Tag Archives: study abroad

Florence, Italy at Your Hands!

HELLO FELLOW TIGERS!!

My name is Maria, I have started my 4th semester in FIT. However, I started classes a little far away from campus. Where? In Florence, Italy! Now you may ask “what is she doing over there?” Well let me explain….

At FIT there are many options for studying abroad, it all depends on the major you are studying. As a fashion design student one of my options was to study in the “the cradle of the renaissance”, that is Florence, Italy. And so I chose this option for my second year of AAS.

You cannot imagine how excited I was to start my journey abroad. In the month of August (2018) I had my bags all packed and ready for what was coming. I heard great stories about my classmates’ experiences abroad and was ready to start my own.

Our host in Florence is Polimoda fashion institute right in the historic center. The main campus itself is a gem, with frescoed ceilings and walls, it sure takes you back in time. The design lab in Scandicci has everything you need for the realization of projects. Since the program admits a certain number of students, professors are by your side to assist you.

In the following blogs I will be going in deeper into my experiences during the last and this upcoming semester.

Ciao, Maria

A view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo

Florence, Italy: A view from Piazzale Michelangelo

Under Pressure

Hey everyone,

So it is spring break for most but not for me, when you have a full time job, or two you don’t really get to have your typical spring break. While I would love to be lounging on a beach somewhere or just even relaxing at home , I am currently stuck behind my desk at work watching the days pass me by. The past few days with my online midterms and projects due at the end of the week I have been struggling with staying calm and positive. I am far from calm at this point in the semester as most are. Long work days and exams are starting to get the best of me. So I decided to try some things that were suggested to me,

Spend some time with friends, you need to be around people who support you and lift you up. Sometimes you need a little down time, when you over work yourself and don’t enjoy other things in life it can really get to you.
Start each day with a bang! Try to exercise in the morning or start the day with coffee or try tea instead. Whatever it may be start the day off with something that makes you feel good.
Blog or even journal, sometimes being able to get all your feelings out can really help. I really like going back to my own blog posts and seeing how far I have come from the beginning of college. Everyone has those days where nothing is going right but staying positive and realizing how much good you’ve accomplished can change any situation.
Lastly do something you enjoy at least once a week, do you like hiking? getting your nails done? taking a nice bath with your favorite Lush bath bomb? whatever it is make sure you enjoy it. I treat myself to a pedicure on Friday nights after work, its well worth the 15 dollars to just feel relaxed and not think about anything else except the color I am going to get on my toes.

After trying some of these things the past few days I have really seen a change in myself and my outlook. So no matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up and most importantly never give up.

Keep up the good work,

Kailee

Train rides home…

Hi everyone! how was your first day back? I know mine was cut short and I had a very long commute home. On the way home though on the slow moving train I had a lot of down time.

Something about beginning your twenties and beginning a new chapter in your life becomes a little sentimental. You all know what I’m talking about everyone goes through the motions. You thought you had a plan and now you don’t know if your making the right decisions or your experiencing things that are incredibly more difficult then usual. You suddenly have ten years ahead of you that are jam packed with major life changing events. But its hard knowing what you want these next ten years to be like, but you often can’t settle with just simply not knowing. As you continue on through your next life stages you will start to realize things about life that will make your journey easier .

#1. You will Fail at something more than once, even the things you love.

At some point you will screw up your life like crazy, like really mess it up to a point you didn’t know was even possible. It will happen more then once in your lifetime too trust me. You are going to want to give up, you are going to want to be alone, or be with friends. But KEEP GOING I promise you it is worth it. This past semester I had one of those royal screw ups , not because I wanted to but because of life changing events that kept happening to me. I chose my emotions over the things I have worked so hard for, but I got through it and I am stronger then ever.

#2. How important is it to move away from home? Extremely

Lately I know a lot of friends that have been getting into it with there parents, whom all of which live at home and are in there twenties. Moving away will help this problem dissolve , it will make you realize what home actually means to you. You start to appreciate the little things and you the things that make you cringe go away. It helps you figure out who you are, how much you can take and how you will handle your life from this moment on.

#3. Debt? Your in college sweetie ( Haha)

Yes, everyone thinks they are in debt because they are in college. But are you making a mess of your credit score? do you have any money left in your account? If you have money to spare and your not in crazy debt take my advice. Travel, invest , learn something you always wanted to. I know for me I’d much rather live a life of debt if it was one I was proud of. If I did the things I always dreamed of, rather then be in debt and have no cool stories to tell. These experiences will change your life.

#5.What do you like? What don’t you like?

I know for me I landed my dream job , which I was working hard at everyday to realize it wasn’t what I wanted. Test things out before committing to it for life. You will try new food in your life, change your favorite drink or flowers a million and one times . This is what makes your twenties , you need to learn who you are , what you love and what you hate more then anything in this world. Let go of what others think and be you! You will realize nothing else matters if your not truly happy.

Lastly #6. Learn who is really there for you

Man did I have trouble over this past year with this. At this point in your life so much stuff changes you go to college, you graduate, move, different jobs, have kids (maybe) the normal things people do. Sometimes your friends from high school will not continue to follow you through the motions of life , and that is really hard to be ok with sometimes. But you will make so many new friends, join new circles and start networking. It’s kinda like that movie bridesmaids, yes we’ve all seen it , if you haven’t watch it you’ll love it. She gets all of her bridesmaids together some old and some new and they don’t clash. Her maid of honor feels like she’s changed because of the new people she’s around but that’s not the case she just found more things she enjoys. People will come and go through your life, just remember you can’t force anyone to stay nor would you want them to if you have to force them.

Being in college and a new stage of your life is difficult but don’t ever think your alone. Millions of people your age are feeling this way, most just don’t talk about it. Or they haven’t faced that one really bad screw up moment yet, once you do you’ll know what it feels like.

How is everyone feeling tonight on this snowy evening? Any new life changes?

Xoxo

Kailee

Discovering a Major: Fabric Styling

Despite the fact that the Fashion Design and the Fashion Merchandising Management programs are by far the largest here, FIT is not just a “fashion” school. We offer 29 undergraduate programs and 7 graduate programs. However, even after four years I was shocked, shocked, to find out that majors existed that I had never heard of (I’m looking at you Home Products Design). So, in an effort to bring to light the many other fantastic opportunities FIT offers, I am started a new segment called “Discovering a Major”.

Usually, I will have mini interviews with students from each major giving insight into what they actually do and learn, but for this first installment I think I will discuss my own rather unknown major: Fabric Styling.

This was a tabletop styling project we did this semester

Originally, I was a Fashion Design major and got my Associates Degree in that. However, towards the end of my second year I was getting frustrated and overwhelmed with the program. After many hours of crying on the phone with my mom questioning every possible path I could take, I decided to switch my major on the last possible day to apply for Fabric Styling.

Fabric Styling is a weird major, and no one really knows how to describe it. I say it’s a very broad field of study that mixes textile development, trend forecasting and actual styling. This variety is a big part of why I chose it. At 20 years old I really didn’t have a clear sign of exactly what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and choosing a less specific major was actually really freeing for me and re-ignited my creativity.

This was a fashion styling project we did with a real studio set up and model

I am still not totally clear on where I want to be after I graduate (and yes, it is still extremely stressful), but i know I want to stay in the fashion world and travel around the world. Hopefully I will be able to find a job that allows me to do both. So far I have had internships with a small fashion designer, ELLE magazine, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and an agency for stylists.

I was the first Fabric Styling student (along with one classmate) to have the chance to study abroad. Florence was amazing, although most of our classes were not exactly what students in New York were doing. I will say the program is not run perfectly, but there are lots of opportunities available if you take advantage of them.

This was a mood board for a lingerie design project

I really enjoy the “Fabric Styling” and “Research Techniques” classes because although the projects have specific end goals, we are free to achieve them however we feel and it has allowed me to creatively stretch my presentation skills. My least favorite class so far has been “Advertising and Promotion”. I just don’t think the advertising and marketing worlds are for me, although it was helpful to be introduced to the more business side of the industry.

We learn many different programs for developing textiles

My favorite part of the major is that it is only a Bachelor’s degree program so everyone comes from different academic backgrounds. Most people started in the Fashion Merchandising Management (although the department has been changing their policies and as of now is no longer accepting anyone from the business school unfortunately), but I have classmates that have studied Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design, Textile/Surface Design and even transferred from outside liberal arts colleges. It has been really helpful to not only see how they interpret the projects, but also hear their critiques and past experiences.

If you are interested in more examples of work I have done for Fabric Styling you can see my portfolio here. To learn more about the major itself click here!

I hope to introduce you to more of the lesser-known majors FIT offers soon!

–Emily–

Like, Share, Retweet, Follow – FIT is All Over That Social Media Game

Want to stay updated on all things FIT? Well here is an easy map to make it easy for you:

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FIT has endless blogs, Twitters, Facebooks, Instagrams, etc. so feel free to comment with one you found and particularly liked and I will keep updating this list. These were just some highlights I thought most would find helpful and interesting.

–Emily–