W: Penny Goal
The FIT MFA 2024 graduate show, aptly titled Beyond, transcended its Seventh Avenue roots to showcase a limitless vision of global creativity. Featuring thirteen designers, the exhibition served as a profound celebration of multicultural heritage and lived experience. Armed with technical mastery honed over two years, these graduates transformed personal narratives into high-concept fashion. As the nation faces a polarizing landscape, these students offered a necessary counter-narrative of unity, proving that design can act as a bridge between divided worlds.
This year’s underlying message of harmony resonated through every silhouette, reminding the audience that beauty is a universal language. The official press release described the collections as a testament to individual richness, weaving together vibrant South Asian embroidery with the minimalist elegance of Scandinavian lines. Each stitch told a story of courage and heritage, inviting the viewer into a collective "tapestry of innovation." By blending diverse cultural archives with avant-garde construction, these thirteen pioneering graduates have officially signaled their arrival as the new architects of a more inclusive, boundary-breaking fashion industry.
Kinetic Echoes: Brunela Ramirez’s Soft Sculpture Philosophy
Brunela Ramirez’s 2024 graduate collection, Collection 0, is a profound meditation on the "soft sculpture" of human experience. Debuting at the FIT MFA "Beyond" show during New York Fashion Week, the Peruvian designer’s work moves past traditional motifs to explore how individuals are shaped by their environments. Drawing heavily from existential philosophy and cinematic language, Ramirez utilizes digital design tools to construct genderless silhouettes that feel both protective and deeply introspective. Her aesthetic is defined by blown-up, padded volumes—most notably her winsome hooded coats and oversized trousers—which serve as visual metaphors for the emotional layers we accumulate over time.
The collection’s brilliance lies in its commitment to ethical innovation. By sourcing textiles from FABSCRAP, Ramirez bridges the gap between high-concept art and sustainable practice. Her garments are not merely clothes, but "records" of identity that embrace fluidity in form and function. This debut marks Ramirez as a vital new voice, proving that fashion can be a multidisciplinary archive of the human spirit.
Ultimately, the power of Ramirez’s work resides in its quiet, rhythmic geometry. Each piece acts as an architectural cocoon, balancing the weight of the physical world against the lightness of the internal self. By manipulating shadow and seam, she creates a visual dialogue between the wearer and the void, suggesting that true style is a form of armor. This mastery of volume solidifies her reputation as a designer who understands that fashion is a lived, breathing history.
Stitched in Strength: Barrientos’ White Canvas of Resilience.
Bryan Barrientos’ graduate collection, Juana, is a profound narrative of heritage. Inspired by his mother’s journey as a Peruvian immigrant, Barrientos transforms the runway into a sanctuary of memory.
By working in an all-white palette, he forces a focus on the interplay of light and shadow. He masterfully blends traditional textures with avant-garde silhouettes, such as the "Juana Dress" featuring padded embroidery inspired by ancient grecas. This tactile depth is elevated by subverting materials—juxtaposing couture bustier seaming with technical zippers and "puffer" volume.
Barrientos doesn't just design clothes; he archives the immigrant experience. By merging 2,000-year-old stone motifs with modern versatility, he honors his mother’s courage while proving that the future of eveningwear lies in embracing one's roots. It is a triumphant debut that marks him as a designer to watch.
Cosmic Couture: Urvi Selarka’s Gravity-Defying Nebula
Urvi Selarka’s 2024 graduate collection, Nebula, is a breathtaking exploration of celestial duality, where the ethereal meets the architectural. Showcased at the FIT MFA "Beyond" show during New York Fashion Week, the collection serves as a masterclass in weightless construction. Selarka, a Mumbai-born designer and 3D artist, utilizes innovative pattern-making and technical draping to sculpt striking silhouettes that appear to float around the body. Her work harmonizes the rigid with the fluid, creating a kaleidoscopic visual experience that feels both grounded in craftsmanship and lost in cosmic wonder.
The strength of Nebula lies in its ability to defy gravity. Each garment possesses a commanding presence, yet maintains a sense of lightness that empowers the wearer. By bridging the gap between digital precision and tactile elegance, Selarka transforms fabric into a record of movement and space. This collection establishes her as a visionary voice in luxury ready-to-wear, proving that fashion can be both a personal sanctuary and a bold, universal statement.
Ultimately, Nebula is a sensory journey through light and shadow. The play of translucent textiles against sharp, geometric lines captures a futuristic romanticism. This collection establishes Selarka as a visionary voice, proving fashion can be both a personal sanctuary and a bold statement.
Fossilized Memory: Eunhae Cho’s Architecture of Time
Eunhae Cho’s 2024 graduate collection is a masterclass in slow fashion, where the biological meets the industrial. Drawing a poetic parallel between fossil formation and the layered complexity of human experience, Cho constructs garments that feel like wearable artifacts. Her multicultural heritage serves as the foundation, but her technical prowess brings this vision to life.
The collection’s strength lies in its raw, tactile manipulation. Cho’s background in pattern-making shines through her "twisted sleeve" silhouettes, perfected through rigorous paper draping. By hand-distressing wool and cotton panels with knives, she creates a weathered aesthetic mimicking geological erosion. These frayed, organic textures are layered over solid structural panels, providing a necessary contrast between fragility and strength.
Cho successfully bridges the gap between conceptual art and adaptable essentials. Her work suggests that clothing, much like a fossil, is a record of time and labor. By handcrafting every pattern, she ensures each piece is a deeply personal archive of identity and craft.