This Fashion Guru Has Collaborated With Calvin Klein—Now He Helps Students At The Miami Fashion Institute
Julian Asion, a self-described fashion engineer, has a résumé that crisscrosses more than four decades and includes stints with distinguished designers such as Zac Posen, Isabel Toledo and Calvin Klein.
He has even made garments for Michelle Obama.
Now, the retired 71-year-old fashion guru is offering a big assist to students at the Miami Fashion Institute by helping the aspiring fashionistas with their final collection projects. The collection is the students’ last step before graduation.
“He’s a magician with his hands,” said Jesus Pineda, one of Asion’s students, who will earn an associate’s degree in fashion this May. “You don’t normally see many professors at that level.”
For the past five years, Asion has taught creative design at the MFI in the spring semester. He meets with students every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to supervise, advise and help them bring their designs to life.
In the course, students create four garments that can be worn for distinct occasions like cocktail parties and weddings.
“If I could relive everything at the Institute, I would really appreciate having Julian again,” said Kenneth Montealegre, a fashion professor at the South Florida Fashion Academy who took Asion’s course in 2017. “MFI has a gem in their hands and hopefully he’s able to transfer his knowledge to everyone who goes into the Institute because I’m sure they’ll be happy to take in all that knowledge.”
The Making Of Asion
Asion was born in Havana, Cuba in 1950, to a Cuban father and a Chinese mother. Lanky and slim—he grew 14 inches in height from the ages of 12 to 15—Asion had trouble finding clothes that fit him properly. To adjust, he bought clothes several sizes bigger than what he needed and tailored them to fit his frame.
When he was 12, Asion moved to Miami—escaping Fidel Castro’s regime—to live with his father, Julian Asion Lazaga. The youngster quickly learned English and got good grades, graduating from Miami Senior High School in 1969.
Fashion always caught his eye. When Asion and his parents went out, the people watched and discussed the chic outfits they saw on the street. The exercise led him to gawk at the glamorous outfits he saw while watching Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions and movies featuring Fred Astaire.
Despite his clear passion for the arts, he chose to become a jewelry engraver. But he soon realized he didn’t enjoy it because the job was “rough on [his] hands.”
In 1970, he enrolled at North Campus and his thirst for fashion was reignited. Two years later, Asion earned an associate’s degree in fashion from the MFI.
“Fashion gives security and appeal,” Asion said. “[It] is glorious because it can set you up by knowing that you feel and look your best.”
After graduation, he worked in mass-market fashion—an industry that produces cheap clothes so they can be sold at affordable prices—with companies like the high-end brand Belmar Fashion. His duties included studying fashion trends, creating designs and overseeing the production of sketches.
The Big Apple
Five years later, Asion started working as an assistant to Arthur McGee—the first Black designer to oversee a studio on the renowned Seventh Avenue in the Garment District in New York City.
As McGee’s assistant, he improved his pattern-making skills and embraced his creativity. The experience allowed him to later work with fashion icons such as cocktail designers Marion Maged and Huey Waltzer.
In 1980, Asion started his own clothing line. His designs were personalized—the fabric was cut at sharp angles and made exclusively from natural or lightweight fabrics—and sold privately to high-profile clients, including dancer Lena Horne and actress Cicely Tyson.
However, he soon realized it would be more financially secure to work for well-established designers.
“I didn’t want to have to worry about promoting myself, getting fabrics, then cutting and preparing them,” Asion said. “I figured I would do pattern work for a while, but then it became more profitable than working on my own.”
Asion hired an executive recruiter that landed him jobs with famous fashion designers like Zac Posen, Isabel Toledo and Calvin Klein. While Asion worked with Toledo, he made several garments for Michelle Obama during the Obama administration. His favorite was a flowy black skirt that she used during her meeting with Queen Elizabeth II in 2009.
But eventually, fashion styles changed and manufacturing clothes in India and China became the norm. That led Asion to retire in 2015.
To avoid the cold weather, Asion started traveling to Miami between November and May. His brother, Andres Asion, suggested he teach at the MFI during the layover.
In October of 2015, he emailed MFI Chairperson Asanyah Davidson and asked if he could help students with their final projects.
“He does a good job at being firm with [the students] without being harsh,” Davidson said. “He’s a good spirit to be around especially when you’re stressing over your final collection.”
No one knows that better than Pineda. Asion helped him create his favorite garment during his time at the MFI—an elegant black dress that incorporates French binding, a technique used to sow the jagged edges of delicate fabric—for his final project.
“I make dreams come true,” Asion said. “You dream a garment and I make it a reality and that’s what I want to help [students] do.”
