Agent Art

Where Creativity Takes Flight…. and Splashes Its Way onto Canvas

On October 28, The Art Institute of Washington – Northern Virginia held its grand opening celebration.  Being the new kid on the block hasn’t stop this new school from celebrating its successes… or taking part in the traditional Art Institutes grand opening paint splash.  Dignitaries and local community leaders joined campus director Sam Ortiz and students, faculty, and staff for this milestone event.  And media too – check out the Loudoun Independent’s coverage of the event.  The theme of the grand opening was “Where Creativity Takes Flight,” a nod to Dulles International Airport’s proximity in Loudoun County, Virginia. 

So please take your seat, fasten your seatbelt, turn off all portable electronic devices (just kidding!), and check out some pictures from the grand opening:

 

 
Guests were offered a variety of complimentary paint cans and brushes

 

 

Campus director Sam Ortiz, serving as pilot, greets passengers…er, I mean, guests!

 

 

Mark Herring, State Senator for Virginia’s 33^rd District, had Seat 1A

 

 

   
And we’re cleared for take off!

 

 

A bird’s eye view of the action

 

 

 

Meet the New President of The Art Institute of Virginia Beach

 

Ahh Virginia Beach – sun, sand, surf, and now, home to the newest addition to The Art Institutes system of schools.  The Art Institute of Virginia Beach is getting ready to open its doors to students in January 2010, and leading this effort is Marilyn Burstein, president of the new school.  Marilyn isn’t new to The Art Institutes family – she has previously served in academic positions at The Art Institutes schools located in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and most recently, Charleston. 

 
     

Art Institute grad's designs have the look

Tune in Thursday, July 30, 9 p.m. EST, to see Art Institute alum Eduardo de las Casa’s  garments  on the final episode of  TV Land’s She’s Got the Look, a reality TV series where women 35 and over  compete to become the next great supermodel. Look for the final three contestants to be wearing the following garments designed by Eduardo -- Cindy (red ruffle dress), LeeAnn (black sequin v- cut mini cocktail dress), and Theresa (black ruffle top with black pants).

 

Eduardo de las Casas graduated from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in 2005 with an Associate of Science degree in Fashion Design.  He has been recognized for his unique style of combining diverse textures with contemporary vision and creating sophisticated, sexy and elegant women’s evening wear that has been featured in many publications and runway shows. The brand’s blend of craftsmanship, attention to detail and perfect tailoring make for one-of-a-kind creations.

Splashin' into Fashion

  Students at The Art Intstitute of California--San Diego are bringing in a new wave of excitement with their It Fashion Show, Liquid Runway. The Hard Rock Hotel will be rockin’ this Saturday, May 30 with red carpet arrivals including Jerell Scott from season five’s Project Runway. Activities of the night will include a VIP cocktail reception, student showcase, fashion show and an after party that’s sure to blow everything else out of the water.

To celebrate the inaugural graduating class, the students are sending their Fashion Design and Fashion Marketing & Management graduates off in style, literally! This year’s designs were to represent a water theme in several different categories including: sportswear, swimwear, evening/bridal, and avant-garde. Students submitted their designs for this year’s Liquid Runway to a panel of selected Art Institute instructors, who selected the lucky finalists who will be showing their pieces on the runway!

For more information on the event, visit www.ailiquidrunway.com.

 

Jeremy Butts, Fashion Design student at The Art Institute of California--San Diego, and Wendie Soucier, Fashion Design instructor, doing some shopping at Mood for fabric and trimmings to support this year’s water theme.

Live from New York it's...

...part two of our Passion for Fashion grand-prize winners trip to New York. (Alright, so I may be off on the whole live thing as well as the being in New York thing, but they were there last week...so that's close, right? No one said that I was good with details.) In this saga, our young fashionistas were given their just rewards plus some media cred for being grand prize winners in The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition.

After completing about 15 radio interviews earlier in the morning, Ivy and Elisabeth were whisked away to an awards luncheon at The Art Institute of New York City. There Bruce E. Dempsey, Vice President, Academic Affairs Specialist, The Art Institutes, emceed the ceremony and presented tuition checks to our talented teens:

     

Pretty big checks, eh?

They also received medals, too:

 

Does this entitle Ivy and Elisabeth to fashion police privileges too??

The sky's the limit for these two high school seniors with design aspirations. Just think: if they're wowing us this much now, who knows where they'll be 10 years from now...Congrats, ladies!

Not sure what I'm talkin' about? Read part one here: http://agentart.typepad.com/ai_weblog/2009/02/stylin-highprofilin.html.

 

Stylin', high-profilin'

To be young...to be talented...to be in NYC during Fashion Week. *sigh* Ivy Holland of Fredericksburg, Texas, and Elisabeth Acosta of Miami, both 2009 grand-prize winners of The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition (and high school seniors to boot) fit all three. Yes, these lucky (and talented) ladies are gallivanting their fabulous, stylish selves all around the great city of New York this week. For them, it's three fun-filled days of interviews, fashion shows for Rebecca Turbow and Badgley Mischka, dinners at trendy restaurants, a meet and greet at Seventeen Magazine and a well-deserved awards ceremony.

For the latter, don't go by my opinion — judge for yourself. Here's a peek at their grand-prize winning creations:

 

Ivy's eco-friendly retail concept                                   Elisabeth's hand-dyed treatment cocktail dress

Next, here are the girls living it up on the first portion of their trip:

 

Ivy and Elisabeth at Bryant Park.

    
Elisabeth and Ivy taking a break at Seventeen.

More fashion adventures to come...

In the meantime, read more about their experiences at the Badgley Mischka show here: http://tinyurl.com/awc6xx.

Where art and fashion collide

What's better than art and fashion? Nothin' really--both are absolutely fabulous in my book! (Although, chocolate comes in close second--mmm hmmm!)

Choco addictions aside, 10 prominent fashion design alums from Miami International University of Art & Design collaborated with 10 well known visual artists to create a masterpiece exhibit, where designers crafted garments inspired by visual art. The exhibit opened on Jan. 10 at the Bernice Steinbaum Gallery located in Midtown Miami. Check out pics from the event below.

Its purpose? To support the long believed theory that fashion is art, and art is fashion. 'Nough said.

    

Design by Edgardo Bonilla; art by Fabien Pena.

                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Design by Lucas Mejia.

                                                       

Design by Julian Chang; art by Hung Liu.

Check out this news clip from Univision, too: http://tinyurl.com/arc3d3.

Alert. No animals were harmed in the creation of this posting.

...Or in the production of this video clip. Check out what you missed at the '08 Cool vs. Cruel awards ceremony, including grand prize winner Gohar Rajabzadeh, fashion designer Marc Bouwer, Project Runway divas Suede and Jay McCarroll, and noted fashion photographer and Cool vs. Cruel judge Nigel Barker talking about why it's cool not to be cruel to our furry friends when designing killer fashion pieces. 

Please enjoy the 2008 Cool vs. Cruel Video!

Don't know what the frig I'm talking about? Read my previous post.

Hungry for some more visual pleasures from C vs C? Feast your eyes on the Humane Society's Flickr page.

Animals = Hugs, Not Fur!

Last night was a big night for animals.  The Humane Society of the United States and The Art Institutes recognized the winners of the Cool vs. Cruel fashion design competition. 

Well golly AA, what's Cool vs. Cruel?  I'm so glad you asked, dear reader.

The Cool vs. Cruel Competition educates the future generation of designers enrolled in The Art Institutes schools fashion programs about the cruelty of the fur industry, and encourages these designers to explore fur-free, animal-friendly fashions as a viable alternative.  Uh huh.  That's right.

A big congrats goes out to Gohar Rajabzadeh from Miami International University of Art & Design, who was named this year's grand prize winner. Gohar's winning design is a faux fur coat. In place of what would have been animal fur, she used acrylic yarns to give the same luxurious look in a wrap coat with a full hood that frames the face.

    

I'll tell you what, this little number could take on the entire cast of Dynasty.  That power suit isn't so tough after all, is it Joan Collins?

Anyway, while I continue to smack talk 80s television characters, take a look at some great shots from last night's ceremony.  You all look so MAHvelous!

Gohar Rajabzadeh pictured here with Kyle Quandel of The Humane Society and fashion designer, Richey Rich.

 

Gohar with her winning garment.

  

Noted fashion photographer and Cool vs. Cruel judge, Nigel Barker. Tell 'em like it is, Nigel!

 

Animal-friendly fashion designer and long-time supporter of Cool vs. Cruel, Mark Bouwer. Seriously... this guy is amazing.

  

Kyle Quandel joins The Strokes guitarist, Albert Hammond Jr. and model, Agyness Deyn as they man the DJ booth.

  

Gohar being recognized by Bruce Dempsey, Vice President, Academic Affairs Specialist, The Art Institutes.

  

Other gorgeous Cool vs. Cruel entries.

 

 

 

Beyond The Bootcut

Portland Fashion Week began to pulse last night and The Art Institute of Portland was in the thick of it all.  Phenom fashions filled the senses of runway watchers.  From interpretations of the LBD (Oh, the students who created these LBDs did so out of their own graduation gowns. HELLO!)...

    

...to the punky pixie.

     

Now I've gotta tell ya, I love me some heels.  The higher the better.  But there is something quite refreshing about a young woman with a dainty dress and bare feet.

      

Sherbert anyone?  Yes please!  Global warming indeed.

    

The gents were quite genial if I do say so myself.

    

Oh, and by the way, wearing white after Labor Day is completely appropriate!

    

There were so many more wonderful pieces.  Check them out for yourself.  A big thanks to Nina's Photography for the use of these images.  And if you're in the Portland area and if you get into fashion, get some of these Fashion Week events on your calendar!  New York isn't the only place where fashion thrives.