2025 Fashion Design Faculty
Laura Desch, BFA, Lecturer
Jennifer Ingram, BFA, MS, Senior Lecturer
Connie Bourgeois, BFA, Lecturer
Kristin Morse, BFA, Lecturer
Mary Ruppert-Stroescu, Ph.D., Associate Professor; Fashion Design Area Coordinator
@washufashion