Christopher and Scott here!
We are both Production Management majors in our 7th and 3rd semesters, respectively.
Whenever we share our majors with fellow FIT peers, the first question that normally follows is, “What is that?” So we wanted to take some time to give a brief overview of what we believe is FIT’s most exciting major.
CHRISTOPHER: Scott, tell us a little bit about Production Management.
SCOTT: Well, Production Management is one of two founding majors of FIT, in addition to Fashion Design. Back in 1944, the fashion industry was based primarily around design, production & distribution. Today, the fashion industry encapsulates much more– logistics, merchandising, marketing, branding. At the end of the day, a strong design that is created impeccably leads to not only sale, but retention of that sale and brand loyalty. That said, beautiful garments need to be well made in order to sell– as a Production student we take classes to learn how to produce the best quality garment on time and at the right price from a micro and macro perspective. In doing so, we take many classes across all FIT departments, including Marketing, Pattern Making, Textiles Science and Creation, Factory Management, and the most exciting, Business Development.
The cool thing about the major is that we graduate the program with a comprehensive business plan that we develop in your final semester. Pretty cool right? Alumni use these business plans to go on to grad school and even start their own businesses.
SCOTT: Christopher, what is your favorite class that you took so far?
CHRISTOPHER: That’s a hard decision but it would have to be Manufacturing II, here I learned about all the machines used to create clothing and the different reasons to use each of them. We explored producing in a factory setting and how that is different from creating clothing in a sample room, “mass production vs. single garment production”. In the end we were given a project to create a garment for ourselves and detailing how this would be produced in a factory. By doing this, we learn how to oversee these manufacturing operations and how to solve any problem that may arise. At the end of the class I learned how to think critically, how to analyze situations and ultimately how to become a better problem solvers.
This class and major helps to keep you on your feet.
Below is a collage documenting the project!
You can find out more about this business program here: Production Management