Tag Archives: Childrenswear

Children’s Wear Senior Class: In a Blink of an Eye

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Runway image of my dress via Fashionista.com!

So as we all know, last week, May 1st, 2013, was the debut of the Future of Fashion show. It was really exciting to se mines and everyone else’s garments come strutting down the runway. The only downside was a seating mix up that had me and a couple of my friends and our parents sitting in the back row (which we were very frustrated about, but eventually got over it. I blame the girl who seated us in reserved seats…very upsetting and confusing. Word of the wise – Make sure the ushers know where they are seating people!) When Children’s Wear came down the runway however, we all stood up to see, we didn’t care!

As usual, Children’s Wear stole the show. The entire audience was in a frenzy, cheering more loudly than they did for any other specialization. It’s always amusing how people react to children’s garments. It makes me very happy to witness it.

Those little models really worked the runway though! My little one was sashaying like if she was a seasoned Top Model. It was a little scary! Oh and fun fact, my model appeared in a Tide commercial that’s currently airing. I thought that was funny and random, don’t you agree? I can definitely see potential in her future!

It all went by so quickly. I can’t believe that I’m finishing up my final bits of work and in about a weeks time, I will be a college graduate. Four whole years leading up to this. I do however, feel accomplished. I learned so much in my years at FIT, finishing and polishing the skills I originally learned in the High School of Fashion Industries. So I’ve really been doing this for eight years of my life. I’ve come very far since my most humble beginnings.

I do have, like many FIT graduates, a love and hate relationship with the school. I had many excellent professors, got to learn so much that I hadn’t known, but times were tough. Work was no joke. There were a few sleepless nights, all-nighters, mishaps and hardships. But look at me now, I got through it. In the end, everything always worked out.

Now it’s time to look toward the future. What exactly do I plan to do once I graduate? Where will my path lead me?

- Aria

Children’s Wear Senior Class: Post Judgment Day

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All lined up for judging.

So the fashion show judging has come and gone. I speak for myself when I say that I was surprisingly calm that day. At around 1pm, we all collectively carted our dressed dressforms downstairs to the Great Hall. We made a mini spectacle in the      C-Building lobby with our little kiddie forms rolling through. There were countless smiles and joyous expressions as we passed by everyone in the halls. Everyone is always happy when they see little kids garments, it’s a fact.

We spent the day in class sewing garments we hadn’t finished whilst we watched movies on Netflix on the computer projector – featured films included Aristocats, Pochahontas, and the newest Tinkerbell movie. Yes we are adults, young at heart and proud! It was nice just calmly watching nostalgic films while we waited until 6pm for the judging posting. No use in stressing at that point.

Then the time had come, where we went down to see the posting of who got into the show. Everyone was anxious, and it didn’t help that they were an hour late in posting the results. People were frustrated and on their last legs, many running on no sleep. I felt strange being so calm and collected in comparison.

Then the list was posted, and it saddened me a little when a few students in my class did not get any garments in the show, even if they submitted two. Even though my garment was chosen, it gets diminished a bit when my fellow classmates are disappointed. But no one cried or fretted too much in our group. We all know that we did our very best, and at the end of the day – getting in the fashion show does not equal whether or not you get employed out of college, hard work and determination does (as well as a bit of good luck!)

Nine total garments out of about 17 submitted got in, so about half. It would have been nice to see everyone get something in the show, but it’s understood that sometimes things need to get cut, and it’s not always because the garment was particularly bad. Fashion is a subject of opinions. A garment thats fantastic to one person may be a monstrosity to another, it’s impossible to know. Doing your best work and enacting your design vision is what’s most important.

Tomorrow, May 1st, is the big show day. It will be exciting to see everything walk down the runway. But I tell you, before you know it, it’ll all be over. It’s been a great yet often challenging four years, but as I keep saying, it doesn’t end here!

Plans for the future in my next post, until then! See you on show day.

Children’s Wear Senior Class: Student Showcase III – Garment Completions

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From the previous showcase, Thai’s finished outerwear piece. She’s also our class Critic Award winner! Click for bigger!

As promised, an individual showcasing of garments from us girls in C706! Everyone deserves a little spotlight don’t they? I’m here to shine it.

We all did some great work. It really came together. There was a lot learned and plenty gained. I’m astounded at how long we were working on all this stuff! From the guidance of Prof. Seggio and the help and expertise of Prof. Varcelona, we made this all happen. It sure happened quickly. Just one blink and the Fashion Show will be over in a dizzying whirlwind and a couple of weeks after that we’ll have a diploma in hand. Wow.

Let’s not get sentimental just yet, time for the showcase!

Return of the Baroque Sisters, Jen and my own dresses.

Casey’s ensemble finished. I’m getting not only the surrealist vibe, but the 1960′s too. You see it right? Mini Twiggy.

Close up of Janine’s beautiful iridescent wool coat with fur cuffs and pink silk dress. She even found matching iridescent buttons at M&J Trimmings. The bow on the dress is so darling. I’m feeling a bit of Chanel sophistication here. Prim, Proper, Posh little lady.

Jihaeng’s adorable sporty number! I can’t get over the ruffled sleeves and the cute heart face. Just too cute for words really. Bonnie suggested pairing it with winged converses. I agree!

Poorum’s colorful ruffled gown with sequin bodice detail. The little fur vest was so soft and lovely too.

Ivy’s layered look complete.

Klazina’s Girl outfit. Earthy and sporty. I love the fur vest, and plus, it’s reversible! Forgot to get a picture of that! It’s awesome.

Chelsea’s Boy and Girl looks, her Girl being for Cotton Inc. I’m just in awe of these! Her construction is just amazing, and these two looks coordinate quite nicely don’t they! I’d love to see them coming down the runway together. Wouldn’t you?

And I had to single out these lovely details. That plaid check shirt is darling, and the cut cotton lace trim on the skirt is fantastic. Truly hard work, but great work.

Alyssa’s size 10 girls. She also did an amazing job with her construction. The wool toggle coat is a feature from last semester that she made a coordinating ensemble for. These garments really display what Alyssa’s design aesthetic is all about.

What do you think of our work? And you haven’t seen it all quite yet, there’s still some unfinished garments. Many may not end up in the fashion show but hey, they are definitely getting posted here!

Look for the post Official Judging recap next time.

Children’s Wear Senior Class: Critic’s Visit and Pre-Judging – Doomsday?

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Dressing the forms.

No not doomsday, not by far. This is only the tip of the iceberg.

So yes, our critic, Bonnie Young, was arriving to make her critique of our finalized garments. The aura was mixed, some anxious, some aloof, some indifferent (like me).

Speaking for myself, I only submitted one garment for review, and that was my Baroque inspired dress. The jacket will no longer accompany it as I believe I stated before, and instead will go for my Cotton Inc. look, which even still I am not submitting for the contest. Personal choice. I’m treating it now as a no pressure final garment for grading.

Helen’s accessory page. Highly professional presentation don’t you agree?

 

Anywho, we all prepped with high hopes and star glazed eyes (overly dramatic wording alert), pining gleefully at the opportunity that lie ahead (told you).

Prof. Seggio informed us to come prepared with printouts and ideas for how we will accessorize our looks, as well as the design sketch and swatches. (I opted to do a CAD drawing from my own sketch actually.)

Lining up! And admiration by Helen and Jihaeng.

Thai doing some final pressing.

Helen in preparation mode.

Neutral to color splash! Helen, Janine, Poorum.

Earth Tones. Student Showcase III of these garments and more coming in the next post.

Near complete lineup. I can’t wait to show you all the detail shots. We’re an awesome group! I’m proud of everyone and myself included.

When Bonnie arrived, we greeted her. She was immediately shocked at how much we’d accomplished since she last visited. It was tough though, since her time with us was so limited, unfortunately that if we had any flaws or needed tweaks, at this stage it was already too late to make any major changes. I think if we had maybe one more visit at the stages of early construction, this could have been avoided. But overall, the results and feedback were okay, it varied from person to person, I won’t get too specific, but yea we survived it.

I will be showcasing everyones individual garments in the upcoming post. Later, look out for a report on the Judging Day (or should I say “Judgement Day”) happenings and our class Critic Award Winner.

No matter what happens, we all know we worked hard in the 1 1/2 years we’ve been doing Children’s Wear at FIT, gaining the skills we will use for our career lifetimes. It doesn’t end here!

Children’s Wear Senior Class: Boys are Back in Town

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Ivy’s Boy look in part.

Thought fashion show judging has come and gone, I’m going to continue backtracking and showing you all what Children’s Wear can do!

In Children’s Wear, Boys fashion is highly under represented. In this industry, designers who can do Boys fashion in a way that is new and innovative are highly valued. It’s been a complaint time and time again from industry professionals as well as retail customers, that Boys wear is always a bit lackluster. It’s difficult to push the envelope for boys wear. You have to be careful to not over embellish, but at the same time, if you want to stand out from the Gap Kids basics, you have to walk the tightrope.

Well we don’t have many Boys garments as we do girls (every student in our group did girls garments, and if they did boys it was their secondary look) but it was done! Four students went out on a limb and tried it. I deem them successful.

The humble beginnings of Chelsea’s wool tailored jacket. It’s a brown houndstooth with corduroy collar and sleeve detail. The construction is impecable. Just wait until I share photos of it finished. I could easily see a dapper little lad sporting this number a la Brooks Brothers (can totally see it hanging in their flagship store too.)

Casey’s Cotton Inc. garment for Boy. Gingham checks in varied sizes. Also note the leather pocket edge. It’s those touches of whimsy that brings a Boys garment from basic to brillant. I think she executed that well. And the coordinating cotton twill pant, which I do believe sports some fantastic white topstitching.

Ivy’s complete look. Her little boy is bound to be cozy in all this warm layers. The pants though, I must point out. You don’t see much of the pegged skinny pants for Boys in our industry, but I do hope it catches on. It’s totally chic. Little boys will be out here looking FLY!

Klazina, another student, is also doing both a Boys and Girls look, but I haven’t gotten photos of her Boy look just yet. Trust me, it’s something. I mean after all, she hand screen printed the print for her Boys puffer vest. I must show it to you all next time around.

I personally fend much better for myself with Girls design, but who knows where I might find myself in 5-10 years down the road. These gals though, sure have the knack for Boys fashion. I do hope we’ll see a boy or two walking down the runway. For years of Fashion Show history, there hasn’t been much if at all. I hope to see that change.

Oh and see also, Children’s Wear is the only specialization in Fashion Design where you’re not limited to just female clothing, how about that?

More coming! Recap and report of our Critic’s Visit and Pre-Judging starts in my next post!

 

Children’s Wear Senior Class: Backtrack – Prepping for the Critic’s Visit

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Jihaeng ruffling for her skirt!

So this past Wednesday, our critic Bonnie Young visited to make her picks and make tweaks for what she wanted to be sent down for judging. But hold on a minute, what exactly happened before that?

So what exactly goes into prepping for the Critic’s visit?

Running around like a beheaded chicken. No, I’m just joking. Basically you just want to show your best work possible, bottom line. For some that brings more stress than others. I think my fellow Children’s Wear gals handled everything pretty well, and there were many who really exceeded expectations, at least in my opinion.

Contrary to popular belief, Children’s Wear is NOT the “easy specialization”. It’s not the one you chose just because you want an easy time. Proportions are important. You have to think in a totally different way from Women’s Wear. It’s extremely technical as well (excellent pattern making skills are KEY.) One huge plus side to Children’s Wear though is yay less fabric yardage! But don’t get me wrong, it is less stressful. If you’re considering Children’s Wear, go for it!

Now for photos! Let’s see some more of what everyone was up to in the weeks leading to the critic’s visit as well as some garments you may have never seen…

(You can click on the photos to make them larger by the way!)

Jihaeng’s skirt and leggings. Sparkles and grommets!

Made a bow for my dress! Was a hair accessory, but now it’s actually going on my dress, haha.

Casey’s surrealist jacket and pants set. There’s also a cute matching top and pant set under there! Casey isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of style for Children, innovation is very important in this industry.

The amount of student work I have to share is limitless! Stay tuned, in my next post I will be showcasing something different, Boys fashion! You thought it was girls girls girls? Nope, we do have a few boys garments over here in C706, *Hint: Get a teeny preview of that back over at the Fitting Post here! 

Fashion Show judging is actually this week (yikes, hell week!), but I’ll have full coverage of that a bit later on, so look out for that too, but for now, shameless plugs for the Children’s Wear family! We’ve worked hard and everyone will be sure to see.

Children’s Wear Senior Class: Student Showcase II

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Photo Filters, I do that.

I’m always so excited to share everything my fellow classmates have been doing. In Children’s Wear we are one happy family, learning from each other and growing together as designers. It’s less pressure, a lot less “cut throat”, and as I said in the introductory post – our work is much much more enthusiastically received. We can all be recognized for our unique style and taste. You can look at any of our garments and automatically know which one of us did it if you knew our aesthetics. We can all get the chance to shine through.

Anyway, I’d like to take the time to showcase my fellow classmate and friend Thai’s fashion show ensemble. I’ve yet to showcase her in a post yet, so here it is! It’s coming out gorgeously isn’t it?

Thai’s bias cut dress reminiscent of the 1920′s. The geometric fabric choice gives it the modern stylish twist.

The A- Line wool tweed jacket that accompanies it. It features a pleated detail and hand tacked Swarovsky crystal gemstones, pricey, but worth it for how beautiful it turned out right? And do you see that seam work? Flawless.

The lining, hand painted with the help of her father.

And our work continues. Here are some more works in progress…

Jen’s lace applique wool cape near it’s finish.

Helen prepping for her cape.

Cutting apart my lace overlay for…

…this dress! It’s my second dress for the Cotton Inc. contest. Not really working towards winning, I just want to make something of this dress, one that I didn’t like very much until I added the lace.

Tomorrow at 2pm is our pre-judging. Our critic, Bonnie Young, will be coming in to make a pre official judging day decision on what she wants in the fashion show. My dream is for everyone in my class to get something in. We’re such a small group, it would be nice to see everyone represented.

Despite this, I will be continuing to show you our work. Here in Children’s Wear, everyone shall be showcased, fashion show pick or not.

Look forward to more from us in C706!

Children’s Wear Senior Class: Student Showcase I

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Janine’s silk dress and wool jacket ensemble. Simply elegant.

Spring Break was extremely helpful in allowing us time to work hard on our garments and devote all of our attention to them. Many of us have progressed very well on everything we are working on. We have all had or are having our difficulties here and there, but in the end I know we will make it through to the end. With such a small group, it would be amazing to see everyone in class get a garment in the show, and with the quality of our work, I am optimistic.

As I’ve talked about before, everyone in class has their own unique sets of ideas and ways of executing them. With more and more garments finally coming to life, it becomes more and more apparent. It’s quite exciting, and I can’t wait to share a little bit of everything we have to offer.

I do wish I had more variety to share, but don’t fear! This is just a slice of whats going on at the moment. Everyone in class is very hard at work! Next time around I will hopefully have more photos to share.

For now, here are the “Baroque Sisters”, Jen, Helen, and my own dresses. It be nice to see them following each other on the runway as they have the same inspiration, but note that though they have a similar aesthetic, you get 3 different styles of dresses! Fascinating huh?

Jen’s little Gothic Princess. Near Complete minus the hem and minor details.

Helen’s Ivory number, with her flawless hand detailed bodice.

And last but not least, my decadent little one in blue brocade. Finished hem will be shorter.

And there you have it, a touch of the class progress. Next week be on the lookout for a few new faces! You haven’t see it all yet!

Children’s Wear Senior Class: Good Construction is Key!

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Helen hard at work on her dress.

Everyone knows the best garments are made well, with great care, effort, and precision. In the Children’s Wear Senior Class, we are taking that very seriously! With the help of our dear Prof. Seggio and the accompanying helpful expertise of Prof. Varcelona, we’ve all been working hard to sew our garments to their perfection.

The fashion show judges aren’t only seeking out brilliant designs, but the utmost perfect execution possible. There’s no room for flaws here!

We’ve got some talented seamstresses among us. Skills we have honed, some of us for many years and others not since their first few years at FIT.

Here’s a few photos of great work in the process!

Casey’s quilting. Square perfection.

Jihaeng’s adorable jacket with intricate applique details! This takes skill!

Jen sewing her cape lining. Now just wait until you see how it looks on the outside! Look out for that soon.

Be ready to see some of our garments in the near completed stages. Judging day is creeping upon us and it’s time to hustle!

Children’s Wear Senior Class: Great Work Underway!

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Jihaeng’s ruffle jacket sleeves and leggings!

My fellow Children’s Wear designers and I have been hard at work on our garments for the upcoming show.

We have lots of variety of styles and themes in class, from Baroque, Pop Cute, Vintage, Preppy, Urban, Grunge, the list goes on. We all have very different styles and ways of interpreting our themes.

Me and a couple of my classmates are doing our own takes on the Baroque theme, a popular trend for the season. But I bet in the end we will all have very different looking garments. Our color stories vary, but the three of us collectively, if we get into the show, should look really great coming down the runway together I’m certain.

Here’s a preview of some of our themes.

My Baroque theme.

Jen’s similar theme, but we will definitely yield different results. We joke that our looks could be best friends (just as we are!)

But as I said, we’re all doing a great variety of things in our small group of about a dozen students. This past week I took some photos of our current progress! It’s really coming along nicely for us and our professors are quite impressed with our work.

Jihaeng’s jacket progress.

Ivy’s pants coming along.

Helen’s handwork for her dress, looking absolutely beautiful!

Jen’s cape prepped for her black lace applique.

Jen’s coordinating blouse and pants. The toile print is so lovely and fits the Baroque theme nicely.

My dress progress, it look so much prettier in person!

Spring Break is this week, and while many students in other colleges head off for some fun, most of my fellow design students will be sticking around to sew our butts off! This is valuable time for us to get ahead and avoid headaches last minute. I for one will be taking advantage of this time, no doubt about that!

My plan is to have my dress fully complete minus hem and finishing (that will be saved for the final fitting).

Look forward to seeing some serious progress from us next week!