The Savannah College of Art and Design will honor venerable fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg at the university’s annual fashion show Saturday, May 15, 8 p.m. at Trustees Theater, 216 E. Broughton St. SCAD President Paula Wallace and Vogue Contributing Editor André Leon Talley will present von Furstenberg with Talley’s namesake Lifetime Achievement Award.

In May 2000, the university honored Talley with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was renamed to include Talley’s name and has been presented successively to fashion legends Oscar de la Renta, Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia Prada, Tom Ford, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs, John Galliano, and most recently Isabel and Ruben Toledo. In 2004, Zac Posen was honored with the André Leon Talley New Look Award. Talley is a member of the SCAD Board of Trustees.

Hailing from Brussels, Belgium, von Furstenberg first arrived in the fashion world in 1972 with her iconic wrap dress, the seed of what is today a full fashion house. By 1976, von Furstenberg had sold millions of her dresses, coming to symbolize female power and freedom to an entire generation. In 1997, after a hiatus from fashion, she reemerged on the New York fashion scene with the re-launch of the dress that started it all and began transforming her company into the global luxury lifestyle brand it is today. The impact of this garment to women and the fashion industry is so profound that it is now part of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian.
In 2004, she was presented with an Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from SCAD. In 2005, von Furstenberg was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) for her impact on fashion, and one year later, was elected president of the CFDA, an office she continues to hold today.

Headquartered in New York City, there are currently 33 freestanding DVF boutiques worldwide and DVF collections are also sold in select retail specialty stores in more than 71 countries. As a longtime resident of New York’s Meatpacking District, von Furstenberg is a vocal member of the local community. She opens up her studio on a regular basis to host cultural events and is actively involved in the campaign to save and redevelop the historical High Line railway. A firm believer in the power of women, she sits on the board of Vital Voices, a women’s leadership organization that empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the world.

110 undergraduate and graduate students are currently vying for one of 30 prestigious slots in the SCAD Fashion Show, which has become one of the top student fashion shows in the country. Selected by a jury process, the students’ work is critiqued every step of the way, from sketches to garments, by some of the top professionals in the fashion industry.

SCAD has the largest and most comprehensive School of Fashion in the world, and offers more degree programs and specializations in fashion and accessory design than any other art and design university. Encompassing fashion design, accessory design, fashion marketing and management, luxury and fashion management, and menswear, the SCAD School of Fashion prepares students for the practical and professional needs required in today’s global fashion industry through innovative design combined with state-of-the art technology, anchored in creative thinking.

Complementing classroom instruction, the SCAD Style Lab mentorship program in the School of Fashion affords students a realistic glimpse of working industry standards, offering direction and inspiration for a select group of students’ senior collections through one-on-one critiques and guidance from concept through production. Mentors have included Brian Wolk and Claude Morais of Ruffian, Yigal Azrouël, Lars Nilsson, Zac Posen, Catherine Malandrino, Bryan Bradley and Angel Sanchez.

Tickets for the 2010 SCAD Fashion Show will be available beginning April 30 for the SCAD community and May 3 for the general public at the SCAD box office, 216 E. Broughton St., online at www.scadboxoffice.com or can charged by phone at 912.525.5050. A matinee at 4 p.m. will precede the 8 p.m. gala featuring von Furstenberg. Matinee tickets are $20 each or $10 with a SCAD ID. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $50 each or $25 with a SCAD ID. All tickets are limited to two per person for both shows.