Adapting to the Pandemic in Fashion Month

by Claire Hsu

Arts

October 26, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has been hard on some fashion designers, and Fashion Month was not the same without the regular crowds and street style influencers filling up the streets surrounding the runways. Taking a departure from previous years, all showcases moved to audience-free, in-person by appointment, or completely digital runways in consideration of the present environment. Yet these runway shows premiering collections for the spring of 2021 challenged designers to embrace the new normal, leading to the creation of several memorable moments.

Moschino Spring to Summer 2021 Moschino

Since fashion is an important industry in Italy, the show went on in Milan. One of the unique showcases displayed this month was created by Jeremy Scott for Moschino, an Italian luxury brand, and this collection, named No Strings Attached, consisted of forty miniature couture creations modeled by tiny puppets. The show may have been miniature-sized, but the process was more expensive than a real-life one. The looks were scaled down from their original life-sized versions to fit the thirty-inch puppets, and every detail was proportioned again without losing the original splendor of the fabric. Such close attention was paid to detail that there were even puppets acting as audience members, talking to each other and taking notes about the show. The runway was filled with classic upscale gowns in the more neutral or muted colors that many designers chose to use this month, and feminine details and silhouettes like tulle and frills. Though the collection was made in Milan, Moschino released a video of the show that’s available to all on Youtube. It can be found at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQQE9PrcIDo.

Jason Wu Spring 2021 Jason Wu

Outside of Milan, New York Fashion Week also continued this year, but many designers such as Jason Wu came out with more contemporary and affordable lines for the first time, reflecting the extensive impact of coronavirus-caused job losses in America. Against the backdrop of the pandemic, Wu wanted to create a collection about hope and new beginnings and cultivate a sense of escapism with the theme of a vacation in Tulum, Mexico, his “home away from home.” The looks represented an imaginary vacation that many can now only dream of, with the collection’s flowy, comfortable, and loosely fitted garments in bright, happy colors. Even though this collection ignited a longing for travel amidst the current restrictions, it brought a new sense of happiness to New Yorkers and anyone else who watched the show.

Bobb, Brooke. Jason Wu Spring 2021 Ready-to-Wear Collection. Vogue, September 14, 2020.
https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2021-ready-to-wear/grey-jason-wu.

Madsen, Anders Christian. Moschino Spring 2021 Ready-to-Wear Collection. Vogue, September 26, 2020.
https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2021-ready-to-wear/moschino.

Triplett, Stephanie. What was fashion month in the midst of COVID? Mood Fabrics, October 7, 2020.
https://www.moodfabrics.com/blog/what-was-fashion-month-in-the-midst-of-covid/.

March Art: Boston University Programs

by Amaya Willis

Arts

March 25, 2020

While no art is able to be documented this month because of the closure of the school, there is still an art opportunity for the artists of our community. This month’s opportunity is Boston University’s Visual Arts Summer Institution (VASI). This program runs for four weeks and is an on-campus experience. BU’s VASI program gives in-depth classes and workshops for aspiring artists and those who wish to build a portfolio. The program is available for all high school students, will earn students three college credits, and helps students piece together a portfolio with photos of their work. It is a great experience not only for those looking into a career in art and those moving forward to college with art in mind, but also for those who are looking at BU as an option for college. Sadly, the application deadline for this year has passed, but there’s always next year!

For information about the application process, you can email me at azw04@bu.edu or check out VASI’s website at https://www.bu.edu/cfa/vasi/admissions/.

February Art: MassArt Programs

by Amaya Willis

Arts

February 17, 2020

So far this month, art classes have been working hard at their craft. Freshmen artists have worked on chair studies using negative space, sophomore artists have been studying methods for creating depth and dimensions for spheres, and the seminar artists have worked with color techniques to add more to their recreation of paper folds. Good job to all of our creative artists!

A Chair in Negative Space

illustration by Connor Brandao; photo credits: Amaya Willis

Sphere Study

illustration by Sitarah Lakhani; photo credits: Amaya Willis

Sphere Study

illustration by Audrey Lin; photo credits: Amaya Willis

Sphere Study

illustration by Sasha Tyutyunik; photo credits: Amaya Willis

Color Study

illustration by Angie Zhong; photo credits: Amaya Willis

This summer, MassArt is running a program called Pre-College Summer Studios. Students entering junior or senior year are eligible to attend. It would be a great opportunity for those of you looking to go into the arts in college or at any point in life. The program is from July 15th to August 20th and helps youths build their portfolios and the necessary skills to become a professional artist. It offers a dorm to stay at, college credits, and financial aid scholarships to attend for those who qualify. There are three mandatory foundation classes for basics and an elective based on what you want to do. The deadline to apply is April 1st, 2020, and the deadline for a partial scholarship to attend the program is April 2nd, 2020. For more information, visit the website at https://massart.edu/summer-studios or email azw04@bu.edu!

January Art

by Anna Augart and Giselle Wu

Arts

January 23, 2020

The BUA freshmen have recently created some beautiful collages out of magazine photos in their art class. They collected different materials to create dazzling landscapes and animated scenes. Every piece of artwork exhibits their creativity and imagination.

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collages by AR25; photo credits: Anna Augart and Giselle Wu

There are also some alluring nature oil pastel pieces exhibited in the second floor hallway.

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illustrations by AR80; photo credits: Zoe Xi

December Art: Institute of Contemporary Art Programs

by Amaya Willis

Arts

December 1, 2019

At the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), there are programs for teen artists of a wide variety: they offer filmmaking, printmaking, slam team/spoken word, DJing, music production, digital photography, audio work, and more, along with their own Teen Art Council. Unlike the previous program introduced in November, this one builds more on community and social fun. Every few months they hold a museum-wide teen party thrown by the teens in their teen program for other teens in the Boston area. There are also events like their annual Teen Convening and occasional Wall talks where people gather from all over Boston or even the country to open up about contemporary arts through different mediums. The ICA has many different events for different things that young artists may enjoy, making it a great opportunity for any teen artist!

November Art: Museum of Fine Arts Programs

by Amaya Willis

Arts

November 13, 2019

November was a great month for our BUA artists. The AR25 classes have worked on replicating Van Gogh’s At Eternity’s Gate and Picasso’s Portrait of Igor Stravinsky. These projects focus on using the right side of the brain while drawing and help develop artists’ intuition. AR50 focused on expressions and emotion in art through color schemes; these students have primarily used oil pastels to create expression and different subject matter like plants or dogs. The AR80 class spent their time creating landscapes with oil pastels after finishing their charcoal close ups of life forms.

Untitled

illustrations by AR25; photo credits: Amaya Willis

Fruits and Vegetables

illustrations by AR80; photo credits: Amaya Willis

As for art outside of our small school community, there are many opportunities to explore! At the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), there are two teen programs that would be great for BUA students to participate in. The first is the Teen Arts Council, “the MFA’s leadership development program and paid job opportunity for Boston-area teens.”¹ The council consults with professionals about career paths in the fields of art and interacts with their communities while learning more about art, its uses, and its history. The team at the MFA also has a STEAM team, “a new paid fellowship program for Boston teens that builds upon the STEAM education platform (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math),” for students interested in art and STEM.² It would be a great opportunity to learn and engage in art while making money.

If more information is needed, see these sites or email azw04@bu.edu for more details. Anyone who is interested in taking a passion for art outside of school is encouraged to try out these programs!

¹“Teen Arts Council,” Museum of Fine Arts, accessed November 13, 2019, https://www.mfa.org/programs/teen-programs/teen-arts council.

²“STEAM Team,” Museum of Fine Arts, accessed November 13, 2019, https://www.mfa.org/programs/teen-programs/steam-team.