It was the Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week and Sabah Mansoor-Husain was one of six student designers from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco who showed their debut collections at the tented extravaganza. For Sabah, the destination was particularly thrilling for the journey to Bryant Park had started all the way in Bangalore, her hometown.
“While New York fashion tends toward the dutifully wearable, the San Francisco-based fashion college gave food for thought,” wrote Suzy Menkes in The New York Times: “How was it possible that clothes from six selected students, with global origins in the United States, Russia and Asia, could seem more inventive and creative than established New York brands?”
The Academy of Art University is the largest private art and design university in the US and was established way back in 1929. The school is getting some interesting connections with India, a country with a rich craft heritage: San Francisco and Bangalore became ‘sister cities’ in 2009. In response to the San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative, the School of Fashion, Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California and the National Institute of Fashion Technology in Bangalore, Karnataka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to pursue the development of a student exchange program for a minimum period of three years.
“We are planning to begin this student exchange this coming fall, sending two students to NIFT, Bangalore and welcoming two of their students to the School of Fashion in San Francisco,” says Edith Mead Barker, Special Projects Manager. (For more information about the Sister City initiative http://www.sfbangalore.org/updates.php)
Indeed, the Indian connections continue. In the coming months, the noted Goan designer Wendell Rodricks is presenting a workshop on Indian geometric design to students, discussing such topics as minimalism in Indian fashion and eco-responsible aspects of design
The inspiration is certainly getting global. The designers for the school’s showing in New York’s Bryant Park tents came from different backgrounds and countries, including Korea, Burma, Russia and India. Sabah Mansoor Husain is from Bangalore, and received her BA degree in Textile Design from Bangalore’s Srishti School of Art Design and Technology in 2005. She is pursuing her MFA in fashion and knitwear design.
Video showing work of six students – Academy of Art University in San Francisco
Sabah’s collection showcased knit coats, skirts and vests combined with knit body suits, a mélange of craft and design, gleaned from the traditional methods of felting fabric, crochet, hand embroidery of her native India and adding to it Shibori, which is a Japanese technique of dyeing. Sabah has brought in the jewel-shaped crystals of Indian artisans and juxtaposed them with merino wool and mohair in her collection, to give a sparkle to outerwear.
“I love the awareness and the accessibility to design,” she says. “I do miss all the wonderful karigars, weavers, cobblers and printers that I used to work with. Making a vision a reality in India is still a lot easier than in America.”
Sabah plans to develop her own line in California. No matter how contemporary her design palette is, it will always include shadings of Indian fabrics and crafts which are part of her growing up years.
