Hong Kong Fur Federation

Parsons The New School for Design was honored to be invited once again
by the Hong Kong Fur Federation to attend the Trade Show and Gala this
year. This partnership is unique for us in that it provides two students
with a rare opportunity to work directly with factories to see their
designs come to life and engage in a real world industry experience.
This year’s sponsored students were Frank Nathan Lazcano and Raeana
Roberson. Many thanks to Ace and Frankie Fur for transforming their
creative ideas into reality. Both students look forward to continuing
these relationships throughout their careers in the Fashion Industry
both in New York and Asia.

Many of the past recipients of HKFF sponsorship have gone on to become
some of the brightest up and coming talent in New York Fashion scene.
Emily Burnett (a 2007 winner) is head designer at Dennis Basso, Michele
Ochs (a 2007 winner) formed her own label with fellow classmate Carly
Cushnie entitled “Cushnie et Ochs” and they garner press each season.
Bessie Afnaim, one of last year’s winners has been selected by Donna
Karan to head up her Urban Zen collection – a huge honor.

This accomplished list of Parsons’ alumni join our already prestigious
list that forms a whos who of New York Fashion. Our partnership with the
Federation is appropriate given the level of craftsmanship many of the
furriers showcase each year. We were especially glad to be able to join
the Federation’s 30th anniversary celebration – the Gala this year was
spectacular and the furs on display the strongest yet to date.

We visited several of the house shows and were impressed by everything
we saw. There were several standouts, the first being Ace Fur where
innovation and creativity reign supreme. Ace’s strengths lie in their
use of knit techniques and successful mixing of fabrics with fur in new
and stylish silhouettes. The designs are fresh and exciting while not
being overdone and judging by the constant packed booth (even on the
last day!) sales were strong. Other notables were The Hong Kong Fur
Factory, whose quality and classic styling were evident. The creative
pieces offered rounded out the collection offering the more fashion
forward customer plenty of choices. Ocean Fur had wonderful variety of
classic furs along with innovative use of prints to create new looks
along with twists on the classic silhouettes. Again the quality was
evident here as it was across the board.