The VakkoEsmod graduation show, in which young designers brought three years of work to the runway, brought families and fashion professionals together on the same night.
There was a sweet buzz of excitement the other evening at the VakkoEsmod Fashion Academy, which Vakko launched in recent years with Esmod, one of the world’s leading fashion schools.
Those who had completed three years on the Fashion Design and Creation Diploma Programme earned their diplomas. They received their graduation certificates at Zorlu, hosted by Vakko Chairman Cem Hakko. The young talents’ 82-piece collection was watched by their families,
executives of Vakko and Esmod Paris, and fashion designers with great curiosity and interest.
Esmod General Manager Christine Walter- Bonini sat on the jury. VakkoEsmod co-founder Nadine Massoud Bernheim was also a member of the jury, as was Vakkoroma Creative Director Ronit Gülcan. Designer Aslı Filinta was on the jury as well. The event was therefore very well received. After the show, the designs of Ekaterine Chetiner, Merve Naz Becikoğlu and Zeynep İyit Laçiner won awards.
Why does the VakkoEsmod graduation show matter?
In fashion education, the graduation show means students demonstrating everything they have learned over the years in a single presentation: pattern-making, sewing, fabric knowledge and collection building. Standing before a jury is a test. So is pulling a collection together around a story and seeing the pieces in motion on the runway. It is one of the most realistic tests young designers face before moving into professional life.
In this respect, the VakkoEsmod graduation show was a meaningful showcase for fashion education in Türkiye. A jury evaluated the collection of the students who completed the Fashion Design and Creation Diploma Programme, a collection made up of 82 pieces. The jury was formed of executives from Vakko and Esmod Paris together with designers. At the end of the night, the designs of Ekaterine Chetiner, Merve Naz Becikoğlu and Zeynep İyit Laçiner won awards.
You can explore the school’s international network and programmes on Esmod’s official website. For more on Istanbul’s runways, read our impressions of Istanbul Fashion Week 2017.
Programmes like this do not just give students drawing and sewing skills. They also teach them to manage a collection from the idea stage to the runway, to plan fabric sourcing, to use their time well and to work as part of a team. Winning an award at the graduation show can also become an important reference, one that young designers in particular can use in their first job applications and internships.
For fashion lovers who want to get to know the industry’s newcomers up close, these nights are a great opportunity: you see the designers of the future for the first time. Some of the students graduating today may found their own brands tomorrow, while others may join the design teams of major fashion houses. Thinking about this gives these nights a special meaning.
Image: A model walking the runway at a fashion show in Istanbul, wearing a long white floral dress and a hat and carrying a flower basket, with other models in line behind her and a row of spectators. (representative image) — Emrah Altay, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0