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Meet Fashion's Next Big Powerhouses at Parsons' MFA Graduate Show

If you’re looking for the next big designer, look no further than Parsons School of Design’s MFA Graduate show. Shown at MILK Studios, it’s a test tube for what’s next in the world of fashion. Last week saw editors, designers, and supporters alike (Donna Karan and Fern Mallis to name a few) pack the rows to view what could be considered New York Fashion Week’s most exciting telescope into the future. We chat with three of the showing graduates about the challenges of crafting their collections, their futures, and more.
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If you’re looking for the next big designer, look no further than

Anna Mercedes Stephenson Originally from: United Kingdom Bachelor’s Degree: Edinburgh College of Art, UK Collection in one word: "Beautiful." Biggest challenge: "I came straight out of my Bachelor’s program so I wanted to make sure I wasn’t repeating anything I did there. Also, challenging and surprising myself, in itself, were big challenges. If I’m satisfied too quickly, I get annoyed with myself." Favorite material to use: "Cotton because you can do anything with it. I like to watch what materials do by themselves and that’s why for this collection I photographed it, printed it, and photographed it again. You can see I had a relationship with the fabric." Future plans: "Eventually I’d like to do my own thing, but I’m young and the thing I love about fashion is that you’ll never know where it’s going to go. I’m happy to say I don’t know--I love the mystery of it."

Hannah Jenkinson Originally from: United Kingdom Bachelor’s Degree: Brighton College, UK Collection in one word: "Sportcraft." Biggest challenge: "The techniques I used were tough because they were so time-consuming. One of the sweaters took me eight days doing nothing else." Favorite material to use: "Since I’m a knitwear designer, I’d have to say silk yarn is my favorite." Future plans: "I’d love to set up my own brand, but I’d be perfectly happy working for a small designer in New York or Paris."

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