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Ali Khan on the Web
Spotlight on MFA Fashion Alumnus Ali Khan
The last few years have been very exciting for fashion designer Ali Khan. Since growing up in the cultural capital of Lahore, Pakistan, he has dreamed of making his mark in the world of fashion. In the past few years, he has begun to achieve his dreams.
Ali Khan originally came to San Francisco to study fashion design at the Academy of Art University. Upon completing his bachelor's degree he returned to Lahore to start his own line. While launching his own business and succeeding in the fashion industry, he realized he wanted to further his education. The online MFA program allowed him to continue his work in the industry from his home while earning his graduate degree.
His talent and dedication has paid off. As an online student, he shipped his final collection to the Academy's Committee and had his thesis presentation by videoconference. His final thesis collection was one of 15 student collections chosen for a runway show at the Fall, 2008 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Bryant Park. Khan said of this tremendous honor, "You can't even dream of something like that. I have wanted this ever since I was a kid!" Ali Khan is the first student ever from an online program to present at Fashion Week. But just as the Academy is not your average online school, Ali Khan was not your average student.
Since then this exemplary student has become an excellent teacher, following in the footsteps of the online instructors in the master's degree program as well as those who guided him to his BFA at the San Francisco campus. He recently began a new role as an assistant professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, he teaches online for the Academy, and he has been selected for participation on several jury panels for Pakistan's top award show, "Lux Style Awards."
The young designer describes his spring collection as "a mixture of classic elements with a newer silhouette… a clever mix of classic wearability in shapes and color-scheme with avant-garde surface textures and details."
We at the Academy are very proud of Ali's accomplishments, and are eager to see what he'll create next. In the meantime, we're honored that he is teaching in the online program to help the next generation of designers reach their dreams.
Interview with Ali Khan
Why did you choose to study online?
After I completed my bachelor's degree I was starting up a business and working with a couple of labels. I wanted to enhance my knowledge of merchandising but it was impossible to interrupt my business and relocate. The online program was the perfect opportunity. The flexibility allowed me to run my business while pursuing my education, with the added benefit of not having to take out any loans.
What did you think of the online program?
On a weekly basis you do so much more for an online class than you ever do in the one-hour, two-hour or three-hour class on campus. As a result, there's much more interaction between both the faculty and the students and among the students and more opportunity to learn. The students are from diverse backgrounds all over the world. Some are already working in the fashion industry, while some are joining from other industries. All of them have a unique perspective to contribute to the class.
Describe your experience with online instructors.
The best thing by far was the rapport with a diverse range of excellent instructors. Because they are working professionals, they bring current industry insight and experience to the courses. Some of the instructors are very accessible throughout the week, unlike on campus where after class you don't have the luxury of meeting in person with your instructors.
What courses did you find most useful?
The Directed Study is really, really the best of the degree program. It's the most invaluable experience that one can have. I worked one-on-one with my instructors and could focus entirely on my thesis. They gave me very good feedback and my work evolved under their guidance.
What was the biggest challenge of studying online?
It has always been juggling full-time study, managing my business, professional work, and family life. It's difficult to not to miss out on anything, while finishing projects on deadline to the standards that I want.
What advice do you have for online students?
Make your online studies as exciting as they would be on campus. Stay involved in the class discussions very frequently. Don't just post about specific topics but add industry news and any other interesting elements into the mix. If students treat online classes like on-campus classes and interact a lot in the discussions they become very, very good classes and everybody learns from everybody else.
How has a Master's degree from the Academy of Art University helped you?
The merchandising degree gave me a well-grounded perspective for marketing and merchandising my line and developing my business.
As an Academy graduate with a Master's degree, I get a lot of respect all over the world. People know about the Academy fashion department. The faculty is made of active industry professionals, so you make a lot of contacts. I'm still in touch on a regular basis with many contacts I made through my studies.
Also thanks to this degree, I was able to get a very, very good job as an assistant professor with a U.S. university campus in Qatar immediately after graduating.
What did you like most about the Academy?
The fashion program has a very diverse variety of courses. The degree requires you to try out different subjects like textiles, knitwear, women's wear, and menswear. After experimenting in different areas I started to see what my interests were. From there I focused on menswear as my emphasis.
How did your work evolve over the course of your studies?
My work started with inspirations that have always been part of my life, especially travelling and seeing different places. Through my studies, I identified the sort of client that my business was starting to have and the audience I wanted to appeal to. I refined the target audience into a more international person and he became a guiding inspiration: what he does, how he lives, and what he likes. From there, we developed the final look to be very, very modern and contemporary but with a sort of a twist, and some avant garde elements.