The Savannah College of Art and Design is known to deliver some top-shelf talent for its SCADstyle event and this year is no exception.
Kicking off March 31 and running through April 3, the design-focused event will feature some marquee names at the school’s locations in Savannah and Atlanta. Fashion and style won’t be the only subjects that will be analyzed and celebrated at the annual gathering. Attendees will also get an earful from leading forces in the fashion industry about entrepreneurship through master classes and panel discussions.
In keeping with SCAD’s interdisciplinary curriculum and environment, there will be deep dives into not just fashion and beauty but also architecture, game design and other areas. Many will be on hand to learn from this year’s SCAD Étoile Award honorees, including Lanvin’s artistic director Peter Copping and the self-made American designer and entrepreneur Tory Burch. Copping will receive the SCAD Étoile Award on April 2 in Savannah, before sitting down with fashion journalist Cathy Horyn for a Q&A. Copping will discuss the European fashion house’s past and present, and the timing of their chat is prime. SCAD Fash will unveil “Jeanne Lanvin: Haute Couture,” the first U.S. exhibition dedicated to the famed designer, on April 3.
In a statement, Copping described the SCAD honor as “a testament to the many creative talents with whom I have collaborated throughout my career. That it coincides with the opening of the Lanvin exhibition at SCAD makes it even more special.”
Peter Copping
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And Burch, executive chairman and chief creative officer of Tory Burch LLC, will be saluted with the SCAD Étoile award on April 3 in Atlanta. Afterward, she will sit down with another design authority, Stefano Tonchi, to discuss her style and ethos. In advance of visiting the campus and meeting the students, the designer said in a statement, “SCAD is an extraordinary institution that is shaping the future of every creative industry, from fashion to film and architecture.”
This year’s program in Savannah will feature a new series called “Next In,” with Refinery29 editors speaking with creatives in fashion, beauty, design, tech, entertainment and culture about their insights, strategies and the changing landscape. Attendees will hear from the designer Willy Chavarria and the sustainability pioneer Eileen Fisher in separate talks in Savannah. Gamers will be eager to hear from Jiyoon Yoon, the lead UI designer behind inZoi, the life simulation game where players step into the role of creators on April 1 in Savannah. UI designers are tech professionals who design the graphic user interface of an app, site, device or video game.
There will also be a live recording of the beauty podcast, Gloss Angeles, about makeup, skin care and wellness with hosts Kirbie Johnson and Sara Tan. The beauty journalists will be joined by Violette Serrat, chief executive officer of Violette_Fr.
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This year’s lineup for SCADstyle Savannah will also include an April 2 Dezeen design talk with the designer, urbanist and Limbo Accra cofounder Dominique Petit-Frère and Dezeen’s U.S. editor Ben Dreith about how Petit-Frère’s practice builds durable institutions that are meant to raise social awareness and connection through design. Their talk is being billed as “Driving social change through material practice with Dezeen.” That afternoon Fisher will delve into the peaks and valleys of building a responsible fashion business.
And on April 2 in Atlanta, the British Ghanian photographer Campbell Addy will talk about the “Stillness of Elegance.” The following day, attendees at the Atlanta installment can glean information about using AI for design, retail, marketing, manufacturing and the consumer experience from executives from Puma, Nordstrom and Tiffany & Co.
At SCADstyle Savannah, there will also be a Paul Egee Waterworks lecture, with the interior designer and Soan Britain founder Lulu Lytle discussing upholding craft traditions in modern decor manufacturing on April 1.
