SAVANNAH, Ga., May 17, 2009 / FW/ — At the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) annual fashion show, renowned artists and designers Isabel and Ruben Toledo were honored with Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award.
Presenting the Toledos with his namesake award, Andre Leon Talley commented, “The Toledos represent a quarter century of love and brand building. They’re like two oaks, branches intertwined forever.”
In 2000, the college honored Talley with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The award thereafter bore Talley’s name and has been presented to fashion legends Oscar de la Renta, Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia Prada, Tom Ford, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs and John Galliano. In 2004, Zac Posen was honored with the Andre Leon Talley New Look Award.
Isabel Toledo’s approach to designing clothing makes her an iconic and freethinking talent. Designing and exhibiting twice-yearly collections since 1986, Isabel has been described as a “cult figure” by The New York Times, one of the “100 designers that count” by Women’s Wear Daily, and Vogue has named Isabel “an important raw talent.”
Her work has been sold in Barneys New York, Ikram in Chicago, Colette Paris, Shiseido Ginza in Tokyo and Liberty of London. Isabel has twice been named on the International Best Dressed List and most recently First Lady Michelle Obama wore her designs for the Presidential Inauguration in January 2009.
Ruben Toledo is a painter, sculptor, illustrator, fashion chronicler and critic, and surrealist wit. The changing themes of fashion and the changing body language of style appear throughout his work. He has designed everything from mannequins, store windows, and award statuettes to scarves, fabrics, dishes and carpets.
He has created illustrations for top fashion magazines and journals, among them The New Yorker, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, Paper, Visionaire, Interview Magazine and The New York Times. He has created images and art installations for Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Tiffany & Co., and Barney’s New York. His work has been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Victoria and Albert Museum and the Mode Museum in Antwerp.
The Toledos met with aspiring SCAD fashion designers and artists at the annual SCAD Fashion Show, where more than 70 undergraduate and graduate students showed nearly 170 garments selected through a rigorous jury process.
“Tonight we’re here to honor the students of SCAD,” said Ruben Toledo. “This campus is a breeding ground for creating the future. I think we’re in good hands, all of us.”
