SCAD honors Dern with Lifetime Achievement Award

By Melissa Wheeler
Published: Nov. 3, 2006
Link: http://www.scad.edu/filmfest/fest06/highlights.cfm

A day of panel discussions and special screenings climaxed when award-winning actor Bruce Dern received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Acting at a packed Trustees Theater yesterday.

Amidst a standing ovation, Dern accepted the award, sharing advice and encouragement with students and film-lovers. “These kinds of festivals thrill us,” Dern said, congratulating the Savannah Film Festival on movies shown throughout the week. “Keep at it — don’t go for the mechanical movies.” Dern has been recognized as one of the most talented, versatile and prolific actors of his generation through decades of award-winning performances. He has worked with John Wayne, Bette Davis and Paul Newman, who he said encouraged him “to constantly push the envelope.” Among his many acting accolades are Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for “Coming Home” (1978). Dern has portrayed more than 100 television and movie characters and has earned a recurring role on HBO’s new series “Big Love.” He has performed leading roles in numerous films, including “The Great Gatsby” (1974) and “Smile” (1975), which screened prior to the award presentation in the Trustees Theater. When asked why he often chooses to portray crazy people, Dern said he has always been interested in playing people who live “just beyond where the buses run.” He also encouraged screenwriters to continue finding stories.

“All of us are nothing without screenwriters. We’ve got to encourage the people out there to write it all on paper,”Dern said. “Not one of you isn’t unique — you can make a difference and be part of the next wave of great filmmakers.”

Following the award presentation, the audience enjoyed a special screening of “Little Children,” starring Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson and Jennifer Connolly.

International designers to mentor SCAD fashion students in Style Lab

Photo and published article found here.

Article By: Amanda Tower and Melissa Wheeler
Published: October 30, 2008 in The Chronicle, a Savannah College of Art and Design Publication

International fashion luminaries Yigal Azrouël and Lars Nilsson join the Savannah College of Art and Design Style Lab this fall to mentor top student designers in the fashion department.

"The Style Lab is more than a mentorship; we're building a global design experience," said Anthony Miller, chair of the fashion department at SCAD. "Lars is a Paris-based, Swedish designer and Yigal is a New York-based, Israeli designer. They bring their international perspective to the Style Lab, a place of creative experimentation between top student talent and established professionals."

Miller conceived Style Lab to provide senior students with an elected mentorship program annually to guide their senior collections. Students are given access to one-on-one critiques, guidance on everything from design concept to fabric selection and finishing, and studio visits to the designer's workspace in an off-campus trip. The mentors will meet with students for the first time Nov. 13.

"It's ever more important for students to be exposed to as many outside influences as possible," Nilsson said. "SCAD's Style Lab is encouraging this, and I intend to show that knowledge of the modern market and traditional technique aren't mutually exclusive."

Both Nilsson and Azrouël are recognized internationally for their designs. In 1998, Azrouël launched his first collection in New York, and the following year began his participation with 7th on 6th/NY Fashion Week. In 2000, Azrouël opened a full service showroom and production facility, and opened his first freestanding boutique specializing in menswear and women's wear in Manhattan's Meatpacking District in 2003. His boutique was among the first of the neighborhood's retail ventures. The aesthetic and architecture of his boutique have been featured in many publications, and his boutique has been the location for two of his spring fashion shows. Azrouël is a 2004 inductee of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. After his first international showing in 2004, Azrouël's collection was picked up by Milan's Studio Zeta for wholesale international distribution.

Nilsson has worked in fashion since leaving his native Sweden at age 18, most recently as creative director for Gianfranco Ferré in Milan from 2007-08 and at Nina Ricci in Paris from 2003-06. A graduate of the Virginska Skolan in Sweden and of the Paris Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, Nilsson interned in the tailoring atelier at Chanel Haute Couture before going on to Christian Lacroix. He remained there for nine years, becoming senior haute couture designer and working with Lacroix on numerous books and theatrical productions. From 1997-99 he worked with John Galliano at Dior as coordinator of both the haute couture studio and the fur collections, before moving to New York where he was design director for the Polo Ralph Lauren women's wear collection. He is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and was at the helm of the Bill Blass Collection from 2000-03 as creative director.

"I am excited to have the opportunity to work with design students at SCAD and be a part of this prestigious program," said Azrouël. "As a self-taught designer, I believe my approach to design will give these talented students a different perspective and it will be interesting to see how they translate my vision."

Last year's mentors for SCAD Style Lab were Ruffian designers Claude Morais and Brian Wolk. Student designs, which were showcased as the finale of the 2008 SCAD Fashion Show, channeled the Ruffian look. Likewise, this year students working with Azrouël and Nilsson will design in a direction specified by the mentors. Students working with Azrouël will create collections inspired by the "Vase of Phases" by Dror Benshetrit.

Style Lab will take place through spring quarter 2009, when the mentorship will culminate in several designs being featured in the annual SCAD Fashion Show. Each year at the show a designer is honored with the André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award. Past recipients include Oscar de la Renta, Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia Prada, Tom Ford, Vera Wang and John Galliano.