Leeann Duggan

Meet the Future of Fashion: 50 Stunning Student Designs

Leeann DugganSenior Editor

Tue, May 31, 2016 at 9:58 PM UTC

SCAD Graduate Jeffrey Taylor’s unapologetically romantic designs were an audience favorite. “He could get a job at Oscar [de la Renta] tomorrow,” one well-known fashion editor exclaimed as this dress swanned down the runway. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Sydney Benda’s designs evinced a cooler, more modernist feel, with lots of playful texture atop structured separates. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Yuehao Zhang’s dress featured the coolest graphic cutouts, and that stripe down the front is an oversized half zipper, cleverly repurposed as a design element. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Thomas Chu’s designs draped soft layers over stark menswear elements for an avant-garde effect. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Andrea Villanueva showed deceptively simple separates in lovely fabrics — we couldn’t stop thinking about this one-shoulder jumpsuit. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Jasmine Lo layered pleats on pleats on pleats, with the bones of a classically gorgeous dress underneath. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Dawn Bey’s designs were a riot of life-giving color, from the holographic jackets and tops with orchid-inspired laser cuts to the outrageously colorful skirts and trousers. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Chelsea Faresich’s dress could have been merely pretty, but that dramatic side gathering takes it somewhere special. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Kexin Zheng’s look was a fearlessly cool, pieced-together skirt suit that gave us major Sacai vibes. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Jiaoyenan Zhu’s gown featured the most stunning, billowing shape and dramatic black-and-red ombre. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Taehoo Hwang’s designs featured exaggerated shapes and an intricate clash of painterly prints. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Jessica Ferreira’s design isn’t kooky or gimmicky in the least — it’s just an uncommonly beautiful, modern summer dress. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Kelly Valbuena Marquez’s designs featured forward-thinking takes on knitwear — not to mention some of the coolest prints we’ve seen. — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

SCAD graduate Alessandra Jourdan made her designs entirely of thinly-shaved cork — who knew it made such beautiful material for an evening gown? — *Photo: Courtesy of SCAD*

Parsons graduate Ace Kim’s design left no part of the traditional suit untweaked — it was cropped, had a whole new lapel shape, and featured wiry, cilia-like projections all over. — *Photo: Courtesy of Parsons School of Design*

Parsons graduate Alejandra Burguette’s dress was a swirl of accordion pleats and random fabric gatherings that looked equal parts elegant and kooky. — *Photo: Courtesy of Parsons School of Design*

Parsons graduate Han Wen’s dress made the off-shoulder trend feel fresh again thanks to its elegant elongated sleeves and stunning mix of fabrics and texture. — *Photo: Courtesy of Parsons School of Design*

Parsons graduate Ming Peng’s look was an oversized suit gone askew in a cartoonish but very cool way. — *Photo: Courtesy of Parsons School of Design*

Parsons graduate Moon Choi’s design made lovely use of woven, blush-pink fabric with deep navy chiffon accents. — *Photo: Courtesy of Parsons School of Design*

Parsons graduate Natasha Alia’s look was an edgy, all-black update to the shearling coat trend that dominated last winter. — *Photo: Courtesy of Parsons School of Design*

Parsons graduate Sarah Kate Belcher’s design combined a checkerboard top with pretty full skirt for a modern take on the peasant dress. — *Photo: Courtesy of Parsons School of Design*

Parsons graduate Sijun Guo’s design made elegant use of structured separates with restrained fur accents. — *Photo: Courtesy of Parsons School of Design*

Parsons graduate Song Ryoo’s design felt almost medieval with its high neckline and armor-like tunic. — *Photo: Courtesy of Parsons School of Design*

Parsons graduate Wei Hung’s design combined severity and softness to very dramatic effect. — *Photo: Courtesy of Parsons School of Design*

Parsons graduate Xingyuan Xu offered an intricately textural take on the kimono. — *Photo: Courtesy of Parsons School of Design*

Parsons graduate Ya Jun Lin’s design served “Nanook of the North” realness. — *Photo: Courtesy of Parsons School of Design*

Pratt graduate Dajung Lee’s design manages to make a see-through jacket feel demure. — *Photo: Courtesy of Pratt Institute*

Pratt graduate Isabella Spataro’s design made us want to layer a baby-doll dress over a ruffly gown so much. — *Photo: Courtesy of Pratt Institute*

Pratt graduate Camerin Stoldt brought us a trim, futuristic take on the athleisure trend. — *Photo: Courtesy of Pratt Institute*

Pratt graduate Jihyun Kim’s dress was pure, fluid elegance with a modernist twist. — *Photo: Courtesy of Pratt Institute*

Pratt graduate James Palmisano offered a new take on the suit — off the shoulder and onesie-style, of course.. — *Photo: Courtesy of Pratt Institute*

Pratt graduate Kristin Mallison’s dress looks like it started life as at least four different garments — but we love the final Frankenstein effect. — *Photo: Courtesy of Pratt Institute*

Pratt graduate Margaret Burton combined a seemingly inside-out varsity jacket with the coolest pair of pieced-together jeans we’ve seen. Eat your heart out, Vetements. — *Photo: Courtesy of Pratt Institute*

Pratt graduate Terese McCoy’s vest consisted of plush, pieced suede in ′70s-tastic hues — a motif echoed in the paper-bag-waist pants. — *Photo: Courtesy of Pratt Institute*

Pratt graduate Victoria Aguilar’s design paired an elegantly oversized coat with newsboy-style cropped pants — a silhouette that appeared in several students’ designs and is worth copying. — *Photo: Courtesy of Pratt Institute*

Pratt graduate Moon Jung Chang’s design was made of a diaphanous chiffon that seemed ready to float off the runway. — *Photo: Courtesy of Pratt Institute*

Pratt graduate Yougen Won’s look called to mind some of Rick Owens’ more outré, androgynous designs. — *Photo: Courtesy of Pratt Institute*

Pratt graduate Nicholas Andreadis’s design was absolutely fit for a future queen. — *Photo: Courtesy of Pratt Institute*

FIT graduate Jae Yoon Lee’s design brought to mind the chicest possible shipwreckee, with explosions of fringe at the cuffs, collar, and everywhere else. — *Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology*

FIT graduate Samantha Bryant’s look was Prada-esque with its winning combination of classical-art motifs with geek-chic silhouettes. — *Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology*

FIT graduate Aaron Rose’s dress offered a trippy, optical plaid that’s the coolest take on that print since Marc Jacobs did grunge for Perry Ellis. — *Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology*

FIT graduate Gabriela Ostolaza’s design piles vinyl on vinyl on vinyl — and we want that giant-collared coat right now. — *Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology*

FIT graduate Ahra Gho’s design is the cool, winter-white coat of our dreams. — *Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology*

FIT graduate Alberto Frederic Gomez’s gown is for the gothy, Galliano-esque flamenco dancer in you. — *Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology*

FIT graduate Mengni Nao’s design took the ultra-long sleeve trend to its absolute limit — and why not, as the sole piece of jewelry seems to ask. — *Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology*

FIT graduate Kelsey Fries’s look took nubby knitwear to a very futuristic place. — *Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology*

FIT graduate Leah Kim’s design incorporated fringed jeans and a chain-detailed jacket. — *Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology*

FIT graduate Emily Myoung Hye Jung’s look combined a generously cut coat with cool cropped trousers. — *Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology*

FIT graduate Namibia Viera Martinez won the show’s Critic’s Choice Award for her clever use of cutouts and color blocking. — *Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology*

FIT graduate Alicia Scinto featured eerily elegant lace patterns on a slinky slip dress. — *Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology*

Anyone who thinks there’s nothing new happening in fashion simply doesn’t know where to look. This month, hundreds of newly minted designers graduated from the top fashion schools in the country, including Savannah College of Art and Design, Parsons School of Design, Fashion Institute of Technology, and Pratt Institute.

But in fashion, there is no final exam — to graduate, these students must design miniature fashion collections, taking a look from sketch to runway in just a few months. The most talented among them have their designs shown at runway presentations with their fellow students, at shows that are often emotional, always surprising, and that touchingly represent both an end point and a new beginning for these young designers. It’s a heady mix that’s hard to resist, even for seasoned fashion journalists.

Here we share 50 of our favorite student designs that walked the runway this month. Congratulations to all the graduating seniors, and remember these names — the wealth of talent you see here is coming to a clothing label near you soon.

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SCAD Graduate Jeffrey Taylor’s unapologetically romantic designs were an audience favorite. “He could get a job at Oscar [de la Renta] tomorrow,” one well-known fashion editor exclaimed as this dress swanned down the runway.

SCAD graduate Sydney Benda’s designs evinced a cooler, more modernist feel, with lots of playful texture atop structured separates.

SCAD graduate Yuehao Zhang’s dress featured the coolest graphic cutouts, and that stripe down the front is an oversized half zipper, cleverly repurposed as a design element.

SCAD graduate Thomas Chu’s designs draped soft layers over stark menswear elements for an avant-garde effect.

SCAD graduate Andrea Villanueva showed deceptively simple separates in lovely fabrics — we couldn’t stop thinking about this one-shoulder jumpsuit.

SCAD graduate Jasmine Lo layered pleats on pleats on pleats, with the bones of a classically gorgeous dress underneath.

SCAD graduate Dawn Bey’s designs were a riot of life-giving color, from the holographic jackets and tops with orchid-inspired laser cuts to the outrageously colorful skirts and trousers.

SCAD graduate Chelsea Faresich’s dress could have been merely pretty, but that dramatic side gathering takes it somewhere special.

SCAD graduate Kexin Zheng’s look was a fearlessly cool, pieced-together skirt suit that gave us major Sacai vibes.

SCAD graduate Jiaoyenan Zhu’s gown featured the most stunning, billowing shape and dramatic black-and-red ombre.

SCAD graduate Taehoo Hwang’s designs featured exaggerated shapes and an intricate clash of painterly prints.

SCAD graduate Jessica Ferreira’s design isn’t kooky or gimmicky in the least — it’s just an uncommonly beautiful, modern summer dress.

SCAD graduate Kelly Valbuena Marquez’s designs featured forward-thinking takes on knitwear — not to mention some of the coolest prints we’ve seen.

SCAD graduate Alessandra Jourdan made her designs entirely of thinly-shaved cork — who knew it made such beautiful material for an evening gown?

Parsons graduate Ace Kim’s design left no part of the traditional suit untweaked — it was cropped, had a whole new lapel shape, and featured wiry, cilia-like projections all over.

Parsons graduate Alejandra Burguette’s dress was a swirl of accordion pleats and random fabric gatherings that looked equal parts elegant and kooky.

Parsons graduate Han Wen’s dress made the off-shoulder trend feel fresh again thanks to its elegant elongated sleeves and stunning mix of fabrics and texture.

Parsons graduate Ming Peng’s look was an oversized suit gone askew in a cartoonish but very cool way.

Parsons graduate Moon Choi’s design made lovely use of woven, blush-pink fabric with deep navy chiffon accents.

Parsons graduate Natasha Alia’s look was an edgy, all-black update to the shearling coat trend that dominated last winter.

Parsons graduate Sarah Kate Belcher’s design combined a checkerboard top with pretty full skirt for a modern take on the peasant dress.

Parsons graduate Sijun Guo’s design made elegant use of structured separates with restrained fur accents.

Parsons graduate Song Ryoo’s design felt almost medieval with its high neckline and armor-like tunic.

Parsons graduate Wei Hung’s design combined severity and softness to very dramatic effect.

Parsons graduate Xingyuan Xu offered an intricately textural take on the kimono.

Parsons graduate Ya Jun Lin’s design served “Nanook of the North” realness.

Pratt graduate Dajung Lee’s design manages to make a see-through jacket feel demure.

Pratt graduate Isabella Spataro’s design made us want to layer a baby-doll dress over a ruffly gown so much.

Pratt graduate Camerin Stoldt brought us a trim, futuristic take on the athleisure trend.

Pratt graduate Jihyun Kim’s dress was pure, fluid elegance with a modernist twist.

Pratt graduate James Palmisano offered a new take on the suit — off the shoulder and onesie-style, of course..

Pratt graduate Kristin Mallison’s dress looks like it started life as at least four different garments — but we love the final Frankenstein effect.

Pratt graduate Margaret Burton combined a seemingly inside-out varsity jacket with the coolest pair of pieced-together jeans we’ve seen. Eat your heart out, Vetements.

Pratt graduate Terese McCoy’s vest consisted of plush, pieced suede in ′70s-tastic hues — a motif echoed in the paper-bag-waist pants.

Pratt graduate Victoria Aguilar’s design paired an elegantly oversized coat with newsboy-style cropped pants — a silhouette that appeared in several students’ designs and is worth copying.

Pratt graduate Moon Jung Chang’s design was made of a diaphanous chiffon that seemed ready to float off the runway.

Pratt graduate Yougen Won’s look called to mind some of Rick Owens’ more outré, androgynous designs.

Pratt graduate Nicholas Andreadis’s design was absolutely fit for a future queen.

FIT graduate Jae Yoon Lee’s design brought to mind the chicest possible shipwreckee, with explosions of fringe at the cuffs, collar, and everywhere else.

FIT graduate Samantha Bryant’s look was Prada-esque with its winning combination of classical-art motifs with geek-chic silhouettes.

FIT graduate Aaron Rose’s dress offered a trippy, optical plaid that’s the coolest take on that print since Marc Jacobs did grunge for Perry Ellis.

FIT graduate Gabriela Ostolaza’s design piles vinyl on vinyl on vinyl — and we want that giant-collared coat right now.

FIT graduate Ahra Gho’s design is the cool, winter-white coat of our dreams.

FIT graduate Alberto Frederic Gomez’s gown is for the gothy, Galliano-esque flamenco dancer in you.

FIT graduate Mengni Nao’s design took the ultra-long sleeve trend to its absolute limit — and why not, as the sole piece of jewelry seems to ask.

FIT graduate Kelsey Fries’s look took nubby knitwear to a very futuristic place.

FIT graduate Leah Kim’s design incorporated fringed jeans and a chain-detailed jacket.

FIT graduate Emily Myoung Hye Jung’s look combined a generously cut coat with cool cropped trousers.

FIT graduate Namibia Viera Martinez won the show’s Critic’s Choice Award for her clever use of cutouts and color blocking.

FIT graduate Alicia Scinto featured eerily elegant lace patterns on a slinky slip dress.

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