ATLANTA, Nov. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is partnering with Draper James, Reese Witherspoon's fashion lifestyle brand, to design a limited edition capsule collection for the brand's Spring line. Students from SCAD's top-ranked fashion program will design a "Mommy + Me" capsule, which will debut at SCAD FASHWKND in May 2018. The SCAD collection will be available for purchase at draperjames.com.

"SCAD and Draper James belong together! I really admire the depth and breadth of Reese's accomplishments in film and fashion. Her Draper James line is smart and chic, suffused with Southern charm — just like SCAD!" said SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace. "This partnership with Draper James is a dream for our students, who study within the world's preeminent School of Fashion. Every day these SCAD students manifest their dreams, just as Reese has done with her elegant, up-for-any-occasion brand."

The project joins students from SCAD degree programs in fashion, accessory design, graphic design, fashion marketing and management, and fibers with the brand's top design leadership to develop a complete, market-ready collection. The collaboration will be unveiled at SCAD FASHWKND, the university's annual fashion celebration, May 17-20, 2018. Hosted in Savannah and Atlanta, SCAD FASHWKND presents SCAD students' senior fashion collections, mentored and juried by fashion industry designers and influencers, in a full professional production. In 2017, SCAD FASHWKND featured an immersive runway show at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, tableaux vivant-style vignettes at 1600 Peachtree in Atlanta, and a Shop the Runway component of SCAD alumni work at both locations.

SCAD will also honor Witherspoon with the university's prestigious SCAD Étoile award, presented in recognition of the brand's unique contributions to fashion, culture, design and style, at SCADshow theater in Atlanta at an event on Nov. 30. Étoile, which means star in French, celebrates outstanding achievements in style and design. Witherspoon joins other fashion designers SCAD has honored, including David Yurman, Vivienne Westwood, Oscar de la Renta, Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford, Vera Wang, Diane von Furstenberg, and Carolina Herrera.

"I'm so incredibly honored to receive the SCAD Étoile award and thrilled to be partnering with such a gifted and respected institution. I founded Draper James in order to showcase the originality and beauty of the South, and I'm thrilled it resonates so well with the emerging talent SCAD is known for around the world," said Witherspoon, the founder and creative director of Draper James.   

SCAD is consistently ranked by Business of Fashion and Fashionista as a top fashion university, offering more than 200 courses focused on preparing students for professional careers in fashion industries. SCAD has pioneered programs in accessory design and luxury fashion management, and offers the largest fibers and jewelry degree programs in the U.S. SCAD fashion alumni work at globally renowned brands like Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, and Lanvin. In the past three years, SCAD students have won over 130 major fashion-related industry awards including consecutive Supima Design Competition grand prize awards, the CFDA Geoffrey Beene Design Award, and the International Design Awards Emerging Fashion Designer of the Year.

About Draper James
Draper James is a Southern-inspired lifestyle brand that embodies the personal style and sensibility of its Founder and Creative Director, Reese Witherspoon. Reese named the brand after her grandparents who taught her everything she knows about gracious Southern living. Draper James brings contemporary, yet timeless Southern style to your wardrobe and home, no matter where you live. The direct-to-consumer business launched online in May 2015 followed by its flagship store in Nashville that fall. Draper James also has brick-and-mortar locations in Dallas and Lexington with Atlanta opening fall 2017. Designed in-house, the collection consists of ready-to-wear, accessories, and home accents. For more information, please visit www.draperjames.com or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat.

SCAD Collaborative Learning Center (CLC)
The SCAD Collaborative Learning Center (CLC) partners with top businesses, brands, and organizations to generate design-based concepts and solutions for experiences, products, media and technology. By drawing on the talent of distinguished professors and students across strategic disciplines, the possibilities are limitless. Past CLC partners include Disney, BMW, NASA, L'Oreal, Hewlett-Packard and Fox Sports.

SCAD: The University for Creative Careers
The Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution conferring bachelor's and master's degrees at distinctive locations and online to prepare talented students for professional careers. SCAD offers degrees in more than 40 majors, as well as minors in more than 75 disciplines across its locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia; in Hong Kong; in Lacoste, France; and online through SCAD eLearning. With more than 35,000 alumni worldwide, SCAD demonstrates an exceptional education and unparalleled career preparation. The diverse student body, consisting of nearly 14,000, comes from across the U.S. and more than 100 countries worldwide.

In 2017, the prestigious Red Dot Design Rankings placed SCAD No. 1 in the U.S. and No. 2 in the Americas and Europe. Career preparation is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni placement rate. In a study of Spring 2016 SCAD graduates, 98 percent were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 10 months of graduation. For more information, visit the official SCAD blog.

SOURCE Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

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