Bonjour mes Amies,
This past week I got to practice my French with students from Paris and learn some Chinese words with students from Hong Kong. How did this all happen? One short answer: hard work and dedication (I said short, not easy). Let me explain myself, I received an email with the subject “To my Best Students (A Students)” from one of my incredible ITM professors inviting me to a seminar carefully crafted by Pamela Ellsworth the Chairperson of the Global Fashion Management Masters Program at FIT. When I read through the email and saw the list of guest speakers I realized I had struck gold with this opportunity. At the same time, I realized I had limited knowledge about this program’s offering, so here I have it for you (served on a silver platter).
- FIT’s Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Global Fashion Management prepares emerging fashion executives for top managerial positions in the burgeoning international fashion industry.
- Offered by FIT in collaboration with Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong and Institut Français de la Mode in Paris.
- Intensive ten-day seminars on each campus, you will gain a comprehensive view of the interrelationships among the various segments of international fashion businesses and the technology that drives them.
- The program focuses on leadership, cross-cultural understanding, and the global marketplace, you will graduate prepared to assemble and manage international teams of professionals within an organization, and to guide an organization through the unchartered waters of international business efficiently and profitably.
- Is completed within 18-months. Class structure is interactive and flexible, and includes intensive seminars, online learning, guest speakers, and site visits.
- open to candidates with a minimum of three years of professional experience in retail, design, marketing and merchandising, import/export, fashion journalism, or other related field.
Click here to find out more about an international education on three continents. Also their open house is coming up, be sure to register by clicking on the image.
Some of the incredible guest speakers:
Bill McRaith, Chief Supply Chain Officer, PVH
Michael Appel, Retail Consultant
Paul Price, CEO, Creative Realites
Janice Sullivan, CEO, EDUN
Professor Sarah Labowitz, Stern School of Business, New York University
Inka Apter, Manager of Fabric Research and Development, Eileen Fisher
Leslie Singer, Professor, School of Visual Arts; Chief Creative Officer, Singer Salt
Some of the things I learned:
Companies HATE change, but change has to be viewed as a positive thing. There are a lot of changes happening within the fashion industry.
Never take a defensive position against a threat, figure out how to get with it.
The new normal: majority of consumers plan to keep savings high & spending low.
Every company is a tech company.
3D printing has the ability to unleash your imagination, it is the most disruptive form of creative technology.
Meaning is the new luxury.
Not knowing is not an appropriate response in 2014.
In turmoil, we see opportunities.
Be fearless, be bold. Filter your own opportunities.
“The only thing we can be sure of about the future is that it will be absolutely fantastic.”
Carpe Diem,
Sadie
Every fall semester, students from around the world convene for 10 days at FIT for an in-depth seminar that focuses on leadership, cross-cultural understanding, and the global marketplace. One cohort of students is in FIT’s Global Fashion Management (GFM) master’s program. The program is offered in collaboration with similar graduate programs at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong and Institut Français de la Mode in Paris, whose students travel to New York for the seminar. At others times during the year, students from each school meet in Paris, where they focus on historical aspects and the contemporary luxury industry, and in Hong Kong, where production, supply chain, and consumer demographics and demand are studied.
