Council of Fashion Designers of America Page 1
2019 GEOFFREY BEENE DESIGN SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
GEOFFREY BEENE Council of Fashion Designers of America Page 2
ABOUT
The Council of Fashion Designers of America and the Geoffrey Beene Foundation look forward to the future of three- dimensional innovation, technology, and materiality in fashion design.
The award is generously underwritten by a $2.5 million donation by the Geoffrey Beene Foundation to the CFDA’s Educational Initiatives. This unique award challenges students to look beyond conforming to common trends and the practicality of business in order to advance the art form, investigating experimentation of process, material, and form. The award identifies the most exemplary and innovative womenswear design student undertaking a full-time graduate study at a leading American college or university. The $25,000 award is intended to be applied to tuition to defray costs of final year thesis, and educational expenses.
Mr. Beene was renowned for the originality of his designs, innovative use of fabrics, geometric cuts, and unerring modernity. Over the course of four decades, these core design elements remained throughout his body of work. He was known as a futurist, architect of the body, and as portrayed by Kim Hastreiter in Geoffrey Beene “An American Fashion Rebel,” a radical pioneer of form. Council of Fashion Designers of America Page 3
WOMENSWEAR TEXTILES KNITWEAR DIGITAL FABRICATION TECHNICAL DESIGN Council of Fashion Designers of America Page 4
PORTFOLIO
“The body to him was one plane, never ending always roaming,” Doo-Ri Chung. From Geoffrey Beene: An American Fashion Rebel by Kim Hastreiter.
With reference to the methods and ethos of Geoffrey Beene as a futurist and pioneer of form, use the body as a three-dimensional canvas to build an exploratory collection of 8 or more refined concepts.
Build by shape-testing, space-exploring, and material-prototyping; space(s) between garment and body, relationship between wearer and form, and material behavior are just a few possible points of reference. Ideas may range from the experiential to improvisational and journey through all phases of development.
Show the design progression of each concept through intensive investigation of ideas, processes, techniques, and materials. These range from drape, cut, fold, and experimental pattern, cutting to textile manipulation, and digital fabrication such as 3D printing or computational design methods. Display numerous views and ideations of each explored concept i.e. 360 (back, front, left, right sides etc.).
Image-make using traditional drawing combined with collage, hybrid digital and physical media, photography, and line; explore the language of line, mixed media, and mastery of craft and tools.
Blueprint each concept through technical drawings and documentation using photo or other forms of media. Detailed technical drawings in multiple views, fabric swatches, trims, and finishing techniques are required to support each design concept.
A wide range of iterative process work including design development, process journal, and three- dimensional prototyping is encouraged to support the edited final collection. Council of Fashion Designers of America Page 5
REFERENCES
From the poem “For Mr. Beene” by Kim Hastreiter, presented to Geoffrey Beene with the 1997 Council of Fashion Designers of America Lifetime Achievement Award.
“The body is his palette and his medium / His clothes dictate its three – dimensionality / He paints with seams to define its form / Abstracting the anatomy
His eyes see shape from both front an hind / Holding backbone to bust in one yoke / He once spiraled a zipper ‘round the human form / To encase it in one single stroke
This body intrigues him with its movement and such / It fascinates him as a machine / And so he loves to show how his work does flow / On dancers who leap, spin, and preen
Although pure, clean, modern, and serious, too / His clothes are seasoned with mischief and glee / Whimsy, wit, shocks of surprise / Juxtapose a cartoon sensibility
We love to watch Mr. Beene attack an idea, / And pare it down with precision ‘til pure / But we love even more his response to perfection / For he’ll break it all down next season for sure
For this is how he always moves forward / And how his new ideas are found / It is this radical thought and fearlessness / Had made him hero for young / Designers underground
He’s not interested in what’s been done in the past / The 21st century’s been his cry / Technology, multimedia, the future, he knows / Is where the new breakthroughs must lie.”
Timeline Videos Publications Lifetime Achievement Award Design Legacy Part 1 Design Legacy Part 2 Council of Fashion Designers of America Page 6
EXPERIMENTAL FORM TECHNIQUE OF SHAPE MATERIALITY PROCESS DESIGN INNOVATION Council of Fashion Designers of America Page 7
ELIGIBILITY
Full-time, Graduate (MA/MFA) fashion student of an American college/university with a minimum of 1 semester left until graduation
Accepted specializations include: Womenswear, Materials, Digital Fabrication, Creative Technical Design
The CFDA will accept up to (5) submissions per school as endorsed by the school’s Dean, Chair, Director or equivalent. School-endorsed submissions must by received by Wednesday, March 27, 2019
SUBMISSION
Please submit portfolio and application online at FluidReview (https://cfda-applications.fluidreview. com/)
Application and consent form
Video self-introduction (120 seconds or less)
Written statement (1000 words or less)
Resume/CV
Headshot
Bio
SELECTION
Phase 1 Finalists: In April, up to (5) Finalists will be determined by a CFDA Selection Committee based on review of digital portfolio and application elements.
Phase 2 Up to (5) Finalists will be asked to create one look in 3D for presentation to the CFDA Selection Committee. Reimbursement of up to $1,000 will be provided to each finalist.
Phase 3 Interviews: In May, each selected finalist will be invited by the CFDA to New York to present their 3D work physical portfolio in person to the CFDA Selection Committee.
Phase 4 Award: (1) Geoffrey Beene Design Scholar will be selected by the committee for the $25,000 scholarship, with final decision and notification in June. Council of Fashion Designers of America Page 8
Please email Education and Professional Development at the Council of Fashion Designers of America with any questions:
Sara Kozlowski, Director, [email protected] Stephanie Soto, Programs Manager, [email protected] Jackie Shihadeh, Programs Coordinator, [email protected]