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US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.4.28 · item · 1995 March 1
Part of Academic Affairs records

Elaine Stone, a professor in the Fashion Buying and Merchandising Department (FBM) at the time of this interview, also served as the coordinator of the Small Business Center and the director of the Center for Global Enterprise. She talks about her first encounters with FIT students while working at various department stores during the holiday season and her invitation to speak at the school. She was immediately taken with FIT and began teaching in 1975 after meeting Newt Godnick of the FBM department while they were buying for major department stores. She discusses the challenges of teaching and describes the close-knit nature of faculty/student relationships at FIT. She worked closely with the Taiwan Textile Federation while at FIT; and her deep international experience led her to help found FIT-affiliated programs such as the National Institute for Fashion Technology in India, Caricom in the Caribbean, Polimoda in Italy, and Shenkar College in Israel. She discusses the founding of the Small Business Center thanks to a faculty retreat put on by Marvin Feldman. With the support of Jeannette Jarnow, the FBM did a survey of alumni and found that 85% owned their own businesses, meaning there was a large gap in the department’s curriculum. What began with a class in business management became a huge cross-department program with federal grants supporting initiatives such as the Women Business Owner’s Association and the Export Assistance Service Extension. Stone describes how the center has also allowed for students to attain international internship experience and discusses linkages with national economic development associations. Stone penned three books during her time at FIT: Fashion Merchandising, Fashion Buying, and Exporting and Importing Fashion. She says a little more about her professional background and then finishes the interview with a ringing endorsement of FIT and her hopes for its future.

Stone, Elaine
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.12.6 · item · 1984 November 29
Part of Academic Affairs records

Eleanor Fried, the first head of the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.)’s placement office, discusses her upbringing and the circumstances that led her to the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.) in 1947, shortly after its founding. She describes the early academic departments at the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.) and its demographics. Fried then details the institute’s successful management program and how the placement office went about developing close relationships with department stores and other employers in the Industry. Fried emphasizes the vocational maturity of many of the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.)’s two-year graduates, but explains that some students chose to go on to four-year degrees elsewhere. While the placement department was extremely successful in placing most students, it was severely understaffed; so Fried often ended up employing students to help with outreach. She explains how she stayed in contact with alumni and asked for their ongoing input regarding the school’s curriculum. Fried then describes the positive changes brought about by affirmative action, especially in regards to staffing her office. She finishes the interview by describing a book she published following her retirement as well as two she wrote while at the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.) including, “Is The Fashion Business Your Business?”

US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.1.2 · item · 1977 December 8
Part of Academic Affairs records

On December 8, 1977, Phyllis Feldkamp sat down with Eleanor Lambert to discuss Lambert’s decades-long career. Lambert reveals her first steps into the fashion industry as an art student in the midwest and how she got her start in New York City. Lambert touches on many aspects of the New York fashion industry of the mid-century, sharing tidbits about the American designers with whom she crossed paths. Lambert elucidates her involvement with helping establish The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as her varied roles in working with The New York Dress Institute, The Couture Group and Press Week, The Council of Fashion Designers of America, and The National Council of the Arts. Lambert culminates by discussing her position as coordinator of the COTY American Fashion Critics Awards and an amusing anecdote about Norman Norell, winner of the first “Winnie” award. A fashion show in Moscow, which Lambert had a hand in organizing, acted as somewhat of a dress rehearsal for, arguably, the defining moment of American fashion, the Battle of Versailles. Lambert came up with the idea as a fundraiser for Versailles palace, then in disrepair, and organized the American designers who would represent the country; this show ultimately proved to the world the talent and capability of the American fashion industry.

Feldkamp, Phyllis
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.4.7 · item · 1994 December 15
Part of Academic Affairs records

Ellen Goldstein, the Chair of the Accessories Design and Millinery Department, started with FIT’s Fashion Design Department as a part-time instructor. In 1981, the school received a federal grant for industries affected by imports and was able to start an accessories department. With additional support from the industry, the department has taken off. Goldstein explains her beginnings as a tapestry weaver and how she got into handbag design. She then describes the demographics of her department’s diverse student body. She discusses how both the 1-year and 2-year program are feeding the accessories industry and how FIT’s millinery program has revitalized an industry thought to be dead.

Goldstein, Ellen
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.12.10 · item · 1985 January 24
Part of Academic Affairs records

Emanuel Weintraub, an alum of the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.), discusses his upbringing and family life in the Depression-era Bronx. He initially chose the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.) because it was free, and he received a scholarship. Weintraub briefly discusses his course work there in conjunction with work done at New York University. He graduated in 1947 with a degree in Industrial Management as part of the second graduating class of the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.). He discusses his professional start as a plant engineer at the Lily of France Corset Company and early interest in consulting work. After briefly describing his enlistment during the Korean War, Weintraub delves into the founding of his own consulting firm, Emanuel Weintraub Associates, Inc. The firm consults in three areas: industrial engineering and manufacturing, organization and organization structure, and marketing and market research. Weintraub describes his ongoing relationship with Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.) presidents such as Marvin Feldman. Then, he discusses his company?s work in-depth; how they assess companies? organizational functionality and various national studies they have done to advance the field. Finally, Weintraub discusses the growth of off-shore production and how he thinks it will negatively affect marketing and other adjacent industries in the United States.

US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.6.2 · item · 1993 September 16
Part of Academic Affairs records

Interview with Eugene Grisanti, Chairman, President, and CEO of International Flavors & Fragrances, about Annette Green and the Fragrance Foundation. Discusses the history of trends in fragrance and the history of fragrance itself.

Grisanti, Eugene
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.4.21 · item · 1995 March 6
Part of Academic Affairs records

Chair of the Marketing Department at the time of this interview, Eve Pollack explains the educational and professional trajectories that led her to a position at FIT in 1978. As her father was a textile converter, Eve found a career in buying haute couture to be a natural fit. She worked in the financial sector as well before being offered an adjunct position teaching a class called “Introduction to the Fashion Business,” at FIT. Pollack discusses the changes she has witnessed in both the student body and the industry itself. She explains her philosophy on the pedagogy of marketing and how Marvin Feldman came to appoint her head of the Fashion Buying and Merchandising Department (FBM). Pollack then discusses linkages to the marketing industry as well as connections with other schools who send her students. As faculty adviser to the Merchandise Management Society, Pollack has set up an affiliation with the American Marketing Association. Each year the association puts on a competition in New Orleans, and Pollack’s students have won several times. Pollack talks about the upper division of FIT’s Marketing Department and how it has come to be recognized as a viable business school. She emphasizes that the future of marketing education is general and addresses all aspects of the industry. Pollack mentions a close relationship with John Pomerantz, who was on the board at the time, and talks about utilizing professional connections to find exemplary adjunct professors. Finally, she discusses the state of marketing in fashion as international sourcing increases and closes with a run down of her current faculty and students.

Pollack, Eve
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.10.29 · item · 2019 July 10
Part of Academic Affairs records

Phyllis Dillon speaks with Fern Mallis about her career in the fashion industry. Mallis discusses her time as a young woman working in the coveted Guest Editorship position at Madamoiselle magazine, and her time living at the Barbazon Hotel for Women. She goes on to discuss her time working for the magazine as an employee in her years after college, and the other jobs she took after leaving Madamoiselle. She then describes how she learned about the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), what led up to her being hired by them, and her development of New York Fashion Week. She discusses how vastly the industry has changed due to the rise of the prevalence and influence of technology, and issues with sustainability and how detrimental the fashion industry is to the environment. She finally speaks about her time on the FIT Board.

Dillon, Phyllis
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.1.8 · item · 1981 October 29 and November 5
Part of Academic Affairs records

Fred Pomerantz, long-time CEO and founder of Leslie Faye, discusses his start in the ready-to-wear business at age 10. Although he was briefly fired for insubordination, by age 18 he was running all of M.B. Kaufman. He then went into business with his brother, Michael. Pomerantz Brothers sold fur coats, and Fred talks colorfully of his sales methods. After enlisting as a teen during World War I, Fred attended a training camp. He talks about being the only Jewish person there and how, after being bullied to the point of being hospitalized, he came back and gained the respect of the rest of the camp. After a falling out with his brother ended their joint business endeavor, Fred founded Fred Pomerantz, Inc. and started in the dress business. That would lead him to found Silver Pom, for which he procured a factory in Mechanicsville, New York. Fred eventually moved to California to get into the retail business. He mentions proximity to Hollywood and tells the story of inviting 100 people to see him act in a Cary Grant film, only to find that his scene had been cut. Fred got into the retail business out west to little success and eventually returned to New York where he took a job with a piece goods house. Fred talks about the launch of Pommette and the realization of his dream to open Leslie Fay: a firm encompassing fashion, fashion shows, and annual advertisements in major women’s magazines. He tells a colorful anecdote about Dorothy Dean of AMC, and mentions his column in Women’s Wear entitled, “If I Was the King of Garment Town.” Fred goes on to say that Leslie Fay was the first company to produce petite dresses, and details his hard policies on sales. Leslie Fay went public in 1962 and Fred began building management up and increasing staff, while ensuring the maintenance of exceptional quality control. Fred also discusses two presidents of his company: Zachary Buchalter and John Pomerantz, his son.

Pomerantz, Fred
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.5.23 · item · 2010 July 17
Part of Academic Affairs records

Dakin begins the interview by briefly recounting his experiences as a teen model. Dakin explains that it was his early exposure to the modeling industry which made him realize he wanted to be an agent. Dakin mentions that he has now been in the industry for twenty years, and with Ford Models for the last twelve. After briefly commenting on his connection to the Ford family, Dakin goes on to describe his views on the roles and responsibilities of an agent, as well as some of his personal highlights from working in the industry. A central theme of Dakin’s interview is the subject of plus sized models working in the industry, and a need from within the industry to cease labeling models as plus sized. Dakin argues for greater inclusion of plus sized models in mainstream fashion, and cites many examples of working models that have had success despite being labeled plus size. Dakin frequently mentions the model Crystal Renn, his client at the time, as one such model who has enjoyed success as a plus size model.

Dakin, Gary
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.10.15 · item · 2018 May 25
Part of Academic Affairs records

Fashion historian Phyllis Dillon interviews Gary Wassner, CEO of Hilldun Corporation, a financing and factoring company established in 1958. Wassner explores Hilldun’s history, his experience in production, the issues in financing a fashion company, and his own career growth.

Wassner, Gary
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.4.30 · item · 1995 March 28
Part of Academic Affairs records

Associate Professor of Fashion Packaging and Advertising Design George Wybenga started at FIT in 1979. Each year the department accepts 25 students and Wybenga says they have a placement rate of 100%. He discusses the department’s coursework, including bridge courses, and details different types of packaging design. He talks about how the German green laws inspired FIT to focus on environmentally-minded design; each year the New York Department of Sanitation puts on a competition and FIT wins all the major environmental awards in packaging. He discusses other competitions such as one put on by the Tube Council of North America, and then he discusses a scholarship from Avon as well as various industry grants the department receives. Wybenga mentions that the International Toy Fair asked students to design posters and discusses freelance work. He then talks about how valuable the adjunct faculty is and the difficulty in recruiting teachers when they do not want to leave the business. Many alumni do end up hiring students from FIT. Wybenga says the department receives materials from industry players such as the National Paperbox Association, and then he launches into a discussion of student demographics. He thinks the international students have been a huge boon to the program, especially as packaging grows as a global industry; in the United States it is already the second largest industry after Agriculture. Finally he talks about how most students are the first of their families to join the industry and the continued growth of the program.

Wybenga, George L.
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.4.18 · item · 1994 December 6
Part of Academic Affairs records

Gibbs Murray, Chair of the Display and Exhibit Department at the time of this interview, talks about the origins of the program as a double degree in fashion display and photography in the 1960s. He discusses how the Display and Exhibit Department’s singular, comprehensive nature has led to exponential levels of enrollment in recent years, and mentions student exhibitions in conjunction with companies such as Chanel, Patrick Kelly, and Romeo Gigli. Murray details a close relationship with the National Association of Display Industries, and talks about how the advisory council gives valuable feedback to students. He discusses the student body and notable alumni from the program, emphasizing that FIT is uniquely situated for the study of visual merchandising. Murray then mentions industry seminars put on by the department and underscores the value of FIT’s 2-year vocational training. Murray ends the interview with his hopes for an art and design shop at the school.

Murray, Gibbs
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.5.5 · item · 2010 July 27
Part of Academic Affairs records

Glenda Bailey, former Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar, is interviewed by Karen Trivette in correspondence with the oral history series on the history of the fashion and beauty industries. Bailey shares how her education decisions prepared her for her career, and how it blossomed into a job she loves. She explains the skills it takes to become an Editor-in-Chief, her visions for Harper's Bazaar long-term future, her passion for fashion, and more.

Bailey, Glenda
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.3.1 · item · 1986 November 5
Part of Academic Affairs records

This interview takes place at a time when Bloomingdale's President Marvin S. Traub was being awarded the "Person Who Makes the Difference" award from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Gordon Cooke discusses the various ways in which Traub's style of leadership and business has made a difference in Bloomingdale's success not just as a department store but as an innovator in the world of promotions and business relations. Cooke uses Bloomingdale's country promotions as examples of Traub's creativity and insight regarding promotions. Cooke discusses the team-syle development of ideas, describing the equal value placed on promotions, design, sales, etc. as being instrumental in the creative development of Bloomingdale's. Cooke credits Bloomingale's with opening up trade with various countries before even the U.S. government had fully developed trade with these countries. Finally, Cooke talks about Traub's collaboration with both established and cutting-edge artists in advertisements and promotions.

Cooke, Gordon
US NNFIT SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.10.5 · item · 2016 June 27
Part of Academic Affairs records

In this interview, Karen Trivette interviews fashion curator Harold Koda about his life leading up to his work in New York with fashion collections. Mr. Koda discusses the classes he took at FIT to meet Diana Vreeland, how he submitted some of his designs to Geraldine Stutz at Bendel's, and finally wound up working as an assistant for Diana Vreeland for The Glory of Russian Costume at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. He goes on to discuss his work as a curator at the Fashion Institute of Technology with Robert Riley, Richard Martin, and Laura Sinderbrand. Koda then discusses Vreeland's curatorial style, how fashion is art, and reverse chic. He then recalls fashion exhibitions that stood out to him throughout his career, and describes some of the discourse that took place between himself, Andrew Bolton, Richard Martin, and Laura Sinderbrand for the various exhibitions they brought together at both the Museum at FIT, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, and describes the differences between curating exhibitions at each institute. He then discusses his transition to Boston after 20 years in fashion curation to obtain a graduate degree at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard, and how he was called back after three years to New York when Richard Martin became gravely ill. He finally discusses his retirement, a restoration project in the Bahamas, and the passing of Bill Cunningham.

Koda, Harold