The Division of Communications and External Relations is pleased to share FIT in the News, which reports highlights of major news stories about the college and/or that quote the college’s experts. These stories will be accessible for at least seven days by clicking on the links below.
WWD.com (November 16) reported on the progress of Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), a nationwide consortium funded with $317 million from the Department of Defense and led by MIT that launched seven months ago. The initiative is focused on securing U.S. leadership in revolutionary fibers and textiles manufacturing by creating smart textiles that merge the fashion industry with the tech and consumer electronics industries. As the only college selected in the New York City region to participate, FIT is partnering with Manufacture New York to launch and host a regional hub by providing skill-based training and registered apprenticeship programs across the fashion textile manufacturing supply chain, which includes AFFOA technical project participants.
Eva Chen, head of fashion partnerships at Instagram, shared a photo on Instagram from Fashion in the Social Media Era, a talk she moderated with designers Becca McCharen and Tanya Taylor as part of The Museum at FIT’s Fashion Culture program on November 16. Chen has 642,000 followers on Instagram, and this post got 2,098 likes.
BigPicture.net (November 15) announced the three Fashion Design students who won the fashion design component of the Kornit Digital Design Contest. In this two-part, interdisciplinary contest, Fashion Design students were challenged to create garments using fabric designed by Textile/Surface Design students.
Our Town and Spirit Westsider (both November 16) covered Chalk FIT, the annual temporary street art display by Illustration students on the exterior walls of the Pomerantz Art and Design Center. This year, a temporary mural has also been painted on the brick wall on West 28th Street that encloses FIT’s storage yard, the future site of the college’s new academic building. The chalk art will remain on display through the end of the year, while the painted art will remain through the spring.
FashionManiac.com (November 15) reported that Jeffrey Silberman, chair, Textile Development and Marketing, and Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, The Museum at FIT (MFIT), participated in Pioneers, the 18th annual Initiatives in Art and Design conference.
Bustle.com (November 17) quoted Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, MFIT, for an article titled “How Women Have Used Fashion as a Feminist Tool Throughout History.”
Black Fashion Designers, which opens at MFIT on December 6, received advance coverage on FashionAvenueNews.com (November 16), FashionBombDaily.com (November 17), and in Washington Informer (November 9).
Uniformity, which closed at MFIT on November 19, received coverage in Town & Village (November 3).