Conference on the Challenges Facing Fashion Design Education during the 23rd edition of the International Competition for Young Fashion Designers

Didier Grumbach, President of the French Federation of Couture, launched an interesting conference chaired by Thierry Guerrier, Deputy Director of France Info, given the opportunity for the representatives of various schools who were in Paris (17 different countries), to get together and discuss their respective experiences in terms of fashion education. The theme was: 'the fashion industry is a highly specific one in that it is constantly having to find a balance between art and industry, creative impulses and industrial and commercial reality, and this challenge is one that is necessarily given expression in its education systems'.

Nathalie Doucet invited U.S. representatives of 3 different types of Universities to participate to the debate and express their views on the topic: Renee Chase, Director of the Fashion Design department from Drexel University with its very unique Co-operative education program niched inside a College of Media, Arts and Design, Charlene Parsons, Chairperson of the 3 different Accessory, Fashion and Merchandising programs, from the Miami International University of Art and Design, part of the 31 education institutions throughtout North America (the Art Institutes), as well as Kim Guthrie, Fashion Professor from Virginia Commonwealth University which Fashion department belongs to the School of the Arts, ranked number  one as a public University.

Among the other participants taking part actively to the debate were Bradley Quinn for UK, Yumiko Hara for Japan, Ingrid Giertz-Martenson from the Swedish Federation of Couture and Lena Kvanstrom, Director of Beckmans College of Design for Sweden, Felipe Velasquez Iragorri for Colombia, Phuc Tran for Canada and Francois Broca and Jean-Paul Longavesne from the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale and the Arts Deco School from Paris (ENSAD).

http://www.modeaparis.com/va/nouvelles/index.html

Chado Ralph Rucci Nov 17-April 23, 2006

Under Dr. Elisabeth Rhodes care and management, Curator Anne Bissonnette with the complicity of Jean Druesedow offer to the public the first exhibition around the finest works from American Fashion Couturier Ralph Rucci.
Charles Kleibacker, Richard Ely, Valerie Steele, Scott Laine as well as Tatiana and Serge Sorroko from San Francisco, and most of the friends of fashion from Kent celebrated this opening and unique moment with Ralph Rucci and his qualitative dynamic team.

http://dept.kent.edu/museum/pr/press.html

The San Francisco Design Center unveals the impressive display of fashion exhibitions & installations: CarteBlanche-series from the Arts of Fashion Foundation during the national selection for the Arts of Fashion Competition 2005

La Cambre-Mode(s) / Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Visuels / Brussels / Show June 10-11, 2005 /

Philosophy: To study all the different aspects of Fashion as a contemporary media. A true artistic research based on a close collaboration with the other art departments from the School and under the guidance of instructors with a fashion professional activity. Each year, internships in prestigious Houses and international contests are also part of the curriculum to merge at the best in the today fashion reality.

Alumni: Olivier Theyskens (Rochas), Jose Enrique Ona Selfa (Loewe), Cedric Charlier (Lanvin), Laeticia Crahay (Chanel), Crstof Beaufays ( Jean Paul Gaultier)...

Director: Tony Delcampe (Annemie Verbeke)

www.lacambre.be

Hyeres 2005 with Azzedine Alaia!

The Hyeres Fashion Award "Grand Prix" : C-Neeon / Clara Kraetsh - Doreen Schulz (Germany).
The Hyeres Fashion Award 1.2.3 : Tonja Zeller (Germany) and David Gil (Colombia).
The Hyeres Fashion Photo Award : Nico Krebs - Taiyo Onorato (Switzerland) ex-aequo Kathryn Hillier (USA)
The Hyeres Special Fashion Creative Award : Romain Kremer (France).

www.villanoailles-hyeres.com

Jean-Pierre Blanc, the founder of the Festival International des Arts de la Mode de Hyeres (FIAMH), on the French Riviera, can be more than proud: Hyeres will celebrate the 20th anniversary on April 29 - May 2, 2005 with such a promising program!

So many fashion designers were the past winners and to name only a few: Viktor & Rolf , Gaspard Yurkievich and more recently Crstof Beaufays, assistant of Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Rondenet et Hervé Yvrenogeau (Own) designers and artistic directors of Cacharel Homme , Stephanie Coudert , presenting in Couture, being sponsored by Dior House, and Elodie Blanchard , based in New York:

The recently restored Villa de Noailles, with its cubist garden as the prow and asemblage of terraces, nested at the top of the hill, looking out over the old town, hosts the entire fashion event. A second skin, a second life for the Villa which was designed in 1923 by the modernist architect Robert Mallet-Stevens for Marie-Laure and Charles de Noailles, famous Patrons for the Arts.

www.villanoailles-hyeres.com

The 31st Annual CSA National Symposium May 25-28, 2005 - Philadelphia
Hosted by CSA Mid - Atlantic Region, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Drexel University.

Do not miss to visit the Digital Museum Project, created by Kathi Martin , Professor and Director of the Graduate Studies at Drexel University and VP for Technology at the CSA... http://digimuse.cis.drexel.edu/

www.costumesocietyamerica.com

Discover 2004 X 10 IFM Designers

March 11, Musee de la Mode et du Textile, Paris, 2004 X 10 IFM Designers.

Liv Mathilde Mechin, France - Nadege Vanhee, France - Sergio Hernandez-Andrade, Spain - Stefan Seiler, Switzerland - Jakub Polanka, Tchek Republic - Britta Uschkamp, Poland - Richard Descours, France - Yuliati Soeprajitno, Netherlands - Yuichiro Nukaga, Japan - Isabelle Lintignat, France

Invitation

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac will preside over the AF-Competition 2005 in San Francisco

The multi talented fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac accepted the invitation of the Arts of Fashion Foundation to be the President for the next edition of the AF-Competition 2005. The theme 2005 is Art and Fashion and Industry! The event will take place in San Francisco, on November 11-12.

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (SA) 10 rue de Vauvilliers 75001 PARIS

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

Haute Couture 2005

After Jean Paul Gaultier in 2001 and Dominique Sirop in 2003: on January 4, 2005 Adeline Andre and Franck Sorbier are the new members of the "Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture".

Adeline Andre

Franck Sorbier