Chair Name: Nathalie Doucet

Event Name: The 9th Annual Arts of Fashion Foundation Symposium Fashion Show

Date of Event: December 07, 2010

Charity/Nonprofit Beneficiary: The Arts of Fashion Foundation

Vivanista recently sat down with former fashion designer and design professor, Nathalie Doucet to discuss her goal to support innovative fashion design with her non-profit, The Arts and Fashion Foundation, and their upcoming fundraiser, The 9th Annual Arts of Fashion Symposium Fashion Show.

Describe your upcoming Fashion Show Fundraiser in a few sentences… What makes the event unique?

The Arts of Fashion Competition is the premier international student fashion competition. 55 students were selected from 320 projects sent from 83 universities and schools of 23 countries to compete for scholarships and internship opportunities with major, creative fashion houses. Also during the show, looks will be shown that were created during the Symposium’s MasterClasses, where designers coming from the United States and Europe will be working with students during an intensive four-day period.

What was the inspiration behind this year’s show?

With the opening of the first fashion law institute in New York in September, the Arts of Fashion Foundation, a major advocate of copyrights in fashion, chose to name this year’s competition Uniquely Untrendy. The main goal of the Foundation is to foster creativity and innovation in emerging fashion designers through educational seminars and programs. To be Uniquely Untrendy is to have your own point-of-view and your own way of expression through fashion.

Describe The Arts of Fashion Foundation’s overall mission and contribution to the San Francisco community.

The Arts of Fashion Foundation is a 501(c) (3), public, non-profit organization, linking both academics and professionals alike and is dedicated in fostering international cultural exchange through the creation of a variety of educational events meant to facilitate critical thinking among artists, designers, scholars and students. The primary focus of the foundation is the continuous support of creativity and design in fashion and the arts linked to it.
We are based in San Francisco, but are continuously working with rising and established designers from all over the world. For this year’s Symposium, we have returned to the Bay Area, and we are bringing nine brilliant designers from the United States, Europe, and Asia. San Francisco is capturing the interest of these creative minds, and the city can only benefit from their presence.

How many participants are you expecting? Will there be any surprise guests?

Our show is always a big production. We are expecting to have over 100 participants: 55 student designers, 30 additional MasterClass designers, 10 jury members, 9 members of our Host Committee… There are many people who will participate in making this year’s show a new spectacular event putting San Francisco in Fashion Mode.
Manish Arora, the creative Indian designer who has taken Paris and London by storm, will preside over the Symposium and jury.
Guest designers include:
Matthew Ames (who shows in New York)
Matthieu Blazy (the Creative Design Assistant for Raf Simons)
David Duby (the Creative Assistant for Anthony Vaccarello and a freelance designer for YSL and Lanvin)
Julie Perrin (the Creative Design Assistant to Jerome Dreyfuss and a freelance accessories designer for Hermes)
Lucile Puton (the new Creative Design Assistant under Romain Kremer at Thierry Mugler under Nicola Formichetti)
Laurence Teillet (former Assistant Designer for Martin Margiela himself)
Aurore Thibout (who shows in Paris and is a former Assistant Designer under Martin Margiela himself)
Anthony Vaccarello (who shows in Paris and is a former fur designer for Fendi under Karl Lagerfeld)

This is the 9th year of the fundraiser, what do you think has made this event a success; and how have you changed this year’s event to keep it fresh?

The event is a continuing success because of the students and their ongoing innovation and desire to learn. Each year, the Symposium is in a different city around the United States, but we try to come back to San Francisco every few years. We want to build up the city in the minds of innovative, inspiring fashion individuals – a new Antwerp – in the United States.

For every Symposium, we have a great team of different designers who come in to teach the students in an intensive learning environment with our MasterClasses. These creative, international designers work with students over a period of 5 days teaching them new techniques and pushing their creativity. Their work is presented during the fashion show competition – San Francisco In Fashion Mode.

Is this an open event? If so, how much are tickets, and what percentage of proceeds will go to the Arts of Fashion Foundation?

San Francisco in Fashion Mode will be held at the Bently Reserve on December 7, 2010, and it is an event open to the public. Tickets are available at SFInFashionMode.org. People are able to purchase their tickets online and pick them up at Will Call. TICKET PRICES: Students: $75 Public: $150.

Who are your event sponsors? How will they add value to the event?

Our gracious and continuing partners for the Arts of Fashion Symposium are YKK Corporation of America and Surface Magazine. YKK has been instrumental in their efforts to help us support young designers since we began in San Francisco. Surface Magazine and their association with innovative design has also been an ideal partner for the Arts of Fashion Foundation. These organizations have been the main long-time partners of our Foundation.

Will there been any surprises?

San Francisco in Fashion Mode is a competition that will end with an awards ceremony where 6 young designers will be awarded scholarships and internship opportunities with major design houses, such as Jean Charles de Castelbajac and Anne Valerie Hash.

What has been on of the biggest challenges in planning the event so far?

The Arts of Fashion Foundation has been based in San Francisco for almost 6 years, and in spite of the developed fashion industry in the Bay Area, no major San Francisco companies have shown an interest in helping us to support the city and its growth in fashion and creativity.
The planning and production of a fashion show is always a laborious task, but this year we have formed a San Francisco Host Committee to help spread the word. We have also been fortunate enough to have the help of the Fashion Design and Fashion Marketing departments of the Art Institute of California – San Francisco, and their students.

What external resources have you used in your fundraising/outreach efforts (i.e. websites, mentors, social networks etc)?

SFinFashionMode.org is the website we have created for the event to provide an easy mode of communication to the public. Because of our association with educative programs, we have a strong network of academic professionals and students to follow us from around the world. You can also find the Arts of Fashion Foundation on Facebook and Twitter

What characteristics do you think make an event chair successful?

Dedication is the most important characteristic that an event chair can possess. Our cause is the future of fashion and the new generations of creative designers who should be able to live and work from their talents. This is the issue for which we have an incredible amount of dedication.

What is your favorite current fashion trend?

It is absolutely to be Uniquely Untrendy. It is always important to look into the future with fashion and develop a vision. It is not about the past. We need to invest in fashion.

Benefit tomorrow by investing in today’s creative fashion designers.

[Feature photo designs by Akarasun Seanglai]