Hosting events during the pandemic has spurred creative technological solutions to ensuring the safety of attendees. For many organizations, they have had to rely on streaming events or using video platforms to broadcast their programs. The same can be said of the fashion world, with runway shows being hosted digitally. In the SUNY Family, the Fashion Institute of Technology has seized the opportunity to get creative and launch a new effort.
Powered by Bambuser, the FIT DTech Lab recently hosted its DTech Live pilot program, “7Collections,” presented by alumni from FIT’s School of Graduate Studies. “7Collections” is a virtual fashion and shopping experience with the extraordinary work of eight FIT alumni hailing from seven countries, all of whom earned MFAs in Fashion Design.
FIT was selected by Bambuser as its first partner from the global higher education category. The worldwide leader in interactive live video shopping, Bambuser is the platform of choice for companies such as Moda Operandi, Farfetch, and Clarins who are seeking deeper connections with customers across digital platforms. In this digital environment, these graduates had an immediate opportunity to pitch both their fashions and themselves in this setting.
Michael Ferraro, the executive director of the DTech Lab kicked off the Emerging MFA Fashion Designer Virtual Showcase and explained to audience members how to participate in the live experience and buy pieces from the collections during the show. He shared that these new, emerging technologies are changing the face of fashion retail. Michael was also joined by Dr. Valerie Steele, director of the museum at FIT, and Cathleen Sheehan, acting chair and professor in FIT’s MFA Fashion Design Program.
Accompanied by videos of models wearing the garments, throughout the show, seven collections were presented from the following individuals: Bing (Bingjin) Zhu, Justin Chi, Margarita and Cristina Ng Ng, Qiuyi Luo, Annabella Bergero, Youngjun Lim, and Brit Shaked.
The designers all participated in Q&A sessions with Dr. Steele, sharing the inspiration of their pieces, the thought process behind their designs, and more information about their personal and professional backgrounds.
Throughout this past year, we see that people are still eager to look good and feel good with themselves. Opportunities like this are providing SUNY students and alumni the chance to make that happen for many people in many places.
Thank you for sharing this information about the fashion show. I am one of the creatives who presented her work during this event. For me what was creative about this event, was not only the use of Bambuser technology but actually, the work WE, FIT’s graduates, shared in the event. I am surprised to read in this article that our names are barely mentioned and the content of the work we shared is not at all present. WE ARE THE SOUL OF THE EVENT. I am missing that content in this piece.
With a desire to share my voice and what my work is about, I would like to share with you some lines. Please bear with me. There are as well 7 other students whose work, like mine, comes from a culmination of 2 years of research. We are all foreign and have risen above the challenge of finishing a collection far from home, in the middle of a global crisis, and with the challenges that this pandemic has brought on us. We are ROCKSTARS and our work and stories are full of creative energy and light!
MIY WORK’S NAME IS QUEERCEAÑERAS –
The collection explores the visual possibilities of Latinx identities’ construction in Argentina, Mexico, and the Latin American community in New York. Through a performative autoethnographic journey, an archive of images was created, resulting in collages to color Quinceañera dresses. Each dress functions as portals to explore femininity and gender in Latinx cultures. They challenge anti-Latinx rhetoric and the constant exclusion of Latinx from the US’s national identity.
Queerceañeras is part of the project Constructing Identities selected for the Future Graduate Showcase by CFDA, winner of the SUNY PACC Prize, and exhibited in March at the Argentinian Consulate in New York City for the commemoration of Women’s Month.
You can check more about my project in:
https://www.lofficiel.com.ar/Mujer/anabella-bergero
https://cnyor.cancilleria.gob.ar/en/anabella-bergero-presents-constructing-identities
https://cfda.com/programs/designers/fashion-future-graduate-showcase/future-graduate/anabella-bergero
And also my website or IG @anibergero
LET’S CELEBRATE THE CREATIVE WORK OF OUR COMMUNITIES! I INVITE YOU TO CHECK THE WORK OF THE OTHER PARTICIPANTS
Wow, gorgeous designs! I like that this is a collaboration between members from different countries – it gives a nice smorgasbord of influence in terms of styles and cultures. This is an innovative way to showcase designs and it’s probably going to be the norm in the future.