SCAD Seen Gala Wednesday with honorary chairs Isabel and Ruben Toledo

Fashion designer Isabel Toledo and artist Ruben Toledo have been named honorary chairs of the SCAD Seen Gala in Atlanta on May 23. As the premier fundraiser for SCAD Atlanta, the evening will feature a silent auction of original artwork and a one-of-a-kind fashion showcase from the university’s student designers.

All proceeds from the evening go to the university's scholarship fund, which supports both existing and new scholarships.

SCAD has enjoyed a meaningful friendship with the pair since they were presented with an André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award at the university’s annual fashion show in 2009. Perhaps best known for designing Michelle Obama’s presidential inauguration ensemble, designer Isabel Toledo’s look is stunning, timeless and original. Women’s Wear Daily described her as one of the “100 designers that count” and Vogue named her “an important raw talent.”

Ruben Toledo is a world-renowned fashion illustrator, as well as a painter, sculptor, reporter and fashion chronicler. His illustrations can be found in top journals and fashion magazines such as The New Yorker, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, The New York Times, and more. Nordstrom and Louis Vuitton seek his work for exclusive projects. The couple recently collaborated on a book, “Roots of Style: Weaving Together Life, Love, and Fashion.”

The event, co-chaired by John D. Oetgen, John H. Lineweaver and Ginny and Charles Brewer, will also include a fine art auction curated by Fay Gold. Special guests include Stephen Burrows and Raul Melgoza, this year’s SCAD Style Lab mentors who are working from conception to construction to styling on the senior collections of select SCAD Atlanta fashion students.

VIP tickets are $275 and include an exclusive reception at 6:30 p.m. with a buy-it-now option for the auction and a catered cocktail party. Cocktail tickets are $150 for the main event at 7:30 p.m. and include cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, live music and a silent auction complete with original artwork created by SCAD students, alumni, professors and staff.

To purchase tickets, make a donation or preview auction items, visit scadfashionseen.com. 

Pennington to receive honorary doctorate

Design expert Ty Pennington, co-host of ABC’s “The Revolution,” will be honored with an honorary doctorate at SCAD Atlanta’s sixth commencement ceremony Saturday, June 2, 6 p.m., at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Robert S. Jepson, Jr., nationally recognized and respected for his business acumen, civic leadership and commitment to the arts and education, will address the graduating class of 2012 as the event’s commencement speaker. Pennington will provide brief remarks as well.

Jepson is the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Jepson Associates Inc., a private investment company located in Savannah. He formerly served as chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange-traded manufacturing company Kuhlman Corporation from 1993 until its sale in 1999. Prior to that, Jepson founded and was chairman and CEO of the Jepson Corporation, which he grew into a Fortune 500, NYSE-traded company before its sale in 1989. He has served on the boards of a number of other companies, including Dominion Resources Inc., AGL Resources Inc., Circuit City Stores Inc., and Washington Water Power Company.

For more than 30 years SCAD has offered the finest art and design education in the world, preparing talented students for creative, professional careers. Over the past five years, an average of eight out of 10 SCAD alumni, responding to a survey, were employed in their fields or had been admitted to graduate school within six months of graduation.