Tag Archives: Last Class

Farewell Fashionistas!

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Sunday, December 18th  was the last class of FIT’s Fall 2016 Precollege Program. Before I say goodbye to my time here and to my readers this season, I will outline what the final assignment was like.

As an 11-week course, we had a number of assignments along the way to keep us on track, to prepare us for a career in presenting our ideas to our peers, and to test our knowledge of the material we learn. Inevitably, this last class marked the final assignment: creating a fashion line for a fictional collaboration between a chosen fashion icon and retailer.

In terms of product development, this means breaking up the fashion line into the categories of fashion, core, and essentials.

For my project, I was assigned James Dean as my fashion icon, and Brooks Brothers as my retailer. Thus, my personal goal was to create a collection embodying the edgy, rebellious side of James Dean while not straying too far from the traditional, conservative Brooks Brothers image. I had to try not to alienate the target customer, while using my new fictional brand ambassador to hopefully draw in younger customers to breathe new life into the retailer. I took advantage of the common links of layering and “All-American”-ism between my icon and my brand. This collection was my result:

I also thought it would be a cute idea to create a few outfits (to present via Keynote) out of the items in my collection, using Polyvore. These are a few results of that:

So that’s the crux of my FIT chronicles! Thank you to all of my readers and supporters this season, to my professor, to the Precollege Program directors, and to the great girls in my class for making this semester an excellent and memorable one!

I can say in all honesty that this is a great course, and I would highly recommend it not only to anyone interested in fashion, but to anyone interested in evolving into their best self in the most constructive of environments. It sounds dramatic, because it is; this class and the entire experience it promotes is honestly life-changing.

I shouldn’t hope to see you at FIT’s Precollege Program next Spring- YOU should hope to see yourself here! Give yourself the gift of self-love this holiday season and sign up for class!

-Alivia

I Hate to Wake You Up to Say Goodbye

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Well this is goodbye I guess. I don’t really know who I’m saying goodbye to because I’m not sure if anyone reads these posts except for maybe my mom and few of my fellow bloggers. But to be honest, I don’t really care. I did this more for myself than anyone else. It doesn’t matter to me how many people read what I write. I’ve used this as a platform to say what I want. To speak my mind and express thoughts and feelings about fashion and the world around me through a medium that is appropriate and in an environment that will respect me for what I have to say, because I have a lot to say.

I spent most of my time here writing in metaphors about New York and my observations and my loves and what I think it true. The truth can be very subjective at times. There’s your truth, then there’s someone else’s truth, and then there’s the truth. All different based on who you are and where you come from and what your agenda is. I truly enjoyed every minute of this. Writing this blog is what I enjoyed most about my time at FIT this Spring. I still don’t like bloggers, my opinion on that has not changed, but my opinion on myself has.

After writing this I’ve really begun to reconsider what I want to do with my career moving for ward. And while I absolutely do not have to decide now, I do very much enjoy writing and fashion journalism. The fashion world has so many complex layers. It is fluid and open but incredibly ruthless. It is not for everyone. I might even find that it’s not right for me. I don’t know and none of us will ever know until the do or die moment comes, and we see it all presented in front of us, then we will see what it right.

“All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go, I’m standing here outside your door, I hate to wake you up to say goodbye, but dawn is breakin’ it’s early morn, the taxi’s waitin’ he’s blowin’ his horn, already I’m so lonesome I could cry.”  – John Denver

Thank you very much.

Sophia

It Isn’t the End, It’s the Beginning

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So Saturday, May 17th, was the last day of FIT’s Precollege classes. It was so sad saying goodbye to my classmates and my professors, and I’m really going to miss being at FIT. I sadly won’t be able to attend the summer courses.

However, this isn’t really the end, because I’m coming to FIT in the fall. It’s so exciting to know that this isn’t “goodbye”, it’s just “I’ll see you soon”. I told my professors I’ll be visiting them next fall (more like harassing them non-stop), and my friends, although they are not coming to FIT next fall, will be taking more Precollege classes, so they can always stop by.

These Precollege classes were so amazing. I learned so much in such a short amount of time, and I had so much fun. I cannot fully express how much I enjoyed classes this semester. To anyone who wants to learn about the fashion industry or is considering going to FIT: take Precollege classes! You won’t regret it.

I really do believe that FIT is the best fashion school out there. August 18th (orientation) cannot come quickly enough. I’m counting down the days (literally, I have an app that counts down the days) until I move in.

So this isn’t the end of my time at FIT; it is just the beginning.

This is, however, the end of my time blogging for FIT’s Precollege blog. Thank you all for reading. This won’t be the last you hear of me though. ;)

Love,

Arielle McManus

How am I Supposed to Say Goodbye?

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Another semester over.  Another twelve weeks of projects complete.  Another three months of new information, new ideas, and new lessons to be learned.  New friends to be made and new places to discover. This past semester was definitely one of my favorites so far, ranking up there with the first one I took, draping, and the Level Two drawing class last fall.

We were a big happy family, and a supportive one at that. The first week was full of nervous introductions, excitement over both the amazing spinny chairs, and awe of the bubbly professor we had.  The second week had some solidly forming friendships and a more comfortable atmosphere.  People were helping each other with the projects and sharing magazines, and everyone was starting to relax and have fun. Up until the hurricane, everything was great.  Afterwards, everyone was so supportive, sympathetic, and sensitive. They were there for me when I almost cried about my chickens and listened when I needed to talk about what happened.

In the weeks that followed, FIT became even more of a safe haven for me. It became the place where I could get away from all the crazy happenings in Rockaway and the close quarters of my grandma’s house in Brooklyn. The girls in my class laughed and joked our troubles away, even if only for the few hours we had there per week.

We discovered our strengths, weaknesses, and talents beyond what anyone expected. Some people discovered hidden reserves of sewing talent just in time for their entrance portfolios, and others improved their drawings in leaps and bounds.

Personally, over the course of this class I discovered I can do anything. That there is more in me than I thought I knew.  In the end, what is important will always work out. My drawings improved dramatically and I discovered a love for paper couture.  I also made some friends who will last a long time.

So to everyone in my class, thank you. Thanks for dragging yourselves out of bed early each Saturday morning, to catch that bus or train for that ride you hate, and for taking the time each morning to dress up. Thank you to Professor Uvenio, who took the time to show me tiny little tricks with drawing that made everything so much better and for listening to my story the week after the storm.  Thank you to everyone in the office for doing everything with the clothes and toys, and specifically to Ms. Nagel for telling me to work on my faces over the summer. I can’t wait for the spring semester!

-Emily

Coming To A Close

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As cliche at as it may sound, the last day was filled with a lot of bitter sweet memories. It was nice to know that I have my Sunday morning’s back, but knowing that group of people will never be together again kind of tore my heart to shreds. The day was mostly spent drawing. I actually made something I’m really proud of and enjoyed having a chill day to relax and just talk. Of course we got work done, there was a lot of scanning, saving and most importantly cramming. The most gratifying experience was receiving the diploma. I feel so accomplished and grateful for the experience.

At the end of class we were asked to write our three favorite things, least favorite things, and something we wished we had learned. What I have taken out of this experience and what was my favorite thing was the insight to what a school would want in a portfolio. Being able to talk to someone in the department and have them show you examples is, as I’m sure I’ve said in a previous post, priceless. I now know exactly what is necessary to include and I feel confident that I have the skills to pull it off. The only thing that is not on my side is time.

At the end after we cleaned up, we took a group picture (with self timer of course)

How adorable are we?

 

(I’m the one in the striped sweater who looks like she jumped into the photo at the last minute (because I did))

Not only is FIT over, but my time here on this blog is over :( It was such a learning experience and gave me a new perspective on the class. I was constantly thinking. “Wow I should blog about this,” each time we would do something. It’s sad to leave, but it was fun while it lasted.

Thank you to all of my readers!

Mai