A look from Runtan Desmond Du.
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On Tuesday, the Fashion Institute of Technology presented Act 5, the 2025 Fashion Designer Master of Fine Arts graduate runway show to a packed house at FIT‘s Art & Design Gallery in New York.
Eighteen up-and-coming designers presented five looks from their design thesis collection highlighting certain themes. “They’re each designing thesis collections based on their own research. Some researched about their family, some about space. Some were kind of futuristic, and one was about motherhood,” said Cathleen Sheehan, chairperson and professor, Fashion Design MFA Program, FIT.
“The show represents the finale of their FIT journey as they launch their careers and join the ranks of our award-winning alumni. We look forward to see what they do next,” she added.
FIT’s Fashion Design MFA is the newest of seven programs in FIT’s School of Graduate Studies. In the two-year program, which launched in 2019, students conduct rigorous research that culminates in the creation of eight-look collections, thesis papers and presentations, videos, look books, brand business plans, and portfolios.
“The 18 talented designers in our 2025 MFA Fashion Show prove that they are ones to watch in the world of global fashion,” said Dr. Joyce F. Brown, president of FIT. “Launching their inaugural collections as part of New York’s celebrated Fashion Week is a remarkable opportunity to showcase their talents before the biggest names in the business — and we are proud, for the second time, to be hosting the runway show right here on the FIT campus.”
The designers who showed were Yawen Chen, Runtan Desmond Du, Evelina Epp, Mai Nou Her, Ethan Horing, Layla Dian Jim, Luna Eunsol Kang, Mina Khademi, Genevieve Zhuoran Li, Jinling Li, Matilda Tongying Liang, Peng Han Beckham Lin, Lawson Park, Armrutha Ramkumar, Jackie Schmidt, Sanyan Sharma, Kiki Wanjing Zuo, and Peichen Zhou.
A look from Peichen Zhou.
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The show featured innovative looks emphasizing detailing, textures, nature, upcycled materials, futurism, utilitarian edge, vintage charm, color and craftsmanship. Some looks were fantasy and futuristic, while others were highly wearable.
Park, for example, told WWD, “I was inspired by Portuguese tiles.” She said she grew up in a colorful home and was raised in Charlotte, N.C., by artist parents and developed a lifelong love of color and craftsmanship. Her collection reflected heirlooms of craft and culture, and she wove influences from her Southern upbringing blending Portuguese motifs with American South techniques such as quilting and smocking.
At the same time that she enrolled in the MFA program, she founded her own line, Brooks Avenue, a line of women’s clothing and sleepwear. She combines painterly prints from sun-drenched florals to whimsical motifs in a vintage-meets-modern collection. She said she sells 350 boutiques in the Southeast and has a website.
“The program pushed me to think outside the box. I tend to think commercially. It taught me how to think creatively,” said Park, who won the Entrepreneurial Award at FIT.
Matilda Tongying Liang dedicated her collection to her mother, who inspires her, said Liang. She said her collection honors not only motherhood, but also the maternal strength found in nature, femininity and the act of creation.
A look reflecting “motherhood” from Matilda Tongying Liang.
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As for the program, she said, “I enjoyed it immensely.”
Peng Han Beckham Lim said that in his collection he tried to show the feeling of passing down bedtime stories. His collection explored the intersection of bedtime narratives, memory and that transitional state between wakefulness and sleep, translating stories into wearable forms that reflect the blurred lines between reality and dreams, tradition and innovation, and past and future.
A look from Peng Han Beckham Lin.
Getty Images for FIT
Fern Mallis, the fashion consultant, said about the show, “It looked beautiful. I think there was a lot of creativity and a lot of ideas. If this was a runway in Paris, they would be raving about it. What they did with the textiles and technology is amazing. The show gets better every year.”
A look from Layla Dian Jin on the runway.
Getty Images for FIT
Robins Burns-McNeill, chair of the FIT board of trustees, said, “I am always inspired by the innovation that sets the standard for the future.” She said that one may not be walking down Fifth Avenue in some of these looks, but she admires the quality, uniqueness, vision and talent of the students, and the show is always a highlight of the year.