Brown University Fashion Week includes Stella McCartney, Olivier Rousteing, and more

Brown University will host a virtual Fashion Week with guests including Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stella McCartney, Kenneth Cole, Steve Madden, and Olivier Rousteing.

The 22-day program is free and open to students and fashion lovers around the world.

Distinguished speakers include Isabell Guichot, CEO of Parisian fashion house Maje and former CEO of Cartier and Balenciaga, speaking with Patrice Louvet, CEO of Ralph Lauren.

Francesca Bellettini, the president and CEO of Yves Saint Laurent, will share how she rose through the fashion ranks by working at prominent luxury houses including Prada, Gucci, Helmut Lang, and Bottega Veneta.

Olivier Rousteing, creative director of Balmain, will share what he envisions for fashion in a digital generation.

Stella McCartney will focus on how to run and manage sustainable, ethically minded businesses.

Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow will dive into digital media’s lifestyle and wellness sector and how she manages a thriving e-commerce business.

In addition to the speaker series, Brown Fashion Week will host panel discussions with award-winning costume designers that are shaping fashion in film.

Participants will hear from Chioma Nnadi, editor of Vogue, and Samantha Barry, editor-in-chief of Glamour, as they discuss the future of fashion journalism.

Supermodels Jasmine Tookes, Cindy Bruna, Jasmine Sanders, and Tami Williams will reflect on representation in the industry and how they feel empowered and inspired to create social change.

Lisa Cortés, Academy Award-nominated director, writer, and producer, will screen and discuss her latest film ‘The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion.’

To finish the Brown Fashion Week 2021, students will present the 11th annual runway show. Collections from 26 student designers from both Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design will be shown virtually, along with a print lookbook and campaign film.

“We were astonished and humbled by the positive response we received to our invitations to speak at Brown Fashion Week this year,” stated Sasha Pinto, president of the fashion student organization in a press release.

“We wanted to make Brown Fashion Week bigger than ever to spread some much-needed inspiration to students given the extreme isolation everyone has been experiencing — and the fashion industry responded in overwhelming numbers. It is a tribute not only to the kindness and generosity of the individual speakers but to the industry in general.”

photo: Brown Fashion Week 21