Fashion Institute of Technology

09/06/2020

Readers Wanted

It’s National Read a Book Day! Did you know that FIT has an active literary community? If you are an avid bookworm, consider checking out the numerous books written or illustrated by our very own FIT faculty, staff, and alumni.

The Hue magazine team has rounded up a list of novels, nonfiction works, poetry collections, art books, and children's books that have been published within the last three years by our community. Check out the full list below.

Shortlisted for the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction and a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, Dominicana (Flatiron Books, 2019) by Angie Cruz, Fashion Design ’94, tells the harrowing story of a you…

09/05/2020

True Grit: How Small Businesses Adapt To Survive In Times Of Crisis

“Supporting them keeps the creative energy alive in neighborhoods, and brings jobs and money back to the people that need it most,” says Ann Cantrell, assistant professor of Fashion Business Management and owner of Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store, based in Brooklyn.

Read more in Forbes from Shelley Kohan, associate professor of Fashion Business Management.

When events like the coronavirus pandemic hit the US retail market, it became much more difficult for some of the smaller businesses to overcome obstacles such as mandatory store closings or management of stringent social distancing practices.

09/04/2020

Fall Fashion, Through the Eyes of 2020 Graduates

Four FIT Photography graduates were invited to each shoot fall fashion editorial for ELLE Magazine (US)'s September issue!

Congratulations to Ni Ouyang, Gabriella Spiegel, Lucy Borden, and Killian Nelson on your extraordinary accomplishment. We’re beyond proud to see your talents being recognized.

A huge thank you to ELLE for your generous support in creating this opportunity for our hardworking grads!

For ELLE's September issue, 13 photography students mark their graduation into a changed world by capturing their nearest and dearest.

09/03/2020

Hue Live! with co-founder and creative director of House of Yes Kae Burkee

House of Yes Kae Burke

09/03/2020

LeBron Wrote a Children’s Book and It’s Selling Really Well

Congrats to Nina Mata, Illustration ’08! Her work with NBA superstar LeBron James on his children’s book, “I Promise,” was recently highlighted in The New York Times Books and topped their children’s picture book list. Mata, a Queens native, pulled from her childhood to design the diverse and inclusive imagery depicted in the book. Read more below.

In “I Promise,” LeBron James and the illustrator Nina Mata give hope to kids when they need it most.

09/02/2020

Supima Design Competition: Jenny Feng '20

Best of luck to Jenny Feng ‘20 as she competes in the 13th annual Supima Design Competition on Thursday, September 10, at 3pm! Watch the live show here: https://bit.ly/3gOvBjA

09/01/2020

Are Face Masks Fashion?

Masks are a regular feature of pandemic life, and we might be wearing them for many seasons to come.

Where does function end and fashion begin? Hue magazine interviewed alumni designers, curators from the Museum at FIT, a journalist, and an accessories professor to get the scoop on face mask style. Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/2EQp6Q2

09/01/2020

The semester’s first assignments

FIT faculty members have adapted creatively to remote learning. Take a look at how these professors in the FIT School of Art and Design are challenging their students to think outside of the box in their environment.

How have you found ways to adapt in our new world? Tell us below.

How do you teach remotely a curriculum grounded in creativity? Creatively. The high level of teaching and engagement in the School of Art and Design shows how quality instruction can take place und…

08/31/2020

Welcome to the fall semester, #unconventionalminds!

Remember, we’re here to support you all as we continue to navigate our new normal together. Pace yourselves, take plenty of breaks, and please visit fitnyc.edu/restart for resources that you can access to help you while working remotely. Have a great first day of classes!

🎨: Prenz Deone Tupaz, FIT Illustration Department '23

08/28/2020

Thanks for the Memories…of Dean Steven Frumkin

In celebration of the life of Steven Frumkin, dean of the Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology, a scholarship has been established to honor his legacy, announced by the Frumkin family, in collaboration with FIT. The Dean Steven Frumkin Scholarship will be offered annually to an incoming freshman student pursuing a two-year AAS degree in the Baker School of Business and Technology.

The FIT community mourns the loss of Dean Frumkin, from COVID-19, on July 23. Beloved by students, faculty, and staff, Dean Frumkin led the Baker School, FIT’s largest, for eight years. In that time, he worked with the school’s chairs and faculty to fulfill the college’s strategic goals and his own future-focused vision.

“With Dean Frumkin's passing, we have lost a most valuable member of our community,” said FIT’s president, Dr. Joyce F. Brown. “Through his leadership, he not only earned the trust, affection, and respect of faculty, staff, and students, but also shaped the future of his school.” To share a memory of Dean Frumkin, please send it to [email protected].

For more information on the scholarship or to make a donation, please visit https://impact.fitnyc.edu/stevenfrumkin.

The loss of Steven Frumkin, dean of the Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology, who passed away from Covid-19 on July 24, has elicited numerous remembrances from across the college. …

08/27/2020

The Girl Scout Uniform, Updated for Gen Z

What an amazing start to the weekend: waking up this morning The New York Times Styles coverage of FIT's collaboration with Girl Scouts on their uniform redesign and an official 18-piece apparel collection! Love it all—and especially the part about the new khaki utility vest as "the Burberry trench of Girl Scout vests."

We are extremely proud of FIT's designers, 2020 Fashion Design BFA grads Nidhi Bhasin, Jenny Feng, and Melissa Posner.

A stylish utility vest. Leggings. Denim. For the first time in decades, the Girl Scouts are getting new clothes.

08/25/2020

Behind the Scenes | Uniform & Official Apparel Collection | Girl Scout Shop

What do 3 recent FIT grads have in common with iconic designers Halston, Bill Blass, Stella Sloat, and Mainbocher? Girl Scouts uniform redesigns!

Fashion Design BFA 2020 graduates Melissa Posner, Jenny Feng, and Nidhi Bhasin (a Girl Scouts alum) were selected by FIT’s DTech Lab to reimagine the iconic Girl Scouts sash and vest - and to create a fresh, modern 18-piece apparel collection, featuring everything from a denim utility skirt, full-zip hoodie sweatshirts, and pocketed spandex leggings.

The looks—customizable for the first time in the Girl Scouts history—embrace girls’ desires to express their individuality through fashion by offering options that can be worn while participating in Girl Scouts activities or styled as everyday wear.

Please join us in congratulating FIT’s student designers on this outstanding achievement! Read more about the collection below. #GSStyle #UnconventionalMinds

For over a century, Girl Scouts have proudly worn uniforms that symbolize everything a girl can achieve through Girl Scouts. As trends evolve, we offer new features and designs that match modern girls’ interests and passions. For the 2020 back to troop season, we collaborated with the Fashion Inst...

08/24/2020

Fashion Institute of Technology

08/21/2020

Inside the DTech Lab, an engine of FIT’s future

The FIT DTech Lab, a driver of innovation projects for students and faculty members, is also an engine for FIT's future. Led by Executive Director Michael Ferraro, the DTech Lab has created nearly 30 projects with 35 faculty members and 115 paid student researchers from a range of majors as they solve industry problems using design, science, business, and technology.

As we look forward to the start of a new academic year and conclude our 75th anniversary celebration, take a look at their five notable projects below.

Innovation is the lifeblood of FIT, and the FIT/Infor DTech Lab is one of the biggest drivers of that innovation. This public-private partnership with Infor, a global leader in business software, w…

08/20/2020

We can't wait for the Museum at FIT fall Fashion Culture Programs! Sign up for their newsletter to receive announcements: http://ow.ly/hS6g50B412a

Yesterday, we taped our first virtual Fashion Culture event for fall 2020! Dr. Valerie Steele conducted a lively and passionate conversation with designer Prabal Gurung. They discussed the future of the fashion industry, what "American" means to him, and his participation in recent protests.

Sign up for our newsletter for announcements about our fall Fashion Culture Programs on YouTube. http://ow.ly/hS6g50B412a

08/19/2020

For #WorldPhotographyDay, we celebrate the work of our 2020 FIT Photography graduates. View more from this year's FIT School of Art and Design Graduating Student Exhibition here: https://bit.ly/3kT4h7b

📸: Thomas Giarraffa '20

08/13/2020

The Past Recaptured

Ever heard about Portfolio, the FIT yearbook? Although the final edition met its end in 2014, the team from Hue magazine has brought it back to life for the 75th anniversary with a collection of memorable images. You might just see yourself!

A moment of silence, please, for that deceased institution known as Ye Olde College Yearbook. Social media, among other forces, has pretty much ended that once-perennial annual. FIT’s yearbook, Por…

08/12/2020

Five FIT-Approved Indoor Activities For the Dog Days of Summer

To make the most of these hot summer days while indoors, the editorial team at Hue has compiled a list of entertaining activities to pass the time until fall. Check out the list below!

This summer has been a scorcher, and if you’re like us, you’ve spent most of it inside. To keep you entertained in these last weeks of summer, the editors at Hue have compiled a list of…

08/06/2020

“We came to New York from four tiny towns across the U.S., meeting on the Staten Island Ferry for our FIT orientation! Thus forming a lifelong, life-affirming friendship. The unique location of FIT, the faculty standard of working within the industry, and job placement availability were instrumental in opening doors for our careers in fashion design and merchandising.

Cherie still has her and her husband’s very successful design company in Manhattan. Haidee was senior vice president and director of a bra design company and now works on her own creative design enterprise. Rochelle, a buyer for many years, became an art teacher, and I too taught fashion classes at two Central New York colleges including Syracuse University, after having my own small couture business. The four of us continue to spend time together every few months, sometimes visiting The Museum at FIT and old haunts in New York. I’m always thankful for FIT!” — Claudia Jarvis Gervais, Fashion Design ’77

Thank you to everyone who shared memories from their time at FIT! Read more submissions from staff, faculty, and FIT Alumni in honor of the college’s 75th anniversary: https://bit.ly/30yWX8E #FITCelebrates75

08/05/2020

Seeing Stars with Emmanuel Agwam

“The stars and big smiles around Black figures in my portraits tell the viewer that this is a person who deserves to be present and that the person deserves to ‘shine.'” —Emmanuel Agwam, FIT Illustration Department ‘22.

Check out FIT School of Art and Design's blog post featuring the work of student Emmanuel Agwam. Agwam’s works, incorporating both fine art and illustration, express a positive perspective of Black people and the Black experience.

“The stars and big smiles around Black figures in my portraits tell the viewer that this is a person who deserves to be present and that the person deserves to ‘shine.'” – Emmanuel Agwa…

08/04/2020

#ChalkThatTalk: FIT’s Black Student Union Presents Exhibition In Honor of Black Lives Matter Movement

An artistic response to injustices plaguing the Black community, #ChalkThatTalk is an outdoor exhibition covering FIT’s exterior, created and led by FIT's Black Student Union.

The exhibition features memorials dedicated to victims of police brutality including Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Eric Garner; tributes to Black female empowerment; Black transgender lives; and the Little Rock Nine, among others. On view now through Monday, August 31.

  On Friday, June 19, FIT’s Black Student Union supported the Black Lives Matter movement by installing a powerful exhibition entitled #ChalkThatTalk. The show, a series of chalk murals on FIT…

08/04/2020

One Minute Stories: Faculty Member Lauren Zodel

As FIT’s 75th anniversary year ends, we’re taking a moment to celebrate our community’s extraordinary achievements in creating positive change for a better future. In this challenging year, we are working toward positive change for FIT’s future.

In a collaboration with Montefiore Hospital, faculty members Barbara Seggio and Lauren Zodel created “baby slips,” a garment that helps prevent new mothers from dropping their babies. FIT received its first patent in November 2019.

(Note: Video was created in 2019)

08/01/2020

Q&A with Valerie Steele, guest curator of Treasures of Fashion at Kobe Fashion Museum

For the first time, Museum at FIT director and chief curator Valerie Steele has taken her curatorial talents overseas to Kobe, Japan for an exhibition entitled “Treasures of Fashion ― the aesthetic sense of Valerie Steele.”

She selected 150+ items from the Kobe Fashion Museum’s collection, including significant holdings of 18th-century European high fashion and 20th-century haute couture. Visit our website to read our Q&A with Steele.

The exhibition is on view in Japan through Sunday, August 30.

“Curation is storytelling,” according to Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, The Museum at FIT (MFIT). Steele recently brought her love of storytelling to Japan, marking the first time she …

07/31/2020

One Minute Stories: Lucy Chen, Fashion Design ‘19

For FIT’s 75th anniversary, we’ve created a series of one-minute videos that together encapsulate the college's innovative, forward-looking people and projects that sit at the intersection of science and design.

Lucy Chen, Fashion Design '19, studied the 3D fashion design software Browzwear in FIT’s Infor/DTech Lab; later, she got a job as a 3D materials librarian with Browzwear. #FITCelebrates75

07/30/2020

In the Beginning

FIT's 75th anniversary year is coming to a close, and though it has been an exceptionally hard year, we didn't want the anniversary to end without a well-deserved celebratory moment— for fond memories, notable achievements, and anticipation of a bright future.

Take a look at the evolution of FIT from its early years in Hue magazine’s special commemorative issue to honor the anniversary. #FITCelebrates75

Seventy-five years after FIT’s founding, as fashion degree programs have become commonplace worldwide, it’s hard to grasp just how radical an experiment it was to create the first college devoted t…

07/26/2020

One Minute Stories: Caitlin Robbins, Technical Design ’16

Today, on the 30th anniversary of the signing of the American with Disabilities Act, we are featuring two FIT grads and their phenomenal work to create wearable designs for people with disabilities.

Caitlin Robbins, Technical Design ’16, created clothes for her father, who has ALS and is in a wheelchair, for her capstone project. She’s now a designer for Tommy Hilfiger’s Adaptive Line.

07/26/2020

One Minute Stories: Keith Kirkland, Accessories Design '10

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law on July 26, 1990, prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life.

In honor of this landmark decision, we are sharing videos from two FIT grads who have designed inspiring projects to create wearable designs for people with disabilities.

Alumnus Keith Kirkland, Accessories Design ‘10, helped develop a watch that uses haptic (touch) technology to help a blind man run the TCS New York City Marathon.

07/23/2020

FIT Cosmetics & Fragrance Marketing Grads Hone in on Well-being

“Instead of hair care, skincare, and cosmetics, consumers are going to start to think in two distinct categorizations: essential and nonessential."

Graduates of FIT's prestigious MPS program in CFMM (Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management) - often referred to as the beauty industry's think tank - presented WWD with an exclusive look at their recent findings on well-being in a world changed by COVID-19. We look forward to the full presentation of findings coming this fall. (Login Needed)

With two capstone research projects focusing on wellness at macro and micro levels, the graduates suggest a merging of health, beauty and wellness categories down the line.

07/23/2020

Tonight! The FIT Foundation hosts The Great Fashion Trivia Night in collaboration with the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/FITxHRCTriviaNight

Calling all pop culture and fashion aficionados -- it’s time to put your skills to the test! 🧠 We’re excited to host the Great Fashion Trivia Night with the FIT Foundation on Thursday, July 23. https://act.hrc.org/page/64183/subscribe/1?ea.tracking.id=ot_loc_oev_US_FITJul20