GEN 13: Parsons’ MFA Class of 2024

September 21, 2024

In a former historic industrial site by Washington Square Park, guests gathered for Parsons’ 2024 showcase. Launched in 2010, the school’s MFA program gives eleven designers the chance to debut their collections at New York Fashion Week. This year’s runway was set beneath a concrete atrium's skylight, with attendees wearing eclectic pieces ranging from suits printed over with text to pink, pointed Prada shoes, capturing the innovative spirit characteristic of these student showcases.

A few hours before a beat filled the space, office had the opportunity to go backstage, observing as garments were fitted and refitted. Nervous murmurs and critiques from tutors blended with the excitement as the models lined up for a run-through, each look they wore a deeply personal narrative.

Just ahead of the show, the designers took a moment to speak with me, frequently shooting sideways glances at their pieces to ensure everything was in place. Every second was precious. Take a peek at the designers’ collections below.

By Julia Silverberg
Backstage photography by Taryn Segal, Processing and Development by Gelatin Labs
Runway photography by Madison Voelkel

Margarida Feijão

Margarida Feijão’s collection is part of a continuous body of work within her creative practice. Drawing from her experiences growing up in a small town in southern Portugal, Feijão witnessed the oppression faced by the women who raised her. This inspired her to tell their stories—stories of her own past, traumas, and the enduring effects of patriarchy, which continues to impose new sets of rules on each generation. While the challenges she faces differ from those of her ancestors, new obstacles still arise.

Feijão, who was taught to meet certain societal expectations to be recognized as a woman, struggled with being born without hair. This personal experience is reflected in her designs, which mimic the textures of hair. The designer’s goal is to empower women. As she put it, “If you feel self-conscious about it, you wear this piece, and you’ll feel fucking amazing.”

Ziqi Zen

Since childhood, Ziqi Zen has had an obsession with dolls and flowers. Named Symbiosis within my mental sanctuary, her final collection reflects the delicate figurines that populated her youth. She didn’t just want to incorporate their physical aspects into her designs, but also capture the time she spent with them. With a collection of over a hundred dolls and countless accessories, these objects have become a recurring visual motif in her life. They offer her an escape from reality, a retreat from the pressures of daily life.

The collection transforms its wearer into a symbiotic creature, with tights printed to mimic the appearance of ball-jointed dolls. Dainty patterns and prints are sculpted into structured dresses adorned with florals, embodying the fragile beauty of the designer's personal form of escapism.

K. S. Tehara

Still working on a label name, K.S. Tehara wants to have a discussion about culture built upon survival. His MA collection, titled All these arid places, bridges his Indian and queer identities, finding a shared resilience in how both communities flourish in seemingly barren settings. Aesthetically, the collection draws inspiration from William S. Burroughs’ The Wild Boys, offering a playful take on gay strength through the likeness of Tehara’s own fragility.

The garments are crafted from upcycled sarees and t-shirts, with secondhand materials incorporated alongside 3D-printed wood accessories—pieces the designer says his boyfriend “hates him” for constantly helping him make. Each look comes in larger sizes and can be cinched or shriveled, allowing for augmentation based on the wearer’s body. Tehara also provides a pattern system for his single-material garments, encouraging them to be reproduced at-home, inviting modernity into traditional craft.

Patrick Taylor

Patrick Taylor channels the intensity and resilience of childhood sports. His collection blends the free-spirited playfulness of youth with the toughness that competition instills. The pieces explore how sports not only build community, but also shape individuals. Many of the silhouettes intentionally distort or contrast with the body, symbolizing the way growing up can "force you into a position." Some garments even reference specific stances from competitive skiing.

Drawing on memories of summers spent sailing along the English coast, Taylor reflects on family holidays, racing on the water. His goal was to create an all-knitwear collection, even developing a custom fabric that mimics neoprene, a material often worn by skiers, to give the garments their unique structure.

Mohan Li

Forget About Everything I Told You is the MA collection of menswear designer Mohan Lee. The inspiration for the garments began with a letter from her high school teacher in China, who gave each student a note upon graduation encouraging them to abandon the knowledge they’d been taught and instead absorb the world with fresh eyes. This message deeply resonated with Lee, prompting her to question the value of everything she'd learned and the necessity of knowledge as it is traditionally received.

Lee’s focus is on creating structured designs, and she uses her pieces to demonstrate her skills in pattern making. Her collection consists of five looks, most of which are inspired by school uniforms. To emphasize invariability, she uses a consistent color palette of rich reds and blues. All of the garments are highly wearable, which is the designer’s way of rebelling against the industry's tendency to favor designs that are impractical or unwearable.

Take a look backstage below.

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Total Recall

Born in the Moroccan town of Tétouan and educated in Paris, Khattabi’s upbringing required him to make sense of how the different influences surrounding him could align. In turn, his designs explore the embedded codes and history of his bicultural background. Total Recall addresses this phenomon by including garments meant to reflect adaptation and transformation. Skirts made of tire covers and motorcyle tarpaulins refashioned into dresses are scattered across the collection, conveying notions of displacement. Blending these elements adds an industrial touch to the pieces while still keeping a sense of movement.

From sweatpants infused with polka dots to nostaglic slogans and banner display, the ensembles symbolize hidden identities and memories. Giving us a glimpse into his own memories, Khattabi's work evokes affection for the past. It's a nod to the interconnectedness of culture and how we interact with its complexitites creatively. View the collection below.