Fashion, by nature, is about looking toward the future, and the future certainly looked bright at this year’s Fashion Future Graduate Showcase. The CFDA, which launched the showcase with founding partner New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) three years ago,  hosted a multi-platform presentation aimed at connecting promising new talent from some of America’s most prestigious art and design schools with fashion industry insiders. This year, 52 students put their creativity on display and made meaningful contacts in the field in which they hope to work. It was a prime example of the way the CFDA supports and advises designers in every phase of their careers, thereby strengthening the American fashion ecosystem.

The students came from a variety of institutions: Academy of Art University, California College of the Arts, College for Creative Studies Fashion Institute of Technology, Kent State University, Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design, Savannah College of Art and Design, School of The Art Institute of Chicago, University of Cincinnati. This breadth of curriculums, including graduates from both BFA and MFA programs, further demonstrated how unique the American fashion landscape is, and how it benefits from diversity and inclusivity.

Held at a sleek and modern street-level space in the Soho neighborhood of New York City, the selected designers met with store buyers, press, and representatives from brands to discuss their backgrounds, training, and hopes for the future.

As one would expect, certain themes and ideas emerged, connecting the designers’ work and showing us the issues that are occupying the minds of a new generation. Multiculturalism was a strong motif, influencing many works. California native Gibron Shepperd drew on his mixed heritage to present a collection which combined the formality of African American church attire and the traditional outfits of Orthodox Jews with the languorous flow of Middle Eastern garments such as hijabs and burkas. The results were arresting and elegant, and helped bring his personal story to life.

Womenswear designer Yayi Chen also explored the beauty in cultural juxtaposition, placing her Chinese heritage against a backdrop of European colonialism, to create garments that were poetic, wistful, and told a haunting narrative. Highlights were a one-shoulder dress dripping with liquidy fringe and embedded with a picture frame, a cheongsam with hook-and-eye fastenings moving from the neck down the sleeve, deconstructed skirts, and featherlight transparent sweaters. The cut-and-paste energy of the digital age were on exhibition in the works of Yong Guo and Chelsea Grays, both of whom played with patchworking and textural mash-ups. Through their work, each designer addressed fundamental concepts of silhouette and texture in surprising ways, and gave playful updates to familiar garments.

A thread of avant-gardism and confident showmanship was on display too, as with Emily Shen’s woven dresses-as-art, made from materials like plastic and crocheted knitting collaged together. The shapes were sculptural and undulating and made in a crisp, optic white, as beautiful as they were otherwordly. There was also Parsons graduate Veronica Lee, who played with the idea of body as clothing, creating oversized cocooning shapes meant to evoke skin, muscle, and viscera, pieces that were strange and alluring. She took delight in making pieces that seemed to fascinate and shock people.

From streetwear to lingerie, from inclusivity to environmentalism, these graduates grappled with some of the most pressing issues facing the fashion industry today, and proved that they are more than well-equipped to tackle them. Despite the rain one afternoon, the presentation was teeming with visitors and well-wishers, asking the students about their work and receiving thoughtful, thought-provoking replies.

It appears that, indeed, the kids are alright. Here’s to the future.

Learn more about the graduates here.

The 2019 Fashion Future Graduate Showcase was made possible by underwriters Dia & Co and Reebok with additional support from Adrian Cheng/K11 and The Standard.