Tag Archives: campus life

Sustainability Awareness Week – Patagonia Worn Wear

FIT’s Sustainability Awareness Week Quick Summary

Here at FIT we dedicate a week every semester to the sustainability of our industry with the sustainability council and club leading the way for events and panel discussions.

I stopped by the Patagonia Worn Wear pop-up to learn a little more about what they do and their journey. Their FIT setup consisted of three sewing machines (one industrial brother machine and two home machines), sewers tools, and a big box of trims and notions. The repair technicians mended several different types of damages such as broken zippers and buttons, busted seams, and patching holes. Patagonia owns the largest repair facility in the US located in Reno, Nevada, which is even more astounding when you realize that they only repair Patagonia products.

Patagonia’s Worn Wear wagon

The Worn Wear team even consisted of an FIT alumn, a TDM (Textiles Development and Marketing) graduate, who is with the materials innovation team at Patagonia. She spoke with me about the Patagonia branch “Tin Shed” which is a corporate venture capitalist fund they use to invest in environmentally and socially responsible start-up companies which they use to further their corporate mission!

What aspects of sustainability are you interested in?

Let’s Talk: Chalk FIT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You might have noticed that FIT’s gray concrete walls have been covered in colorful art pieces recently. This is thanks to FIT’s annual event, Chalk FIT, where Illustration majors are assigned a theme and take to FIT itself for their canvas. Chalk FIT is currently in its fourth year, thanks to its creator Dan Shefelman, a professor here at FIT.                                                                                        (photo courtesy: @danshefelman)

This years theme was “Dreaming” in regards to the social and political discussion about illegal immigrant children brought to the US known as “Dreamers”.

(photo courtesy: @bulletproof_picasso_)

 

 

 


The art spans across 27th to 28th street on 7th Avenue and will be up on FIT’s walls till the springtime, available for students and pedestrians to see. Take advantage of this time to take some stellar photos with some amazing backdrops! And make sure to use the hashtag #ChalkFIT when you post to social media.

(photo courtesy: @gabbieriscanevo)

 

How do I fit in and make as an International Student?!

Hello my fellow international students!

As an international students myself, I found it quite hard to make friends and feel integrated when I started studying at FIT. American students intimidated me, they spoke so fast and I was afraid that I wouldn’t understand them or they wouldn’t understand me. Every time I met a student from abroad or someone that spoke the same language, it felt like such a relief, like I wasn’t the only one facing these crazy fears. But as an introvert I found it quite hard to go up to people or force myself to start a conversation. Here are some tips that helped me throughout the semesters.

Interacting with students in your major. I know what most of you think… But don’t let it intimidate you, most students (even American) feel exactly the same way. Don’t be afraid to talk to them, at least you have something in common that you can talk about, which won’t make you feel going in completely blind. Group projects too are a great way to make friends and start becoming more social, I know they can be annoying, but they give you more time to talk with them. That’s how I met my best friend at FIT.

Become part a group. Clubs are a great way to make friends, feeling integrated and part of a team. You see the same people every week at the meetings, but also outside during events, fundraising etc. What’s great about clubs, is that you are with people who have the same interests you do, so it will make it so much easier to find similar interests and things to talk about.  What I found really helped me was being accepted in the presidential scholars program, it was a much smaller group of people, which made it less intimidating to go up to people. Also most of us were there for the same reasons. Something I really liked about the honors program was that I didn’t only have one class with them, but I would see them on a regular basis at the colloquiums and various event throughout the semesters, which made us get closer without even trying.

Attend events. FIT has so many social events throughout the semesters, just go to one and see how you feel. It won’t hurt trying. That’s how I met my two first American friends at FIT, was during one of the orientation parties.

Community Service. Sign up for community service. You won’t be around only FIT students, but other people from different schools etc. It’s a nice way to meet people, not just from FIT.

Internships. They not only look great on your resume, but they’re a great way to make friends. Most of the friends I made through my internships are older, but I in a way enjoy it much more, because we have more adult conversations and I feel challenged (in a good way).

Campus Jobs. It’s a cool way to make extra money, but also friends! I loved working as a tutor, because without knowing, there are a lot of international students that worked there, so it felt like a very mixed and diverse group of people, not making it so intimidating.

But remember to be yourself, don’t ever try to be someone you are not!

xoxo

-Z

Design in a business major

Some might think that you don’t get to work outside your major while at FIT, however, they would be wrong. As a Production Management student in FIT’s business school, I will say a majority of my classes are either liberal arts or business courses, but not all. There is a mix of design classes as well. This semester, I am taking Object Oriented Database Management (fancy wording for Adobe Illustrator), and it is a welcomed break from my normal classes.

In the class, we get to create a Tech. Pack from scratch using a garment of our own. My favorite part about the project is that we are building our portfolio with necessary skills based on something that we come into contact with in our daily lives. It is nice being able to use a tool that a lot of the design students use because it gives you a glimpse at what they are doing and what their thought process is, rather than being kept in the dark about it all.

FIT gives students a mix of both sides of the fashion industry, both business and design. So weather you are in business or design, you’ll always get the big picture. I think that’s such a great part of FIT. Don’t you?

Want To Volunteer?!

Hello there!

It came to my attention, that a lot of students (especially new students), weren’t aware of our Student Volunteer Community Services (SVCS). Many think it’s to volunteer for food bank, pet shelters etc. But it offers much more volunteer opportunities than that. For example if you wanted to volunteer for NYFW, SVCS are the ones that take care of it. If you haven’t signed up to SVCS, you will never be informed about various dates and opportunities to volunteer for really great events. It costs you absolutely nothing to fill out the SVCS Personal Information Form and like that you will be sure to be informed by email about any events that are offered to FIT students. Last year for example students could sign up to volunteer and be part of Kanye West’s fashion show!

Don’t wait and sign up now!

xoxo

-Zorya