BY ALLISON RAMIREZ
Every year SCAD puts on a fashion show at the Trustees Theater where select graduating fashion students showcase their senior collections.
Different industry professionals mentor SCAD’s graduating fashion students, preparing them for the fashion show and, more importantly, the real world. This year’s mentors and fashion moguls were Chris Benz, Christian Cota and Rachel Roy.
It all seems too good to be true, but there is one question that no one at SCAD seems to be able to answer: Why don’t the graduate students get their own show?
Contrary to popular belief, the show is not officially for undergrads. While it is known as the show that “will present the collection for the top graduating seniors,” Michael Fink, dean of the fashion department stated, “[The] fashion show is for the graduating class of that particular year—undergraduate and graduate students.”
While Fink acknowledged that there are no grad students in this year’s show, nor were there any in last year’s, he failed to acknowledge if grad students have been in previous shows. Fink did say that, “[This year] there was no [grad] work submitted.”
When approached for interview, every fashion grad student declined to comment on the fashion show or the department as a whole. One grad student stated she feared an interview would get her in trouble with the department, even if interviewed anonymously.
Samantha Booke, a third-year fashion student from Miami, Fla. is not bothered by the graduate program not having its own show. She claims it will not make or break her decision of applying to the grad program at SCAD.
“Being a part of the fashion show doesn’t get you a better chance of getting a job,” she said. “A professor in the department once told me so.”