Isabel and Ruben Toledo Honored With Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award...

Isabel and Ruben Toledo Honored With Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement
Award at SCAD Fashion Show

SAVANNAH, Ga., May 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Savannah College of Art
and Design honored Isabel and Ruben Toledo, internationally renowned artists
in the worlds of high fashion, style and design, with the 2009 Andre Leon
Talley Lifetime Achievement Award Saturday, May 16, at the university's annual
SCAD Fashion Show. SCAD President Paula Wallace and Vogue Editor-at-Large
Andre Leon Talley presented the Toledos with the award.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090516/DC18303)

"To present this award to them is a great honor," said Talley. "The Toledos
represent a quarter century of love and brand building. They're like two oaks,
branches intertwined forever."

"It is an honor for us to be acknowledged by him, the god of fashion," said
Isabel Toledo. "He is an inspiration to all of us. Thank you, Andre, and thank
you to SCAD."

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."

About the SCAD Fashion Department
The SCAD fashion department partners with innovative designers and critics
such as Mark Badgley, James Mischka, Lela Rose, Lars Nilsson, Yigal Azrouel
and Michael Fink, bringing visiting industry professionals to network with,
critique, and lead workshops for students. The fashion department is a "style
lab" in design education and innovation, balancing the development of a
student's creative and intellectual skills with necessary practical and
professional training specific to the needs of the global apparel industries.
Alumni have started successful labels, won prestigious awards and landed jobs
working for some of the biggest labels in fashion today. For more information,
visit scad.edu/fashion

SCAD: The University for Creative Careers
With more degree programs and specializations than any other art and design
university in the United States, the Savannah College of Art and Design is
uniquely qualified to prepare talented students for professional, creative
careers. SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution that offers a
choice of degree programs in 42 different majors, plus 52 minors. Students can
pursue their degrees at campuses in Savannah and Atlanta, Ga., in Lacoste,
France, and online through SCAD-eLearning. The career preparation of each
student is nurtured and cultivated by nearly 600 full-time professors with
extraordinary academic credentials and valuable professional experience. SCAD
confers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Architecture,
Master of Arts, Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Fine Arts and Master of
Urban Design degrees. For more information, visit scad.edu.

SOURCE Savannah College of Art and Design

Sunny Nelson, +1-912-525-5225, or +1-912-713-4275, snelson@scad.edu, or Ally
Hughes, +1-912-525-5250, or +1-912-257-6898 (cell), ahughes@scad.edu, both of
Savannah College of Art and Design