Pratt Institute will honor Francisco Costa, the Women’s Creative Director of Calvin Klein Collection, with this year’s Pratt Fashion Visionary Award at its Pratt Institute Fashion Show + Cocktail Benefit on May 7, 2015.
Actress Rose Byrne, who most recently completed a run on Broadway in “You Can’t Take it With You” and will next be seen this summer’s comedy film “Spy,” will present the award to Mr. Costa.
“We are thrilled to honor Francisco Costa with the 2015 Pratt Fashion Visionary Award. He is one of the greatest leaders in fashion today, and has been for decades with his exquisite tailoring and minimal, modern silhouettes,” said Jennifer Minniti, Fashion Department Chair at Pratt Institute. “The house of Calvin Klein has been a key force in American fashion from its beginning, and Francisco’s tenure at the company continues its tradition of innovation,” she added.
“I am both honored and flattered by this recognition,” Mr. Costa said. “Creative institutions like Pratt are where the exciting fashion work of tomorrow is happening today. Pratt is shaping future visionaries, and if my love of the industry or my career can be an inspiration to a young designer there, or anywhere in the world, that would mean so much.”
Past Pratt Institute Fashion honorees have included Stephen Burrows and Byron Lars (2014), Thom Browne (2013), Fern Mallis (2012), Hamish Bowles (2011), Catherine Malandrino (2010), Ralph Rucci (2009), Carmen Marc Valvo (2008), Narciso Rodriguez (2007), and Diane von Furstenberg (2006). One of the most prestigious colleges for art, design, and architecture in the world, Pratt is home to the first fashion program in the United States.
Pratt’s 116th runway show, titled Laboratory, will kick off with an award presentation, and spotlight inventive student fashion designs from graduating seniors at Center548 in New York City. An exclusive, ticketed cocktail benefit will take place after the show, with Mr. Costa and Ms. Byrne in attendance, at Dream Meatpacking District. Proceeds from both events will benefit Pratt scholarship funds and Department of Fashion.
Pratt, a renowned New York City-based college that educates creative thinkers from around the world, will recognize Mr. Costa for his more than two decades of design excellence in the fashion industry. He joined Calvin Klein, Inc. in 2002 working closely with Mr. Klein and was promoted to Women’s Creative Director of Calvin Klein Collection, before debuting his first collection in 2004.
Prior to this role, his work for other top design houses includes five years with Oscar de la Renta and a subsequent four years with Tom Ford in Gucci’s design studio. Mr. Costa has received critical acclaim and wide recognition for his stunning designs, and was honored with the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Womenswear Designer of the Year awards in 2006 and again in 2008.
Each year, the Pratt Fashion Show features exemplary work by a select group of graduating Fashion Department seniors, as determined by a panel of industry experts. Under the leadership of Ms. Minniti, who joined Pratt in 2011, students are challenged to rethink the boundaries of fashion through a trans-disciplinary education that emphasizes inventive ideas and techniques. The title of this year’s show, Laboratory, embodies student experimentation with unconventional draping, cutting, and construction techniques.
Founded in 1887, Pratt Institute is a global leader in higher education dedicated to preparing its 4,700 undergraduate and graduate students for successful careers in art, design, architecture, information and library science, and liberal arts and sciences. Located in a cultural hub with historic campuses in Brooklyn and Manhattan, Pratt is a living lab of craft and creativity with an esteemed faculty of accomplished professionals and scholars who challenge their talented students to transform their passion into meaningful expression.
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