Risultati 241

This interview with Liz Claiborne discusses her experiences as she worked her way up as a designer. She describes her past work with designers and firms such as Ben Reig, Omar Kiam, Dave Schwartz, Juniorite, and the Rhea manufacturing company. Claiborne provides insight to the growth of her own company and all of the factors that go into the production of it.

In this interview, Robert L. Green interviews award-winning costume designer Patricia Zipprodt in her studio. They discusses the process of designing costumes for the theater and her use of apprentices to help with costume research.

Interview with Steven Elkin about his relationship and history with the Bergdorf Goodman store.

This conversation takes place only a few weeks after Schaefer had joined Bloomingdale's as the Vice President of Marketing. Schaefer gives a quick recap of the previous 13 years of his career before talking about his thoughts on his new boss, Marvin S. Traub, as well as his new position at Bloomingdale's. Coming from first a marketing background and then, briefly, a retail background, Schaefer discusses the importance of retailers being fully aware of what people are reading, wearing, listening to, and even eating. This awareness is a qaulity of Traub's that Schaefer praises and which he attributes, in part, to making Bloomingdale's stand out in the retail industry. Schaefer also talks about Bloomingdale's distinguising itself by being a place of diversion, entertainment, and fun as opposed to being simply a mode of distribution. When discussing his job interview for Bloomingdale's, Schaefer recalls being impressed by the amount of thought and planning that evidently went into the future of the store and uses the country promotions as an example.

In this interview, Stravitz focuses mostly on the challenges and successes he has faced in trying to expand the Bloomingdale's model into other markets. In doing this, he covers the importance of paying attention to each market's regional needs as well as ways in which marketing can be tailored to suit a particular market, culturally. At the same time, Stravitz explores what the New York store represents and how that can be carried through in other markets. A larger discussion of the crossover between department stores and specialty stores looks at what makes Bloomingdale's especially strong in both categories. As an example, Stravitz talks about the two "Bloomie's Express" specialty shops which Bloomingdale's had launched at JFK airport a few months before this interview. Stravitz describes the Bloomingdale's customer, across all markets, to be sophisticated, well-traveled, fashionable, and possibly affluent. In discussing his direct boss, Bloomingdale's CEO Marvin S. Traub, Stravitz describes him as deeply caring about the people he works with. He argues that Traub's personal concern for the business as well as the people connected to it result in high expectations as well as a supportive work environment. Traub's encouragement to try new things and his willingness to take the risk and support these ventures, Stravitz suggests, are what make Bloomingdale's an especially creative and entrepreneurial place.

This folder contains ten 9 x 12 3/4" pencil and watercolor sketches of dresses, hats and coats. Many sketches accompanied by fabric swatches.

In this interview, FIT professor, Jeff Buchman, talks about how he came to work at FIT. He then discusses the successes students in the advertising and communications department have experienced, such as their high employability and their scholarly and extracurricular activities. He also discusses emerging technology with a focus on videography; and how it relates to advertising, marketing, and communications.

This is an interview with Doctors Joe Costelli and Barry Ginsberg of FIT. Costelli was the chair of the math and science department at the time of the interview and Ginsberg a retired professor emeritus. Ginsberg begins by describing his start at the institute in 1956 under former Department Chair Bill Leider. At the time there were approximately 20 faculty members and 200 students. He describes the tight-knit quality of FIT and weekend trips to the Hotel Grossinger. In tandem with his work as a math teacher, Ginsberg worked as the director of admissions alongside Marion Brandriss. He explains various internal leadership posts such as his time as the department chair and his time with the faculty committee. He goes on to detail the creation of rudimentary, and ultimately mandatory, arithmetic classes for pupils based on the prompting of Jeannette Jarnow. He then explains the selection process by committee of President Jarvie and his return to teaching, his “first love.” Costelli takes over the interview and describes his educational background in biology and subsequent start at FIT in 1975. Costelli explains the heavy involvement of the math and science department in the running of the school. He goes on to describe the middle states review and the writing of his textbook, Introductory Biology and Molecular Approach. He details the lineages of FIT’s liberal arts deans as well as the chairs of his department, and how the institute used industry input to evolve its coursework. Costelli remembers FIT being run as a tight ship with a hard-line dress code and also recalls the institute’s struggle to procure air conditioning from New York state. Finally, Costelli describes how the demographics of the school have changed and how they move ever deeper into computer-centered learning.

Newton Everett Godnick, 18 year Chair of the Fashion Buying and Merchandising Department (FBM) at the time of this interview, discusses his introduction to the school and its close-knit nature. He describes the 1965 groundbreaking for new buildings and various delays in their construction. He goes on to comment on how the student body and departments have evolved over the years in positive and negative ways. He mentions FIT’s former dress code and then goes into the history of the buying and merchandising department. He describes the development of the four year program and effects of the 1970s recession. Godnick then details close relationships with the industry, distinguished alumni, and how the Fashion Buying and Merchandising Department (FBM) Industry Advisory Board has affected his department’s curriculum. He discusses the social unrest of the 1960s and 1970s and how FIT changed over those years. Finally, he discusses the formation of the UCE Union and its positive effect on FIT’s standard of education.

In this interview with Dr. Alfred Sloan, Jr. he discusses his 1958 arrival at FIT following two years of teaching at Orange County Community College, another SUNY school. He was a veteran of World War II and had spent over ten years working in the fashion industry. Sloan discusses FIT’s first home at the Central High School of Needle Trades and their eventual move to the C building. Sloan lists various founders of the school and their roots on 7th avenue in the garment industry. He describes how the fashion buying and merchandising department has grown over the years thanks to strong industry support. Sloan then mentions Rosalind Snyder and the birth of the liberal arts department at FIT. He applauds the success of FIT’s curriculum and mentions that it has served as a model for other fashion schools across the world. Sloan notes that from the 1940s to the mid-1960s, FIT had a community service requirement for students. He mentions several department Chairs and FIT’s model of requiring professional studies in the first two years in contrast to traditional liberal arts colleges. He lists the courses he teaches and mentions student placement rates. Sloan then discusses the historical success of women at FIT; a characteristic of the school he finds particularly important. Sloan describes the results of an ongoing demographic survey his department asks students to complete and FIT’s international reputation. He finishes the interview with memories of the referendum on FIT’s name in the 1970s and a brief moment of fame on the now defunct FIT baseball team.

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.

This is an interview with FIT professor, architect, and designer Ron Lubman. He discusses his professional interior design experience and the future of design in relation to computers. Lubman was tapped to help found the Electronic Learning Facility, which educated students and faculty on the coming world of computers. He discusses how early demonstrations of computer-aided design were met with major opposition. Lubman goes on to discuss several courses he built on three dimensional space manipulation and how he instills in design students the ability and desire to illustrate technically. Lubman goes into how his coursework resembles Hollywood’s processes and touts Columbia’s “Paperless Studio” as the future of design practice. Lubman then discusses FIT students and how they can be overwhelmed by computer skills without proper motivation. Lubman was recruited to FIT after he gave a lecture on the future of computers in architecture and interior design. He talks about changes in the student body over time and finally discusses interior design faculty reactions to computer-aided design.

Jean Ellen Giblin, the Vice President of Academic Affairs at the time of this interview, explains how she came to FIT as an economics professor in 1970. She was later Chair of the Social Science Department as well as the curriculum committee. After a time, she was asked to work on the development of the new upper division program which had a marketing option in international trade. She talks fondly of that creative work and how it led her to become the acting Dean of the Business and Technology Department, and ultimately led to her role at the time of the interview. Giblin reflects on the intimate nature of FIT when she joined and how that has evolved due to the growth of the school and its development of a 4-year program. Industry pushed for the creation of a 4-year program, though FIT maintained an upside-down approach to education wherein specialties were taught before general liberal arts. Giblin discusses FIT’s approval by the Board of Education and SUNY, and then talks about the support provided by the Educational Foundation. She talks about how industry advisory boards keep each program relevant, and then launches into a discussion about FIT’s international and domestic student body and how it has evolved through the years. FIT has also evolved its own programs to serve a wider array of industries in the city. Giblin praises the wide-ranging work of unions at FIT. She then discusses statutory campuses and FIT’s graduate program launched by Bob Gutman. Finally, she talks about the inherent creativity of the faculty and discusses the future of the school.

Marvin Rippy, a classroom technologist, basketball coach, and recreation supervisor at FIT, graduated from the school in 1967. Though he majored in Textile Administration and Sales, physical education was always his first love. Rippy discusses his start as the assistant basketball coach to Raoul Nacinovich in 1971 and how he took on the mantle of head coach in 1973. He discusses the competitive recruiting push that followed shortly thereafter. At the time of this interview, the team was competitive on a national scale, so Rippy had to expand his team of assistant coaches to meet the team’s needs. He mentions prominent alums who’ve been drafted by the NBA and received full-ride scholarships to 4-year universities, and talks about how they keep in touch with alumni via annual games. He notes that there have been many changes at FIT since he began teaching and laments that it feels less personal due to its growth. Rippy then talks about funding and the team’s national travel. For many students, it is their first time on a plane and Rippy emphasizes the positive impact travel can have on his students’ ambitions. He talks extensively of his respect for student athletes, and details the struggles that many of them have to go through to make ends meet. He wishes there was more administrative and faculty support and would love for FIT to create more scholarships to aid his students. The interview ends with further discussion of his own experience, running to and from FIT to avoid gang activity and how FIT basketball has created a positive and safe environment for so many.

Psychology professor Barry Karp began at FIT in 1968 and was tenured in 1971. Shortly thereafter he became active in the FIT union. Around 1986 he became administrator of the Welfare Fund. Karp discusses changes in the department’s coursework and the introduction of classes such as the Psychology of Color. He talks about changes in the student body over his time at FIT and states that FIT has more non-traditional students than at its inception; many students are coming back to school instead of coming straight from high school and the college has gained international appeal. Karp remembers the familial atmosphere of FIT in the 1970s and shares a yearbook from 1969. He mentions FIT’s growing global perspective, and talks about the appeal of their art-oriented Saturday classes for high school students. Finally, Karp discusses his daughter’s time at FIT and how it has led to a successful career in packaging design.

Professor of Interior Design and Chair of the Faculty Association at the time of this interview, Martin Zelnik was hired as a full-time professor in 1969. Zelnik received his BFA from Brandeis University and an MFA of Architecture from Columbia University. He discusses changes in student demographics, noting that students are less traditional and often older than when he started. He talks about how most faculty remain practitioners in their fields, and discusses the linkages between his department and the industry at large. Zelnik notes that professionals can be technophobic, so his students are ahead of the industry’s curve. He mentions that job placement largely falls on faculty and the students themselves, and that most of his students are working long hours during their studies. He touches on the relationship of the faculty association with the union and administration of FIT. He then talks about his hopes to expand the Interior Design Department and his feeling that FIT needs to invest in its graduate programs; he also hopes that FIT will focus on research. Finally, Zelnik says that industry interests can negatively impact FIT’s course development.

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.

Interview with Rose Marie Bravo about Annette Green and the Fragrance Foundation. In the interview, Estelle Ellis questions Bravo on the fragrance industry, it's history and current state. Bravo discusses the importance of Green and other leaders in the industry, such as Estée Lauder.

Interview of Lawrence Aiken, President and CEO, Sanofi Beaute about Annette Green and the Fragrance Foundation, 1993 August 26

Interview of Jeanette Wagner, President of Estée Lauder. This interview discusses her career, Estée Lauder's fragrances, Americanization of Europe in regards of fragrance, and the use of fragrance in Japan.

Selma Frankel reflecting on her father, Maurice Rentner.

Bernice Rentner Jablow reflecting on her father, Maurice Rentner.

In this 1989 interview Estelle Ellis interviews Paul Leblang about his time as a Senior Vice-President and Marketing Executive at Saks Fifth Avenue. They discuss the evolution of Saks' folio (or catalogue) business; the creation and implementation of the Fifth Avenue Club; the need for Saks to expand beyond the purview of evening wear; and how a store must expand while still maintaining consistent quality control. They touch upon the changing roles of women in society and how stores must adapt to this generational shift and how the oversaturation of retail stores in American society led to the closure of many of the retail greats, including Bonwit Teller.

This interview is with Jeannette Jarnow, the first chairperson of the Buying and Merchandising Department at the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.). Jarnow describes her professional ascent at the department store, Abraham & Straus, up to 1944; when she took a brief break due to her first pregnancy. Jarnow describes the path that led her to seek out a teaching post at the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.). Instead of offering Jarnow a professorial post, Rosalind Snyder invited her to found the Buying and Merchandising Department in 1956. Jarnow describes the challenges of starting a department including the extent of publicity efforts for the department as well as for the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.) itself, still struggling to make its name known in the Industry. As there were little to no instructional materials available, Jarnow assembled several books such as, “The Mathematics of Retail Merchandising,” and “Inside the Fashion Business,” that would come to be used by other educational institutions as well as by professional training programs. Jarnow briefly theorizes why the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.) was not as impacted by student unrest in the 1960s before launching into a depiction of the industry seminars her department held as a service to the Industry. She continues on to discuss the evolution of merchandising with the rise of chain stores, and the ways in which the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.) stays on top of industry trends. Finally Jarnow lists a host of successful alumni such as Sidney Biddle Barrow, the “Mayflower Madam,” who became famous for founding the most expensive call-girl operation in New York City.

Carte-de-visite depicting a woman who is a milk maid and her dog. Full caption: "Antwerp Sept. 13 1876 Vues d'Anvers. Views of Antwerp. Charette de Laitière. (151) C.K. Manley"

Framed black and white photograph of model Alva Chinn wearing Halston while rehearsing on stage for the Grand Divertissements à Versailles.