Allan Hershfield, who had been the president of FIT for 2.5 years at the time of this interview, elucidates the qualities that set the school apart from other higher education institutions by explaining the school’s direction and high placement percentages. He details close relationships with the industry via advisory councils such as the Fragrance Action Council and emphasizes the economic impact of the apparel industry on the city of New York. Hershfield talks a bit about the international nature of the workforce and describes a soon-to-be FIT design incubator. He also mentions the board of trustees and describes FIT’s advantageous status as both a SUNY school and community college. Hershfield then delves into the Educational Foundation and scholarships made possible by founders such as Morris Haft. He describes the bi-partisan legislative support FIT receives, and finally, discusses student projects and a particularly underestimated alum who became an extremely successful bridal designer.
Photographs of professors and students desiging clothes, working on dress forms, doing research in museums, working in the design room, learning draping, making children's clothing, working from patterns, and sketching designs.
The Bergdorf Goodman Custom Salon sketches collection contains 8,976 pencil, ink, and watercolor sketches by staff artists representing clothing and millinery available in Bergdorf's custom salon. These garments were made to order either from designs purchased by special arrangement from the leading coutouriers of the day or from sketches by Bergdorf's then well known in-house designers. Representative designers include Dior, Balenciaga, Halson and Courreges. House designers include Leslie Morris, Mary Gleason, and Bernard Newman. There is a complete run from 1950 to 1969. In addition, there is a representative sampling of sketches from the 1930s and 40s. In addition to the sketches, the collection contains preliminary manuscripts and galley proofs of Booton Herndon's book Bergdorf's on the Plaza (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956) as well as typescripts of his interviews with and about members of the Goodman family and with and about such key members of the staff as Ethel Frankau, Odna Brandeis, and house designers Bernard Newman, Leslie Morris, and Mary Gleason. The last series contains the original finding aid for the collection.
This folder contains a list of the Winners of the Coty American Fashion Critics Awards 1943-1966, correspondence between Charles James, Eleanor Lambert, and others pertaining to the Coty Awards and accusations James made against Lambert, a transcript of the testimony Eleanor Lambert gave in the Winston vs. James case in 1957 concerning design piracy, and clippings and photocopies of articles pertaining to Charles James.
This folder contains the Fall 1974 press release for the menswear label Country Britches as well as 9 black and white 8x10 photographs of looks from the collection and a black and white 8x10 portrait of the designer/merchandiser of Country Britches, Salvatore J. Cesarani.
This folder contains a biography of Cyril Cullen, a press release, an 8x10 black and white photograph of Cyril Cullen and his family, and 8x10 black and white photographs of 3 knitwear designs, 4 copies of each. There are also photographs of a building and the designer at a retail display.
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 collection consists of over 2500 sketches by designer Eric de Juan, from 1927 through 1989. The sketches include several done for Josephine Baker in 1949, as well as sketches from de Juan's two years spent as the in-house designer for the Bergdorf Goodman custom salon. Some sketches from the Bergdorf Goodman custom salon have swatches attached.
This collection is comprised of fashion sketches made for Hattie Carnegie, Inc. from 1940 - 1955. This collection contains millinery (hats) for which some designs can be attributed to Esther A. Kleeper in 1945. The remainder of the collection is ready-to-wear dresses and suits, along with evening wear, mostly ballgowns, that were adapted from French couturiers for the American woman. The sketches have been divided into millinery, ready-to-wear, and evening wear. Many of the sketches are not dated, but based upon a survey of the collection and dates of similar physical garments made by Hattie Carnegie, Inc. it is assumed that the sketches are from the aforementioned dates.
Chair of the Textile Development and Marketing Department Ingrid Johnson discusses developments in textile studies since her start at FIT in 1981. Johnson notes that course work has evolved from a more science-oriented approach to one that favors reverse-engineering textiles to fit end-use applications. She then illustrates the end-use applications of various fibers. Johnson describes her work as a home furnishing fabric developer before being recruited by Arthur Price to join FIT, and goes on to discuss successful alumni placement at companies such as Liz Claiborne, J. Crew, and Patagonia. Johnson notes the complexity of international sourcing and product development, and then describes the invention of EcoSpun, a recycled polyester textile, patented by alumni of the program. She discusses close connections with the industry and professional organizations such as the Textile Distributors Association. Finally, she describes the demographics of FIT’s student body and how the school attracts students with its international reputation.
