What do you get when you take a bunch of art students who can design collections without the nagging question of "will this sell in a store?" What you get is one hell of a show with oodles of creativity.

The Academy of Art University showed off nine collections at Bryant Park on Saturday afternoon for Fashion Week. This was their fourth time showing at the tents. The University President states that "[it is an] opportunity as a part of our commitment to launch the careers of our graduates."

Man, I wish my Universities fashion department had done that for me. Of course once I watched the show I realized that this opportunity wasn't just handed over on silver platter to these students, they worked for it, as their collections were amazing.



The students showing collections included:

Sherise Eways and Melissa Christensen: Who sent a women's wear collection down the catwalk that was based on the metamorphosis of a women into a bird, butterfly or flower.

Marie Potesta: Marie designed my favorite collection of the bunch. She used bold stripes, geometric shapes and was influenced by origami. This collection blew me away, I wore wear every piece of it.

BoKyung Cha: This collection has massive bows, hot pink, and light gray -- so naturally I loved it. Accessories like fingertip gloves wear added for that extra something special.

Felice Morganti: Felice's collection provided the most gasps with her dreadlock pieces, she used organic wools to create the effect. Her shocking pieces of knitwear were paired with amazing sculpted leather that looked like beautiful honeycombs.

Jee Hyoung: Showcased a women's wear collection with architectual influences and quilted textiles.

Young Jun Ryu: Used M.C. Escher's artwork, geometric shapes, and even cartoon influences (Marvin the Martian) as influences.

Juhee Chung: Designed a collection that was knitted to look like metal work and also worked in a variety of textures using braiding.

Soo Jung Sung and Ivanka Georgiev: Pilot uniforms and Asian influences worked themselves into this creative collection but I think the most creative part was the use of paper. The duo bonded newsprint and brown paper for the base fabric.

Shady N.R. Elias: This menswear designer found influence in a strange place for his collection ... the song Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down). The silhouette was meant to represent the weight of the world on his shoulders.