At the Miami Fashion Institute (MFI)’s 2026 Graduate Fashion Show on Thursday evening, student designers got patriotic. After the graduating students unveiled their innovative designs from their final projects, the runway’s finale featured a 10-look capsule collection created in honor of America’s 250th anniversary. Creative interpretations of the U.S.A.’s signature motifs filled the runway, complete with star-spangled boots, reimagined stripes and plenty of red, white and blue.A select group of students were chosen to show by a panel of industry jurors, including Lourdes Fernandez-Velasco, Maria Buccellati, Naeem Khan and Danny Santiago. Following the runway, six students received design awards: Teresa Chumpitaz (The Ruben and Isabel Toledo Award), Amanda Rodriguez (The Retail Concept Award, presented by Saks Fifth Avenue), Mauro Blanc (The Collaboration Award, presented by Faith Connexion), Laura Prada (The Editorial Award, presented by Brickell Magazine), Milagros García (The Miami Made Award, presented by Miami Fashion Week) and Maryna Gorbachova (The Sustainability Award, presented by Upcycle Project).”This show marked a defining moment for our students as they transitioned from the classroom into the global fashion industry,” Chair of the MFI Oscar Lopez said in a statement. “As we celebrated 10 years of MFI, the collections reflected a decade of growth, creativity and innovation. Our students demonstrated not only technical excellence but also bold, forward-thinking design perspectives.”Ahead, see all the student designs from MFI’s 2026 Graduate Fashion Show. A look by Maria Sanchez at the Miami Fashion Institute’s 2026 Annual Graduate Fashion Show.Photo: Courtesy of Miami Dade College A look by Maria…
