By someone who’s definitely not still drying off from that rainstorm
May 11, 2025
Ah yes, the Future of Fashion. A phrase so grand, so visionary, so aggressively forward-looking that it almost dares you to imagine the next Alexander McQueen teleporting onto the runway in a biodegradable VR onesie. But if you happened to attend this year’s “Future of Fashion” showcase at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), the answer to what’s next was a bit… déjà vu.
Held outdoors on FIT’s Manhattan campus in what we’ll call subtly sobbing skies, the 2025 edition of this capstone extravaganza served up 81 looks that boldly asked: “What if the future just... stayed exactly where we are?” From corsetry to leather, upcycling to diva tailoring, this “Future” was basically the present in high-definition, seasoned lightly with academic fervor and an eco-conscious Pinterest board.
But don’t let the meteorological melancholy or thematic recursion fool you—there was no shortage of pomp, pageantry, and precision-stitched passion. And let’s not forget the bittersweet undertones, as this year also marked the swan song of FIT President Dr. Joyce F. Brown, who’s been running the show since 1998. That’s 27 years—enough time to witness Y2K, Juicy Couture, and whatever that era was when Kanye wore shutter shades like a prophet.
So buckle up, dear reader. Let’s take a dripping, strutting, wonderfully dramatic walk through the fashion-forward, backward-glancing, straw-threading spectacle that was FIT’s 2025 Future of Fashion show.
Rain, Resilience, and Runway Dreams
Let’s talk about the obvious first: the weather. In a cinematic twist only the fashion gods could deliver, the skies opened just in time to christen the runway with that authentic “you’re earning this moment” energy. Models soldiered on, heels clacking defiantly against slick pavement while umbrellas bloomed like overdramatic tulips across the audience. FIT students may have trained for years in the classroom, but no textbook prepares you for modeling a sheer organza gown in 48-degree drizzle.
But if there’s one thing more persistent than global warming, it’s an FIT student’s determination to prove they’re not just dabbling in fashion—they’re dragging it into the future whether it likes it or not.
A Look Backward While Looking “Forward”
Here’s the plot twist: while the event promised glimpses into the future, it mostly delivered runway déjà vu with a side of student ingenuity. Trends like upcycling (still hot!), transparency (in clothing, not admissions), diva tailoring, and corsetry reigned supreme—because if it’s good enough for Doja Cat’s stylist, it’s good enough for academia.
You’d be forgiven for thinking you stumbled into a sample sale from Paris Fashion Week, Spring 2024. Artisanal textures? Check. Leather and lace? Yes, please. Hyper-tailored jackets that say “I’m entering a boardroom on Mars”? Absolutely.
It’s as if the students peeked into the trend forecast, grabbed every buzzword, added some emotional trauma, and stitched it all together with raw talent and 3 a.m. sewing binges.
Enter the Judges: High Stakes and Higher Hems
Before these looks could bless the runway, they had to survive FIT’s version of Project Runway Hunger Games. Judging panels included The New York Times’ fashion director Vanessa Friedman (who sees through everything, literally and figuratively), designer Phillip Lim (who could cut a silhouette with a glance), and Dr. Valerie Steele, the human encyclopedia of fashion history and FIT Museum’s chief curator.
Think your final thesis defense is hard? Imagine defending your pink ruched dress made from recycled tote bags in front of the Fashion Avengers.
Winners That Wove the Personal Into the Professional
Let’s pour a glass of fair-trade champagne for Allison Margaret Smith, who snagged the Empowered Design Award—essentially the “We See You, Earth Mama” prize. Smith wove a balsa wood jacket and twill pants inspired by land artists Agnes Denes and Ann Hamilton, who used nature like some people use espresso machines: frequently, reverently, and with a hint of existential dread.
Describing her piece as “a labor of love,” Smith added that she knotted each straw thread by hand. Somewhere, a fast fashion executive just broke into a cold sweat.
And then there’s Khoboso Nale, winner of the Capsule Collection Award, who gave us a prim pink cardigan and baby blue ruched dress that looked like Clueless met Bridgerton at a resale shop. The prize? Her design will be manufactured by Macy’s (yes, they still exist!) and sold under the Bar III label in actual stores, which is the kind of real-world payoff most student designers dream about while sobbing into a bobbin.
“There is nothing more fulfilling as a designer than this,” Nale said, radiating the sort of joy you only feel when your art gets monetized ethically. Honestly? Mood.
Macy’s: Corporate Sponsor or Fairy Godmother?
Macy’s, bless their recession-defying soul, returned for their fourth year as lead sponsor of the event, handing out money and mentorship like glitter at a pride parade. Through its “Mission Every One” platform—a name that sounds like a charity and a battle cry—Macy’s has distributed $2.3 million since 2022 to support emerging design talent.
It’s both capitalism and community, wrapped up in one slightly nostalgic, always-on-sale bow.
The retailer awarded two prizes at the showcase, including the aforementioned awards won by Smith and Nale. Honestly, good on Macy’s. For a company whose flagship store is basically a pilgrimage site for tourists and moms who just want a damn Clinique bonus gift, they’ve proven surprisingly adept at staying relevant—at least to the next generation of dreamers armed with needles and ambitions.
Joyce F. Brown’s Swan Song
Let’s not overlook the regal presence of Dr. Joyce F. Brown, FIT’s outgoing president. Appointed in 1998, she was not only the first woman but also the first African American to helm the institution. As she prepares to step down, one couldn’t help but feel the bittersweet tension in the air—like someone just told the campus it was losing its matriarch.
In her opening remarks, Brown nailed the assignment: “It’s a chance for our young designers to give us the tangible representation of all that they have learned…” Translation: It’s time to show us what your tuition dollars and endless critiques bought you.
We’ll miss her voice, her vision, and the way she managed to make a deeply academic setting feel like a launchpad instead of a pressure cooker.
Trends That Refuse To Die (And Maybe Shouldn't)
Some notable moments:
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Corsetry is back, again, for the 17th time since 1600. At this point, it’s basically the fashion equivalent of Mariah Carey—eternally revived, endlessly reinterpreted, and still slaying.
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Transparencies continue to dominate. Sheer is clearly the fabric of our truth-telling era—because nothing screams vulnerability like visible nipple pasties.
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Upcycling and sustainability are no longer fringe—they’re central. Good, because the Earth is tired and your old jeans are ready to be reincarnated.
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Artisanal textures made the scene, reminding us that fabric doesn’t have to be flat. Crunchy, lumpy, and knotted is the new smooth.
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Tailoring fit for divas suggests that power dressing never dies, it just gets more theatrical.
Honestly, the only thing more persistent than these trends is student debt.
Fashion Is a Cycle (Literally)
So, was this “Future of Fashion” really about the future? Well, that depends on your definition. If your future includes meticulously crafted nostalgia, wearable art projects, and corporate partnerships with the scent of lavender-scented capital, then yes—absolutely.
But let’s be clear: this was less about time travel and more about time collapse. The past is in, the present is now, and the future… might just be made of balsa wood and baby blue jersey.
And that’s not a bad thing.
Because in an industry obsessed with the new, what these students gave us was something better: thoughtful, personal, wearable expressions of identity. They weren’t trying to predict fashion’s future. They were its future.
And they looked damn good doing it—even in the rain.
Final Thoughts:
FIT’s 2025 Future of Fashion Showcase might not have reinvented the wheel, but it polished the heck out of the rims. These students aren’t just mimicking trends—they’re making them personal. Their work is equal parts skill and statement, craft and commentary.
And if the future looks like this? Stylish, sustainable, and stitched with intention?
Well, maybe we don’t need to rush into flying pants just yet.
