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Fond Memories of FIT’s 2016 Commencement Ceremonies
Commencement 2016 was surely the best FIT commencement ever. It was so filled with high spirits that I cannot imagine another having been better. Yet that seems to be what I say—and feel—every year at commencement. And it doesn’t matter that we conduct two ceremonies! Perhaps that is the magic of the occasion itself, one of such optimism and celebration.…
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2015 FIT Gala
Our annual gala in early June was—once again—a wonderful success. Held at Cipriani on 42nd Street, it drew over 650 people, all good friends and supporters of FIT who, altogether, helped us to raise over $1.3 million. Our honorees—trustee Ed Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue—attracted bands of admirers whose enthusiasm boosted an already high level…
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A Gift of Gordon Parks
Last month, I received a five-volume boxed set of the collected works of Gordon Parks. It came out of the blue—as a gift from the publisher, Gerhard Steidl, and Dr. Thomas Schwarz, the president of SUNY/Purchase, which is where the Gordon Parks Foundation is housed. It is a magnificent collection—one that reflects the arc of…
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Remembering Oscar de la Renta
What can one possibly add to the abundance of tributes to Oscar de la Renta following his death last month? He was, as WWD declared on its front page, “an American master” and there was not a person who knew him—personally or professionally—who did not laud the elegance, sophistication and romantic beauty of his designs,…
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Tennis Anyone?
With the U.S. Open so much in the air right now, my mind doesn’t turn to Flushing Meadows, but rather right here to 27th Street where, for years, we have been turning out championship tennis teams. That may be surprising to many people who don’t automatically link FIT with tennis or soccer or any sport,…