The Division of Communications and External Relations is pleased to share FIT in the News, which reports selected highlights of news stories about the college and/or that quote the college’s experts. These stories will be accessible by clicking on the links below.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
The Morning Show
Vogue and Footwear News: The Morning Show
The Apple TV+ series, The Morning Show, included FIT as a plotpoint in a recent episode that also featured Valentino, and fashion designs by recent alumni. In the episode, the series’ namesake morning show hosts a benefit to raise money for FIT’s scholarship program.
FIT’s Sustainability Ambassador
British Vogue (United Kingdom): Amber Valetta
Amber Valetta, FIT’s first sustainability ambassador, on her involvement with FIT: “I joined the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2021 as its first sustainability ambassador, working with young fashion designers, material science students and other departments related to careers in sustainable fashion. I even audited classes in biodesign and sustainable marketing to educate myself and connect with faculty and students alike.”
Uniqlo Partnership
WWD and Fibre2Fashion: RE.LIVE, an exclusive upcycling collection developed by FIT students in partnership with UNIQLO to reimagine new, creative solutions for unsellable product was launched at their UNIQLO Fifth Avenue Global Flagship Store. This marks UNIQLO’s first collaboration with a U.S.-based college, and it is the latest initiative from its RE.UNIQLO program, which is committed to extending the life of clothes through repairing, reusing, remaking, and recycling. Under the guidance of FIT’s DTech Lab, three Fashion Design BFA students and two Advertising and Digital Design BFA students from the Class of 2024 collaborated on the RE.LIVE project, from inception through to the campaign rollout.
PETE Prize for Entrepreneurs
WWD: 2023 Pete Prize Winners
The winners of FIT’s second annual PETE Prize for Entrepreneurs were the winning team of Habin Lee, Technical Design ’23, and Mary Addison Davis, Fashion Design ’23, whose company is RANEA: Courage to Move, have created a business manufacturing and selling athletic wear that facilitates proper muscle movements and reduces stress for chronic injuries for both men and women. They will receive $30,000, along with office space for one year and marketing, legal, financial, creative, and operational guidance on how to build and launch an innovative company. By incorporating compression garment technology in its designs, RANEA aims to stabilize major core muscle areas to prevent injuries.
Exhibition & Experience Design Capstone 2023
Exhibitor Online: FIT Exhibition and Experience Design Capstone 2023
FIT Exhibition & Experience Design (EED) students presented their final thesis at Capstone 2023 in December. Their work was reviewed by over 100 international members of the industry where EED students showcased original concepts that they researched, designed, and prototyped.
Apparel Importers Trade and Transportation Conference
Sourcing Journal: C.J. Yeh and Christie Shin, both members of the Communications Design Foundation Department and coordinators of the Creative Technology and Design subject area, presented at the 2023 Apparel Importers Trade and Transportation Conference. Their presentation, titled “The Future Is Multi-sensory,” discussed new opportunities for brand engagements in the digital age. The conference is the largest annual event held by the United States Fashion Industry Association, and brings together company executives from international brands such as American Eagle Outfitters, Levi Strauss & Co., Macy’s, Ralph Lauren, Under Armour, Urban Outfitters, and Walmart.
LVMH Apprenticeship Program
Business of Fashion: LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Tiffany have teamed up with FIT to give apprentices theoretical and technical training, alongside practical experience working alongside seasoned Tiffany jewelers. Tiffany pays the trainees’ salaries while they’re enrolled in the program, and they’ll have the opportunity to remain at Tiffany and craft luxury jewelry once skills have been mastered.
Ivan Bart Memorial Scholarship at FIT
Fashion Week Daily: The Ivan Bart Memorial Scholarship has been established at FIT to honor Bart, who was president of IMG Models for almost 30 years, and a board member of the FIT Foundation.
Fashion Calendar Research Database
Fashion Week Daily: FIT launched its Fashion Calendar Research Database (FCRD), a digital humanities project and open-source research database where every issue of The Fashion Calendar, more than 3,000 issues and upwards of 30,000 pages of material, has been fully scanned and digitized. The free database is searchable and downloadable worldwide. The Fashion Calendar was founded by the late Ruth Finley, who published it from 1941-2014.
Battle of Versailles Anniversary
New York Amsterdam News: Designer Stephen Burrows was honored by the Fashion & Arts Xchange Group at FIT to celebrate the historic 50th anniversary of the “Battle of Versailles,” which occurred in 1973. Burrows was the only Black designer to present at the historic show in France.
FIT Foundation Board of Directors Appointment
Vows Magazine: Morilee designer Madeline Gardner has been appointed to the FIT Foundation Board of Directors.
School of Graduate Studies
Art Market Studies
The New York Times: Picasso Art Auction
Natasha Degen, professor, Art Market Studies, on the recent auction of Piccasso art: “It is yet another example of the auction houses wanting to be perceived as central clearing houses for luxury writ large.”
Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice
The New York Times: Donald Trump’s suit
Summer Anne Lee, adjunct, Fashion and Textile Studies, on Trump’s suit: “They are offering it like pieces of religious clothing, which implies Mr. Trump is a saint who has been through trials and tribulations for the country.”
The New York Times: Holiday Watches
Summer Anne Lee, adjunct, Fashion and Textiles Studies, on holiday themed wristwatches: “The holidays are meant to be a special time when you bring out your Christmas sweater — and why not your special watch? Seasonal watches are not over-the-top like the ugly Christmas sweaters, but the seasonal aspects of these watches are hard to miss.”
Refinery29: Bows
Summer Anne Lee, adjunct, Fashion and Textile Studies, on the enduring popularity of bows: “It started with a functional purpose, [but] it takes on a two-fold purpose, where bows [are used] to tie something together, but it is also decorative. They’re part of this youthful prime of your life… a fashion statement associated with femininity.”
School of Business and Technology
Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing Management
The Washington Post: ELF Cosmetics
Delphine Horvath, associate professor, Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing Management, on ELF Cosmetics: “Beauty is a very emotional market, making it much more resilient to economic turmoil. As inflation worries persist … consumers are looking for good value brands at affordable prices.”
Textile Development and Marketing
The Wall Street Journal: Winter Dressing
Imran Islam, assistant professor, Textile Development and Marketing, on how to dress for winter: “If truly nippy conditions demand base layers, go for thin cotton—it’s comfy, breathable and absorbs moisture, said Imran Islam, an assistant professor at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.
CNN.com: Fast Fashions
Preeti Arya, assistant professor, Textile Development and Marketing, on fast fashions: “No one is asking you not to shop. But shop responsibly… try to use your budget to buy one good quality item.”
Fashionista: Knitwear Guide
Imran Islam, assistant professor, Textile Development and Marketing, on what to look for when purchasing knitwear: “As the sweater is the outermost layer, it’s exposed to constant friction with the inner layers. This constant friction facilitates breaking fiber ends to bring them closer, due to the static electricity induced by the friction. Since acrylic and polyester have extremely low moisture content and low moisture regain, they’re extremely dry. They generate more static electricity than the fibers — like wool and other natural fibers — with high moisture content and moisture regain.”
MyLittleBird.com: Faux Fur
Preeti Arya, assistant professor, Textile Development and Marketing, on faux furs: “Fake furs are warm because they can trap body heat due to the thickness and length of the fur, which is also enhanced by the presence of a lining.”
Fashion Business Management
CNN.com: Telfar bags
Laticha Brown, chair, Fashion Business Management on the popularity of Telfar bags: “Just because Beyoncé mentioned your name in a song, it doesn’t mean that [Telfar has] moved away from the community that’s really built this brand as well.”
CNN.com: Mid-Size Fashions
Shawn Grain Carter, associate professor, Fashion Business Management, appeared on CNN to discuss the mid-sized fashion trend sweeping TikTok.
BBC.com: Dr. Martens
Liza Amlani, adjunct, Fashion Business Management, on Dr. Martens shoes: “Today their website boasts 592 styles for women’s footwear, 382 styles for men’s footwear, and 192 styles. It’s excessive. Each style includes an array of colors and sizes, resulting in an unclear merchandising strategy that risks overwhelming and confusing customers.”
Marketwatch.com: Shein
Shawn Grain Carter, associate professor, Fashion Business Management, on online retailer Shein: “People are not going to use their discretionary income — if they have that much — to spend on higher price points. That is where Shein can fill a void.”
School of Art and Design
Fashion Design
The Financial Times: Animal Prints
Daniel James Cole, adjunct, Fashion Design, on animal prints: “It might be appealing to a sense of whimsy that we need.”
Coveteur: The Crown fashions
Daniel James Cole, adjunct, Fashion Design, on the fashions depicted in the Netflix series The Crown: “I think the show has a large burden in the costume design [department], but also in casting, in production design, because a lot of what they’re depicting is very familiar to much of the audience.”
The Museum at FIT (MFIT)
Fashion History Experts
Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, MFIT
The New York Times: Birkenstock
On the sandal brand, Birkenstock: “Weird and ordinary has become deeply cool, as has looking authentic and feeling healthy. Their popularity nowadays is pretty wild. It’s not often that you see a total turnaround in public brand perception in the way we have with Birkenstock.”
The Washington Post: Shapewear
On shapewear: “There is a kind of anxiety about female bodies. Female bodies are wet, and the boundaries are blurry and they’re soft, and what you really need is things that will harden them up, whether it’s corsets or bras or girdles or pantyhose that will make it clear that there is a second skin there that keeps it from getting out of line, out of order, [and] uncontrollable and messy.”
Financial Times (United Kingdom): Warrior jewelry
On warrior style jewelry: “We see it historically, and cross-culturally, as something that keeps coming back. Of course, there is so much glamor – often meretricious glamor – in combat. But any kind of armored clothing or jewelry is about psychological as well as physical protection.”
Telegraph.co.uk (United Kingdom): Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
On farmer first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: “Most American fashion back then was just a copy of French fashion, whether licensed or unlicensed. Mrs Kennedy tried to defend herself by shopping at Chez Ninon.”
Town & Country: Fall Coat Trends
On coats: “A coat can hold you and make you feel secure.”
Harper’s Bazaar: Little Black Dress
On the return of the little black dress: “After being deluged by color, people are rediscovering the appeal of black.”
I-Dentity Podcast: Japanese Designers
Dr. Steele appeared as a podcast guest discussing Japanese designers Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo.
Laverne Cox: Mugler Archives at MFIT
Dr. Steele shares Mugler highlights from MFIT’s permanent collection with actress Laverne Cox.
Colleen Hill, curator of costume and accessories, MFIT
The New York Times: Poor Things
On the sleeves as seen in the film Poor Things: “We’re so often seen on screen these days from the waist up, and sleeves are a way to stand out,”
Melissa Marra-Alvarez, curator of education and research, MFIT
Elle Canada: Maximalist Style
On maximalist style: “You have to remember that anytime a [maximalist] moment happens, it’s not a carbon copy of what came before,”
MFIT Exhibitions
Food & Fashion
Harper’s Bazaar (Spain)
Forbes
Food Network Magazine
Statement Sleeves
Vogue (Spain)
Elle
Fashion United (New Zealand)
Fashion Network (Spain)
Fashion United (France)
Fashion Network (Canada)
Fashion United (United Kingdom)
A press release distributed via PRNewswire generated more than 400 pickups, including dozens of affiliate TV stations websites of CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX. Among the highlights:
The Associated Press
Yahoo! Finance
Market Watch
Markets Insider
KTLA (Los Angeles)
WFLA (Tampa)
PIX 11 News (New York)
FOX 5 (San Diego)
KHON (Honolulu)
¡Moda Hoy! Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today
ElTiempo.com (Columbia)
Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style
Elle (Canada)
MFIT Books
Shoes A-Z. The Collection of The Museum at FIT
The Times of London (United Kingdom)
Stern.de (Germany)
Vogue (Spain)
Vogue (Scandinavia)
Because London (United Kingdom)
Chicago Tribune