FIT competed against LIM College, Parsons The New School for Design, Pratt Institute, and School of Visual Arts in an all-day event designed to foster and celebrate emerging talent in the fashion industry. The teams were challenged to conceptualize, style, and shoot an editorial campaign. Each institution had two teams of five students – one to create a women’s wear campaign and another to create a menswear campaign.
The FIT students on the menswear team were Ivan Garzon, of Jamaica, NY, a Photography major and the team’s photographer; Kevin Kiriluk, of Setauket, NY, an Advertising and Marketing Communications major and the team’s graphic designer; Olivia LaTronica, of Binghamton, NY, a Fabric Styling major and one of the team’s stylists; Courtnie Martindale, of Trinidad, West Indies, a Fabric Styling major and the team’s other stylist; and Grace Taylor, of Holbrook, NY, an Advertising and Marketing Communications major and the team’s art director.
The FIT students on the women’s wear team were Brittany Chapov, of Gainsville, FL, a Fabric Styling major and one of the team’s stylists; Brenda De Baets, of Aalter, Belgium, a Fabric Styling major and the team’s other stylist; Ashleigh O’Dea, of Manorville, NY, an Advertising and Marketing Communications major and the team’s art director; Michelle Flaks, of Oceanside, NY, a Communication Design major and the team’s graphic designer; and Erin Yamagata, of La Habra, CA, a Photography major and the team’s photographer.
All the students are scheduled to graduate in 2015.
On the day of the challenge, students were provided with state-of-the-art equipment, as well as access to wardrobe, props, and hair and makeup services. Models were provided by IMG. YouTube beauty expert and entrepreneur Michelle Phan provided em Michelle Phan cosmetics and counseled each team on how to create a beauty look that complemented their campaign messages.
Five fashion industry leaders served as mentors to the teams as they developed their editorial campaigns throughout the day. Amy Odell, editor, Cosmopolitian.com, served as the FIT teams’ mentor. The other mentors were Kate Dimmock, fashion director, People Stylewatch; Lori Goldstein, fashion stylist; Ivan Shaw, photography director, Vogue; and Eric Wilson, fashion news director, InStyle.
A panel of Amazon executives selected the winners based on criteria that included creativity, wardrobe styling, layout and composition, photography, art direction and set design, and editing, as well as consistency with Amazon Fashion’s branding and voice. The judges were Cathy Beaudoin, president, Amazon Fashion; Dennis Leggett, creative director, Amazon Fashion; Gina Tovar, fashion director, Amazon Fashion; Muge Erdirik Dogan, director, Amazon Beauty; and Darcy Penick, chief merchant, Shopbop.
School of Visual Arts won first place in the women’s wear campaign, and Pratt took first place in the menswear campaign. LIM College won second place in women’s wear.
For more on FIT’s teams and their work, visit https://twitter.com/FIT, http://instagram.com/fitnyc, and https://www.facebook.com/FashionInstituteofTechnology.