Student Eliana Batsakis Receives CFDA Design Scholar Award

Three years ago, Eliana Batsakis (BFA 2021) had never used a sewing machine. Today, she is the proud recipient of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Design Scholar Suntchi Image-Maker Award, a new $25,000 scholarship celebrating talent within image-making and curation. Batsakis, whose fashion piece "The Gardenscape" was recently featured in SAIC's The Future is Now May 2020 brochure, did not originally intend to become so involved with the School's Fashion department. But after taking a class taught by Assistant Professor, Adj. Caroline Bellios—and a few broken needles in the beginning stages of the sewing lab—Batsakis fell in love with the program. "This recognition is truly a testament to SAIC’s Fashion department and the community of people within it," Batsakis said. "This award has shown me that my work can exist and be understood in a space outside of SAIC's walls, and that my collection has resonated with people who have no idea who I am. As an artist/designer, you can’t ask for much more than that."