San Francisco, CA, May 03, 2012 – The School of Fashion at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California presented collections from graduating students at the 2012 Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony. At the invitation only event on Thursday, May 3rd, Dr. Elisa Stephens, president of the University, gave the degree of Honorary Doctorate to Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen, milliner Philip Treacy, and H.R.H. Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, who has extensive experience in luxury retail and is the CEO of the ALFA and AL HAMA companies that own and operate Harvey Nichols Department Store, Donna Karan, and DKNY stores in Saudi Arabia. At a luncheon hosted by Dr. Elisa Stephens in honor of this year’s guests, San Francisco society and industry friends of the School of Fashion gathered at The Cannery overlooking the Bay. Mayor Ed Lee attended and was presented a cake in celebration of his birthday. Guests included former Mayor Willie Brown and Sonya Molodetska, Jennifer Raiser, Christine Suppes, Deepa Pakianathan, Tatiana Sorokko, Cameron Silver, Maria Manetti Farrow, Consul General to the United Kingdom Priya Guha, and John Capizzi, VP & General Manager of Neiman Marcus San Francisco. The guests of honor were presented with original illustrations by Gladys Perint Palmer, executive director of the School of Fashion.
Designers Included were: Massa Ito, Zhangchi Wang, Julie Seltzer, Jacqueline Rabôt, Angela Sison, Miriam Tolentino, Eli Daniel Odisho, Antonio Luna, Steven La Fuente, Maria A. Romero, Mimi Iwasaki, Joe Chung, Orly Ruaimi, Kim Tran, Chelsea Levinson, Rachel Sansom, Rumi Iwasaki, Ethan Chihuan Yang, Emma Mengchen Yang, Liza Quiñones, Erica Laba, Hely Nguyen, Mina Fadaie, and Renata Lindroos.
See our coverage of the designers here.
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Maria A. Romero was born in Santa Barbara, California but grew up in Brillante de Miramar in Mexico. She graduated from Carpenteria High School. Her collection was inspired by her childhood memories of Dulces de Reliquias – traditional Mexican candies given out during nativity ceremonies surrounding the Christmas holiday. She sought to recreate the colors and textures of the candies using silk chiffon, silk organza, silk taffeta, and tulle. Romero produced the collection on a series of dolls, and collaborated with students from the School of Animation and Visual Effects to bring the collection to life. Sarah Burton, Creative Director of Alexander McQueen, has awarded Romero an internship.