On January 29, 2025, the Fashion Institute of Florida (FIF) held its diploma ceremony and a runway presentation for six graduating students. Through this annual runway presentation, the school encourages its graduates to provide insights into their aesthetics and future. As usual, Rucht d’Oleo-Schwartz, the founder and CEO of FIF, was on hand to provide support and pride in her students.
Overall, this year’s FIF designers showcased their impressive technical skills, focusing on intricate embroidery and draping with complex fabrics. The result was a stunning runway show, and the winner earned the opportunity to present a 10-piece collection at New York Fashion Week in September 2025.
Julia Corbridge and Seraiah Littlejohn presented beautiful bridalwear that relied on intricate embroidery to showcase their skills and designs. Seraiah presented three strong looks inspired by her love of Victorian design. Her bodices all mimicked corsets with ties on the back but were differentiated by the detailed embroidery, which looked even more outstanding up close. Seraiah’s designs were elegant but packed a wow factor with her details and fitted aesthetic.
Julia Corbridge’s contemporary designs also played with embroidery, showcasing a modern and sensual take on bridalwear. Her designs, particularly a dress with a deep v-neck and massive crystals embroidered in the main bodice, demonstrated that bridalwear can be both sexy and modern.
Dallas Musick, another designer, focused on draping with her three looks. Each presented a different facet of a woman’s day, from an elegant day dress to a traditional evening gown to fantastic casualwear with pants and a blouse outfit. This collection highlighted Dallas’s ability to drape beautiful, rich silk in a highly flattering fashion.
Winner of the Evening: Arielle Tempelberg
This year, the winner was Arielle Tempelberg, who presented her maternity collection inspired by all of the marvelous and loving women in her life. Arielle presented three beautifully cut and structured evening gowns. Her color palette was an elegant combination of beige and navy blue using sumptuous fabric, but instead of patterns, Arielle focused on fit and elegance.
Arielle Tempelberg’s collection presented at the Fashion Institute of Florida Graduate Show 2025
A particular favorite was a long-sleeved beige gown with a pretty navy-blue bow tied just above where a baby bump would appear. In addition, she added an elegant short cape that could be worn reversibly in beige or navy blue. The gown demonstrated Arielle’s ability to drape and provide a flattering fit, which elevated this maternity wear.
Another piece was a navy-blue floor-length gown with exaggerated ruffles starting at the bump and continuing throughout the length of the skirt. The large ruffles were lined with beige fabric, providing a playful hint of color. Arielle was beyond excited to win this graduation competition and stated her next step was to plan for her New York Fashion Week show.
The Editor's Pick: Kaíomi Shimeles
Kaíomi Shimeles was another graduate who stood out with her penguin-inspired outfits. She presented three pieces that cleverly played off the colors of penguins and the sea. Her first outfit was a gorgeous above-the-knee dress with a matching coat. This outfit was mainly elegant grey with coordinated orange, black, and white stripes, which were used sparingly but with great effect.
Kaoimi Shimeles’ collection presented at the Fashion Institute of Florida Graduate Show 2025
Her final look was a floor-length silk skirt which was ruffled and hand-painted in the various blue tones of the sea. The top was an exaggerated hoodie made out of black and white silk. These two pieces could be considered as the black and white penguin swimming over the turbulent sea. Kaíomi was all at once elegant, playful, and clever.
The Future Awaits
Rucht, the CEO & Founder of the Fashion Institute of Florida, later commented on how proud she was of her students and lauded their ability to work with more challenging technical skills. Rucht was beaming at the end of the show and told us that she was excited for all of her students and fully expected great work from them in the future.
As this year’s runway demonstrates, FIF continues to grow in size and their student’s ability. Rucht’s leadership has helped FIF to be considered one of the top fashion schools in the region, and she will not rest until it is the best.
Recovering from an obsession with Italian-designed menswear, Alfonso decided to take a deeper look into women’s fashion to see how our relationship among clothing, society, and business has changed. Educated as an economist with an MBA, he travels between Chicago, Miami, and Mexico on a search to see what happens next to fashion.