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 for at least seven days by clicking on the links below.
Auction Houses Shakeup
Natasha Degen, chair, Art Market Studies, on shakeups among the leadership of top auction houses: “This is a moment when clearly sales have decreased in the business. So auction houses quickly pivoted online. They have taken a real interest in new categories like NFTs, sneakers and streetwear. There are also more collaborations between auction houses and luxury brands.”
Pandemic Pivot
Four FIT students from Footwear and Accessories Design, Fine Arts, Illustration, and Fashion Design spoke about how, with their studies upended by that pandemic, adapted to learning from home. Jake Valliere, Footwear and Accessories Design: “Leaving NYC last spring and coming home I was already starting to think a lot about sustainability in design. Being back home and having to do most of my projects with whatever I had lying around, as opposed to whatever I needed in the city, definitely opened my eyes to using different materials and mediums.”
3D Printing Fashion
Muhammed Shahadat, Coordinator, PrintFX and the FabLab: “It would be nice to think we could hit a few buttons and produce mass amounts of clothing for the world, especially for those in need. To set up a pop-up maker factory or run a 3D fabric printer out of a truck using recycled filaments to make clothes would be no different than the idea of printing homes on Mars using locally sourced sand.”
Elevator History
Daniel Levinson Wilk, professor, Social Science, on the Tulsa Race Riots of 1921 and the role elevators played in them: “The encounter in an elevator that sparked the massacre is vital to understanding the racial discomfort some of us still feel in confined urban spaces.”
The Museum at FIT (MFIT)
Halston Style
Patricia Mears, deputy director, MFIT, appeared in an archival video describing the fashion legacy of Halston.
Presidential Style
Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, MFIT, on President Biden’s style: “He’s old school in the sense that he’s dressing in clothes and in a manner that is respectful of the job and of us as Americans. People of my dad’s generation would have gotten that instinctively.”
The New York Times
NYTimes.com
Alber Elbaz Legacy
Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, MFIT, on the death of Alber Elbaz: “Years ago, when we invited Alber to accept the Couture Council Award, he wanted it to open New York Fashion Week. We explained that two days after Labor Day was too early, but he insisted — and Alber had a very strong will. So we capitulated — and we were so glad we did, because everyone loved coming back from summer vacation for this.”
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