ASU FIDM Highlights 2025

Fashion excellence

ASU FIDM has emerged as a powerhouse in the 2025 Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF) competition, securing 10 coveted scholarships and establishing itself as the second-most awarded institution nationwide. The school’s exceptional showing includes six first-time and two-repeat $10,000 scholarship recipients and two distinguished Virgil Abloh™ “Post-Modern” Scholars, which fosters equity and inclusion within the fashion industry.

Fashion and AI

The special topics course on AI in fashion prepares students for the AI surge in the fashion industry. ASU FIDM instructor Naomi Ellis is helping students navigate and shape that future. From tools that personalize shopping experiences to technologies that reduce waste and improve transparency, Ellis said she sees AI as a powerful force for innovation.

On the runway

ASU FIDM fashion students studying design showcased collections at the school’s annual Uncertainty fashion show. The spring 2025 show was held at Scottsdale Fashion Square. This premier event, produced in collaboration with Margaret Merritt Productions and The Agency Arizona, featured 27 collections and over 120 looks, highlighting cutting-edge creativity and technical mastery.

Sustainability, technology and innovation in fashion

Galina Mihaleva, ASU FIDM Galina Mihaleva, an associate professor at ASU FIDM, received the prestigious WOW Designer Development Award at the 2024 World of WearableArt (WOW) competition. Her design, “Evolutionary Drone Hybrid,” created in collaboration with Chris Loomis, won under the Crazy Curiosities of the Creature Carnival theme. Mihalaeva also participated in Illuminating the Future: Sustainable Fashion at Canal Convergence. Students in her Materials and Techniques course showed their creations at Canal Convergence. The collection highlighted the intersection of sustainability and innovation through garments that integrate eco-friendly materials and cutting-edge technology.

New York Fashion Week

Two ASU FIDM students gained hands-on experience at New York Fashion Week, with one assisting Christian Siriano and the other working backstage at multiple shows, both leveraging their experience from ASU FIDM’s Uncertainty fashion show.

29th Annual Treasures of Los Angeles

ASU FIDM presented an 18-look runway show featuring work from 2025 graduate designers at the 29th Annual Treasures of Los Angeles. The event is a celebration of the civic leaders and institutions shaping the future of our city, and this year’s honorees were recognized for a range of efforts, from fighting fires to transformative work with formerly gang-involved and incarcerated individuals — and among the award recipients was ASU President Michael M. Crow.

Fashion excellence photo by Camille Misty.

Fashion ad AI photo by Tabbs Mosier.

On the runway photos by Camille Misty and Orlando Pelagio.

Sustainability, technology and innovation photo by Charlie Leight.

New York Fashion Week photos courtesy of Maya Mukherjee.

29th Annual Treasures of Los Angeles photos by Patrick Park and I.S.O. Studio LA.