FastCompany.com (August 11) ran a feature article on the Interior Design program’s Integrated Service-Learning Project (ISLP) and its newly completed renovation of the basement of St. Paul’s House, a Catholic charity, which is used as a dining area to feed the homeless. Started in 2012, ISLP designs and helps renovate—at no cost to the organization—spaces that benefit those in need. “What I say to my students is that we have to see interior design as an engine of social change,” said Carmita Sanchez-Fong, assistant chair, Interior Design. “How can we use our skills to begin to tilt the balance of inequality in our city? How can we have a positive impact on people?” Pickups include FollowNews.com (August 11) and TrueViralNews.com (August 14).
HarpersBazaar.com (August 7) announced that FIT Fashion Design student Brandon Johnson and International Trade and Marketing students Kathleen Frey and Sonne Bajwa are the winners of the Infor/FIT Fashion Design ICONS Award. Calling Johnson “the 21-year-old fashion designer you need to know,” Johnson’s winning design was inspired by a string of pearls and matching earrings that belonged to his mother. The gown will be worn by influencer Olivia Perez on the red carpet at the Harper’s Bazaar ICONS event, held in New York at the start of Fashion Week in September. Frey and Bajwa won for their business/marketing plan “Red Carpet Everyday,” which takes Johnson’s design from red carpet to retail.
TheArtNewspaper.com (August 14) reported on the revamping of the master’s program in Art Market Studies. The program has been condensed from four semesters to three, thus reducing tuition by 25 percent. The new curriculum includes coursework on the business of art auctions; global art production and exchange, with a specific focus on non-Western markets; and a practicum course that provides students with a budget to curate and mount their own off-campus exhibitions. These changes will “better reflect the realities of the evolving art market, and make the program more accessible and inclusive,” said Natasha Degen, chair, Art Market Studies.
Two articles in The Independent (July 26) and an article on AvenueMagazine.com (August 1, with a 14-image slide show) reported on a dinner celebrating FIT held at the Hamptons home of FIT Trustee Joan Hornig. Works by students in Toy Design, Jewelry Design, Accessories Design, and Interior Design were on display at the dinner.
EpochTimes.com (August 10) quoted Shawn Grain Carter, associate professor, Fashion Business Management, in an article on the difficulties facing luxury brands in their attempts to appeal to millennials. “More American consumers [would rather] spend their income on a wonderful experience instead of buying a new pair of shoes,” said Carter.
NBCNews.com/Better (August 1) interviewed Dawnn Karen, adjunct instructor, Social Sciences, for the article “Can Wearing a ‘Work Uniform’ Help You Get Ahead?”
Emma McClendon, associate curator of Costume, The Museum at FIT (MFIT), spoke with Elle.com (August 11) for an article on “mom jeans.” “Wearing denim has always been a balancing act between being incredibly cool and incredibly frumpy,” said McClendon. “The defining characteristic, that thing that defines whether a jean is hot or not, tends to be more about the body that is in it and how we culturally perceive that body.”
Elizabeth Way, curatorial assistant, MFIT, spoke with FashionUnfiltered.com (August 3) for an article on the lack of women of color in the fashion industry.
Force of Nature, currently on view at MFIT, received coverage in Town & Village (July 20) and Accessories (September issue).
Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme, opening on September 15, received pre-opening coverage in InStyle (September issue, link not yet available).
Ornament Magazine (September issue, not available online) and OrnamentMagazine.org (August 9) ran a feature article on Black Fashion Designers, which closed at MFIT in May.