Is the cat finally out of the bag? Parsons School of Design’s MFA in Fashion Design and Society drew a noticeably larger audience this season — and for good reason. The room brimmed with new talent, energy, and vision.

Under the creative direction of Liliana Sanguino and Tuomas Laitinen, and program director Lucia Cuba, along with the MFA FDS Teaching Team 2024–25, 15 graduate designers — Karina Nasywa Bakri, Sustilé Blank, Camila Bustamante, Qi “Effe” He, Jontay Kahm, Dina Mahrouz, Abel Martirosyan, Mikaeru Mo, Kimberly Ortega, Alejandra Parra Parodi, Francesca Salis, Lillian Tuttle, Yingdi Xiong, Maryam Yazdanpanah, and Chi-An Yu — shook the room, leaving the audience smiling.

Though all presented on one runway, the show’s flow never faltered. Each collection carried a distinct voice rooted in cultural backgrounds and social identities, yet the transitions were seamless. Students leaned into boldness, bravery, and out-of-the-box thinking. The models, with commanding struts, animated garments that blurred boundaries between ready-to-wear and wearable art — echoing Cardi B’s mantra of drama and spectacle.

Graduates from fashion institutions such as Parsons, Central Saint Martins, and London College of Fashion rarely miss their mark, inspiring audiences globally. What sets this generation apart is their devotion to research, critical thinking, and cultural reflection — qualities that often outshine global creative directors chosen more for popularity than conceptual depth.

This disconnect is why fashion continues to stumble into cultural appropriation and exploitation. These MFA graduates, however, represent the next hands shaping the garments the world will love — and the future leaders who might solve the industry’s most persistent issues.

Their craftsmanship and conceptual rigor provoke the question: when will global fashion leaders fully embrace designers who not only bring beauty and innovation but also answers to systemic issues, instead of perpetuating them?