Meet the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Critic Award Winners
New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology is known worldwide for churning out some of the best young design talent. Each year, the school puts on a fashion show that allows garments from members of the graduating class to be put into spotlight, ultimately serving as a career launching pad. But not all students will have pieces make it into the show. In fact, this year, only 79 garments will hit the FIT catwalk on May 8.
To boil down the selection process, all graduating students from the fashion design program create a thesis collection comprised of 2-3 looks. FIT staff members choose the most polished looks, usually around 200 total, to move forward and participate in judging day. Five industry professionals with various specialties review the ensembles and together determine which ones will earn a spot on the runway.
This year FIT welcomed Ken Downing (fashion director and senior vice president of Neiman Marcus), Nicole Phelps (director of Vogue Runway), Lilliana Vazquez (contributor for NBC’s TODAY Show), Diana Tsui (senior market editor at New York Magazine’s The Cut), and Kemal Harris (celebrity stylist) to serve as judges. On Monday, Teen Vogue joined the five fashion insiders as they reviewed the designs, which each fall under one of five categories: intimate apparel, children’s wear, sportswear, knitwear, and special occasion. The verdict? They were blown away by the talent.
“I’m so impressed with the intimate apparel. The professor was Dior-trained in Paris and you can see those fine haute couture details in the students’ work,” says Ken, who is a proud alumnus of FIT. “The technology we’re seeing in the room today within the knitwear category is also very impressive,” he adds. “People always talk about modernity in fashion and I think it comes from technology; in fabric, in how things can be produced—it’s what moves fashion forward.”
Nicole was quick to point out the focus on lingerie could be an indicator of the Kardashians’ style influence, though she noticed modern takes on a wide array of other trends as well. “There still seems to be a strong presence of athleisure and street wear, and there are a lot of oversize and deconstructed pieces,” she says. “There’s lots of texture this season as well,” adds Kemal. “And a lot of futuristic details like LED lights, 3-D printing and integrated lighting.”
Though we’ll have to wait until the show to see the judges' selects, we were able to speak to the 10 students who earned the honor of being this year’s Critic Award Winners. Throughout the year, established designers work with seniors (one designer is assigned per specialty class) and mentor them as they create their thesis collections. This year's roster of industry experts includes Sophie Theallet, Chris Gelinas, and Isabella Tonchi, to name a few. At the end of the semester, each designer chooses one outstanding design from his or her assigned class, which wins a Critics Choice Award and ultimately earns a spot in the runway show. Ahead, view this year’s winning designs and learn about the inspiration and techniques behind each.
Lorenzo Ciniglio1/11Aleksandra Gosiewski, Knitwear
“My thesis collection was inspired by the skin: its bumps, ridges, imperfections; the way it serves as a protective layer to the human body; and how that translates to the function of clothing. Clothing serves as a protective layer in its own right, or as a second skin. The fibers that I chose to work with are naturally protective themselves. I used mohair from a goat, wool from a sheep and fleece from an alpaca. The fibers are cleaned and spun together to produce the yarns I used in my collection. The animals that produce these fibers are usually shorn twice a year and are not harmed in the process.”
Lorenzo Ciniglio2/11Carolina Sanz, Special Occasion
“I’m originally from the Dominican Republic. Back home, women make these rugs out of rice bags by knotting fabric through them. I was inspired by their knotting technique so I developed my own to fashion my patterns and what I wanted to create out of. That’s how the top of this dress was made. I knew I wanted to design something that looked very organic and sheer so I stuck to really light fabrics. The base of the skirt is organza. I wanted it to contrast with the knotted top, which looks really stiff and almost like it’s falling apart at the edges. I translated that unfinished look into the ruffles in the skirt and played with their placement to make them look like they’re falling from the top of the body. I just really love having the opportunity to experiment and be very creative and make beautiful things, and I feel like special occasion wear gives you the chance to do that.”
Lorenzo Ciniglio3/11Jongah Nicole Lee, Children's Wear
“My design inspiration came from my mom’s collection of teacup and plate sets. When I was younger, we used to enjoy special tea times together on weekends. I wanted to incorporate the flower motifs from the sets and also the curved shapes of the cups and plates themselves. When you look at the turtleneck, there’s a hand-embroidered flower motif on the front that kind of looks like a plate. On the back of the coat, I used a technique called intarsia. I bought white fur and dyed some of it each color. From that, I cut out flowers and hand-stitched them together. I then placed them into the fur of the jacket and hand stitched them back in.”
Lorenzo Ciniglio4/11Bria Hendrickson, Sportswear
“This entire look was inspired by my granddad, who passed away last April. He always praised knowledge and music, and was an artist himself. When we were cleaning out his house in Brooklyn I was inspired by the amount of clutter he lived in and how he had so memories in his small home. I took that idea and ran with it. The scarf that’s wrapped around the coat and ties the whole piece together is made of my grandfather’s sweaters. I took them apart and felted them, and also painted plastic bags I found in his apartment. Then I sewed all of those things together, making a scarf. The look incorporates the whole idea of making something from scratch or turning old things into something new. I also loved plaids growing up, and my grandfather was really big on prints and fun colors.”
Lorenzo Ciniglio5/11Jin Young Kim, Intimate Apparel
“This look I designed is inspired by the Greek phrase “khalepa ta kala.” It means beauty is beautiful, beauty is difficult, beauty is noble. The phrase made an impression on me and I wanted to embody it through my work. I chose wine colored lace and some menswear fabric as the base materials for this look. They’re very opposite in many ways but still go together. I also incorporated sheer chiffon and used a couture technique to insert the boning inside of the corset. Corsetry really is what drew me to intimate apparel. I thought it was so fun when we were learning about it in class and thought it was cool that I could modernize a 19th century technique by using linens and denim.”
Lorenzo Ciniglio6/11Selen Sahin, Sportswear
“My inspiration comes from mixing the traditional and the industrial to create an athleisure look. I prefer more New Age fabrics like scuba but decided to make the pants under the jacket out of tweed, which is a more traditional material. To make the pants more industrial, I put plastic buckles that are usually found on backpacks around the bottom of each leg. The buckles can be adjusted to make the pant legs wider or more fitted. In the jacket, which is made for the traveling woman, there is an inside pocket meant as a safe place for a passport. Making the pattern for the jacket was really hard because of all of its angles and the way it closes. I had to do it a couple of times before getting it right.”
Lorenzo Ciniglio7/11Jinwoo Hong, Sportswear
“I named my thesis collection ‘Monster.’ The monsters I aim to produce are not the kind of monsters you see in cartoons and movies, but are derived from people's perceptions of things. They could be things they see or bump into every day, or they could be things very far away that they imagine. I wanted my collection to question the established standard of beauty. I am always inspired by Rei Kawakubo, the founder of Comme des Garcons.”
Lorenzo Ciniglio8/11Taylor Ormond, Sportswear
“I love a look that’s a little crazy and avant-garde but am also adamant about making sure a garment is still wearable. Once you take out the pillows from this look, which are underneath a slip dress and t-shirt, it becomes a normal outfit. The slip dress is hand painted and hand embroidered, and the t-shirt underneath is a silk charmeuse that’s hand appliqued with vintage 1950’s lace. I also made the pillows and they have chiffon stuffing. Conceptually, the overall inspiration for this piece really started with laundry. I actually don’t do my laundry; I bring mine to a Chinese Laundromat. I was talking to its owner one day and told him I’d heard the phrase “Chinese laundry” and asked him what it referred to. He told me that there is a long history behind it. I looked it up and back in the 1800’s when the Chinese immigrated to America some of the only jobs they could get were at Laundromats. While certainly not all, some of such laundromats also doubled as brothels and gambling dens. So I took that information and then was also inspired by the 1950’s which, as a feminist, is a kind of weird decade for me to like since it was such an oppressive period for women. The pillows in the look are a reference to how laundry and other home appliances were really symbols of oppression for women back then. I found it very interesting how the women of these two time periods and cultures were oppressed by the same industry (laundry) but in very different ways. The patriarchy did, of course, play a role in both scenarios. I want people to look at this outfit and be like, ‘Oh my god, that’s really pretty!’ And then, at second glance, be like, ‘There’s something off about it. I feel a little guilty for liking that.’”
Lorenzo Ciniglio9/11Yekaterina Burmatnova, Knitwear
“I’m originally from St. Petersburg Russia and I wanted to make a collection that was very near and dear to me. I looked into Russian culture and its sub cultures and became interested in Russian prison tattoos and the Russian youth. I decided to incorporate metal pieces and heavy straps into my designs as well as heavy hand knitted textiles to bring in that classic Russian feel. My grandma taught me how to knit so I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. In regard to this look, the top is made from a two-color brioche pattern and the red in it gradates to a lighter red. You can’t tell, but here are thumbholes in the sleeves. The skirt was knit sideways and then was washed in order to felt it. That’s why it shrunk and stiffened up a bit. The plaid you see on the skirt was needle felted. This whole outfit was very, very time consuming.”
©2017 Smiljana Peros/FIT10/11Samantha Kirshner, Sportswear
“My thesis collection is based off the contrast of control versus disorder. After viewing Henrique Oliviera's standing exhibit in the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in 2013, I realized that concept reflected the nature of his installation. The intertwined branches at the center of the installation were organic looking and had a beautiful yet chaotic disorder to them, while the beams held them up were very minimalistic. This drew me to the idea that one can never gain control if they do not experience and learn from disorder first. My collection shows the romantic, vulnerable side of going through that sequence in your youth. This dress, specifically, is simple, yet dramatic in its volume. Its straps hang organically and fall in any way they desire. The tuxedo bib adds a touch of minimalist design while also keeping true to the romantic, organic aesthetic because of the draped vintage lace scarves (a gift from my great grandmother) that trail down the back of it.”
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