Shared obsessions, polar-opposite sensibilities—the exact forces that bring artists and designers together as collaborators run the gamut. For the seven creative partnerships highlighted here, Pratt was an incubator for that unique alchemy. These alums’ years at the Institute were about more than shaping a craft, practice, and career path—they were a launchpad for life-changing relationships. Click through to read their stories.

Two designers confer at a work table
Sophie Andes-Gascon, BFA Fashion Design ’15 &
Claire McKinney, BFA Fashion Design ’15
SC103

Since founding their fashion label in 2019, Claire McKinney and Sophie Andes-Gascon have kept things fresh by resisting dominant trends. Read more.

Two people lean against a shop sink in an industrial design studio with manufacturing equipment, plants, and decorative prints on the cabinets and walls
Chen Chen, BID ’07 &
Kai Williams, BID ’06
Chen Chen & Kai Williams

A year apart in their industrial design studies, Chen Chen and Kai Williams became friends at Pratt but came together in their work a few years post-graduation, going on to form their eponymous design studio in 2011. Read more.

Two people standing on an artists table with cardboard taped onto it with smudges of paint. A bearded man is leaning on the table holding three paintbrushes in front of a large painting of people under a tree, and a woman in glasses is flipping through a children book on the table.
Lesa Cline-Ransome, BFA Fashion Merchandising ’87 &
James Ransome, BFA Communications Design (Illustration) ’87 
Author-Illustrator Duo

It all began at a Purple Rain party at Pratt in 1985. James Ransome asked Lesa Cline to dance, and one thing led to another. The couple started dating, and helping each other with their assignments . . . “That’s how our creative collaboration began,” says Lesa. “That’s how we knew that we could probably work together.” Read more.

A photograph of a film set with a bearded man in a hat facing the camera.
Glenn Ficarra, BFA Film ’91 &
John Requa, BFA Film ’91
Filmmakers

When the filmmaking duo John Requa and Glenn Ficarra met as film majors at Pratt Institute, they had a clear path—Requa was set on becoming a writer, and Ficarra on becoming a director. That went nowhere, says Requa. “But every time we worked together, people liked it. So we just followed the heat, which is always the thing I find with people who are successful in business.” Read more.

Two musicians from the vantage of a spotlit stage, with the keyboardist standing on one leg on their seat
Matt Johnson, BFA Film ’04 &
Kim Schifino, BFA Communications Design ’02
Matt and Kim

Back in the early aughts on the Pratt campus, Kim Schifino met Matt Johnson while taking a break from silkscreening, sitting on a wooden bench outside the Engineering Building. That first encounter was the beginning of more than a relationship. In 2004, Kim and Matt added another layer, coming together as the music duo Matt and Kim. Read more.

A man in a black suit and woman in black mock-neck blouse and suit pants pose behind a table with an architectural model, surrounded by organized materials, tools, and models in a canvas-and-wood lined studio space.
Photo by Carlos Jaramillo
Neda Kakhsaz, BArch ’16 &
Zabie Mustafa, BArch ’13
Studio MUKA

Craft and experimentation, history and future, architecture and design—bringing ideas and practices into harmony has been part of Zabie Mustafa and Neda Kakhsaz’s work since they were both undergraduate architecture students at Pratt, where they met in 2011. Today, this plays out in their practice as Studio MUKA, the Los Angeles-based firm they formed in 2021. Read more.

A photograph of a person holding a white ball at a work desk, while another person laughs.
Manny Mota, BID ’02 & Christina Perla, BID ’14
Makelab

Christina Perla and Manny Mota met in the woodshop at Pratt, where their shared approach to problems forged an easy bond, both personally and creatively. Fast forward several years, and that synchronicity opened up a transformational opportunity. Read more.