3 Alums of the School of Susan Cianciolo Speak About What the Designer Means to Them

Susan Cianciolo—this year’s recipient of the CFDA’s Isabel Toledo Board of Directors’ Tribute—hasn’t been on the New York Fashion Week schedule for years. Still, her quiet and steady influence can be felt in the work of a new generation of designers who are following her lead in finding fresh ways to exist soulfully within a broken industry.

For some fans of fashion, Cianciolo’s Run collections of the 1990s (read all about them here) are part of an indie grail. Community, artfulness, upcycling, and spirituality all came together in the multimedia presentations Cianciolo put on in galleries and once a parking lot. Her work was, and is, an extension of her life. At one show, she served chocolate treats made using a beloved aunt’s recipe. And she often called upon her friends to model, including Kim Gordon, for whom she briefly worked at X-Girl.

Given Cianciolo’s unconventional and personal approach to fashion, it’s surprising—and thrilling—that a kind of School of Cianciolo has emerged in New York City. These “graduates” include Giovanna Flores, and SC103’s cofounders Claire McKinney and Sophie Andes Gascon, all of whom studied and or worked with the designer. Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta belong in this group as well; as admirers of Cianciolo’s work, they regularly book her for their shows. She also made appearances on the runway for her BFF Maryam Nassir Zadeh.

Below three of Cianciolo’s former students share thoughts on their mentor.

Giovanna Flores had Cianciolo as a teacher her sophomore year, interned for the designer and then assisted her post grad.

“Susan was, is, and forever will be, such a great inspiration to me, not only in the way she makes work, but in the way she lives her life—the way she keeps her spaces, the way she cooks, the way she dresses, and the way she invites people into her home. There is something so inspiring about her holistic way of being an artist, something I had never really encountered before knowing her. Her practice extends into every aspect of her life, and I think that has had a profound influence on me. ‘You have to make your own quality. Choose your own quality,’ is something she once told me that has always stayed with me. I find myself returning to those words constantly in my own practice. To me, it’s about making choices that feel true to the work and to myself, rather than accepting the way things are conventionally done or how they’re expected to be. It’s about defining for yourself what something should be and what makes it good. I think that’s something so present in Susan’s work. There is such a strong sense of her own choices, her own standards, and her own way of seeing things.”

SC103 co-founder Sophie Andes-Gascon studied fashion illustration with Cianciolo and interned for the designer.

“I have been moved by Susan’s generosity and trust. Her inclusivity and care were confidence building for me as a young person learning from her. I will never forget her speaking about the care with which studio items need to be folded after I quickly and haphazardly stuffed fabric into a drawer once. I was grateful to have been led with warmth and conscientiousness.”

SC103 co-founder Claire McKinney also studied fashion illustration with Cianciolo and participated in an exchange the designer led in which Pratt students traveled to Germany to work with Ines Kaag and Desiree Heiss of BLESS and their proteges, who then came to New York where the combined work was exhibited at Maryam Nassir Zadeh’s shop.

“That experience continues to be monumentally informative to my work. It couldn’t have made the impact it did had it not been for Susan’s eagerness to connect people, open doors, and expand minds. Her heart and spirit was infused into every group studio session and shared meal we were all so lucky to be a part of. I’m incredibly grateful.”

Susan Cianciolo on the Runway