Solange’s Creative Agency Is Partnering with Parsons To Create A Festival For Graduates
Is there anything this woman can’t do?
With the doors of schools, colleges, and universities around the world still firmly shut, the education of thousands of students has taken a previously unimaginable turn. Particularly for the classes of 2020- whose graduation ceremonies which they dreamed of through the deadline pressures, revision sessions and all-nighters in the library, are not to be.
For some, however, there is light at the end of this dark and confusing tunnel, as many establishments have been rushing to create an alternate celebration for their graduates. New York’s Parsons School of Fashion is one of these. Just yesterday the school announced that it would be partnering with Solange Knowles and her creative agency, Saint Heron, to create an immersive online festival designed to celebrate the work of the college’s final year students.
The school’s interim dean of fashion, Jason Kass explained that “When we realized that we weren’t going to be able to hold our festival in the way we typically would, we started to brainstorm around what we could do, not just for the students, but also for the fashion industry and the creative community”.
And the university’s decision to collaborate with Saint Heron comes as little surprise- “Solange and the team at Saint Heron instantly came to mind”. The Cranes singer has longstanding connections with the establishment, whose annual gala she was honored at back in 2018. Solange even attended the event to receive her award sporting an ensemble designed by Parsons alumnus of 2018, Shanel Campbell.
Solange’s artistry has long-been much further reaching than her original medium of music. Known and loved for her performances which push the boundaries of art and fashion, this collaboration with Parsons is simply another way for Solange to flex her creative muscles. “As the world confronts the challenges of our current global crisis, fashion and design communities must embrace new ways to pause, evolve, and adapt,” read the statement issued by Saint Heron. “These challenges open up opportunities to expand growth in our creativity and innovation.”
Few details are yet to be revealed about the festival but, we do know that Jacolby Satterwhite, an artist and previous collaborator of Saint Heron, has been called upon to create a “virtual environment” entitled Metonymy to host the final projects of graduating students.
What was traditionally a weekend of fashion events in May will now be spread over multiple months incorporating online lectures, performances, workshops and more all kicking off in July. This shift is particularly poignant, with Kass pointing out “In these past weeks, so much of the focus has been on what has been taken away or lost. Right now feels like a moment to come together around that, we’re not seeing this as a consolation, but rather a new way of celebrating creativity.”
Next up, Fashion Students Produce And Donate Masks For Coronavirus
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