Cunard's Queen Mary 2. Image credit: Cunard
Cruise line Cunard is giving a handful of fashion students an oceanic platform to showcase their latest designs.
During Cunard’s second annual Transatlantic Fashion Week Crossing, six students from The New School’s Parsons School of Design will present a runway show for the guests. This affords the up-and-coming talent an audience with a captive, affluent crowd, while allowing travelers to be among the first to know about the emerging designers.
Emerging talent
Now in its second year, Cunard’s fashion week celebration is a seven-day trip from Southampton, England to New York on the Queen Mary 2 (see story).
During the journey, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7, guests can partake in events such as fashion shows, Q&As and exclusive reveals.
One of these events will be a fashion show of recent Parsons graduates. The students submitted their collections to a panel of experts who will be on-board the vessel, and six designers who demonstrated individuality and appeal were chosen to participate.
These up-and-coming talents are Min Kyung Kim, Panisa Busayanontg, Jeehyun Cho, Jihyun Myung, Alexa Chia Wan Yu and Yuner Shao.
Designs by Jeehun Cho. Image credit: Jeehun Cho
Along with the graduates, Cunard’s fashion journey will include designer Julien Macdonald OBE and Grosvenor Shirts founder and CEO Karl Dunkley. Fashion historian Colin McDowell MBE and fashion consultant Gail Sackloff OBE will also be on board.
"On the 2017 Fashion Week Crossing, both loyal Cunarders and new guests will have the opportunity to mingle with some of fashion's most iconic designers and up-and-comers," said Josh Leibowitz, senior vice president, Cunard North America, in a statement. "Through our special events sailings, we are excited to continue to provide inspiring experiences for our guests on iconic voyages."
Education partnerships are popular with luxury marketers, as they aim to secure the talent in the next generation. Sometimes, these collaborations include commercial or experiential components for customers.
For instance, Parsons teamed up with Parlux and Neiman Marcus for a couture curriculum that redesigned historic looks.
“Norell x Parsons” guided students as they created modern adaptations of American designer Norman Norell’s iconic garments, learning how to run a contemporary fashion business in the process. Adding a commercial component to this challenge, one of the student designs was chosen by Norell to be featured in the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book (see story).