FIT
MARCH 2019 Issue 4
March 2019
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Volume 51
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MASTHEAD
Mason Auman Editor-in-Chief
W27
A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Alexander Lopez-Guevara Managing Editor Jenna Henley Treasurer
EDITORS Thuy Anh Dang Ishna Bisht Alivia Matthews
ART Erin Tucker Art Director Lara de la Torre Photo Editor Alexander Lopez-Guevara Thuy Anh Dang Ariana Paino Jenna Henley Dawn Bauer Karolin Buttler Nicole Territo Olivia McDowell Designers
CONTRIBUTORS Mary Helen Guastello Thuy Anh Dang Alexander Lopez-Guevara Maria Alin Lola Cornillon Ashley Fruendner Yajie Niu Ishna Bisht Alivia Matthews Hannah Krebs Litzie Butler Lara de la Torre Karolin Buttler Ariana Paino Ellen Davidson Alexandra Mann Faculty Editorial Advisors
Professor Albert Romano Faculty Advertising Advisor
W27 - as an organization and a publication - exists in large part due to the efforts of a team of women that operate at an efficiency and creativity level beyond what I could possibly expect. As I continue to learn the best way to facilitate the production of our monthly issues, it is the work of the contributors listed on this page that really makes it into something worth reading and engaging with. Our Women’s Issue is a testament, more than any issue preceding it, to the power and the dedication of the women around me - on this paper - and in my life. While a masthead is a nice gesture, it isn’t enough on its own. And much of what this issue contains speaks to the reality that more can and must be done in coordination with the women in our lives to make our communities safe, inclusive and supportive for the women that make them strong. I’d like to also use this page real estate to introduce W27’s new Vice President, Alexander Lopez-Guevara. He’s an exceptional writer and artist, and his work is instrumental to our success. As always, it’s a privilege to produce this paper - thank you for reading it. Sincerely,
Mason Ryder Auman President and Editor-in-Chief, W27
ON THE COVER: Shot by
W27 Newspaper
Karolin Buttler
Models
@W27 Newspaper
Emily Martinez Lauren Camerer
@W27 Newspaper
Jessica Garcia
www.w27newspaper.org Editor’s photo shot by Steven Molina Contreras
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FIT
MARCH 2019
contents CAMPUS LIFE
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Revolutions, Uprisings and Resistance: A Conversation with Professor Ayad
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Designing the Future for Women and the Healthcare Apparel Industry
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FIT’s Drawing Club
CULTURE
OP-ED
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Karl Lagerfeld and His Complicated Legacy
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Why We’re Here
THE SHOWS
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Novus Collective: The New “It” Fashion Show for FIT
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New York Fashion Week Nolcha Shows Fall/Winter 2019
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A Descent Into Hell: Climax Movie Review
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An Industry Dominated by Women?
FEATURE
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Woman of the Hour
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Rachel Antonoff: A Badass Boss Lady W27 Radio Events and Promo
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Maggie Rogers and Her Electric Bolt to Fame
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Jennifer’s Body and its Evolution
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The Development of Feminism through Disney Princess Movies
COVER SHOOT
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The Women’s Issue
HOFIT
15
Humans of FIT
W27 is PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER. PLEASE RECYCLE AFTER READING. A FIT STUDENT ASSOCIATION PUBLICATION.
NYC
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The Frida Kahlo Exhibition: Appearances can be Deceiving March Events in NYC
STYLE ON 27
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Style on 27
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CAMPUS LIFE
W27
Revolutions, Uprisings and Resistance: BY MARY HELEN GUASTELLO
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A Conversation with Professor Ayad
recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Professor Nada Ayad to discuss Revolutions, Uprisings, and Resistance, a brand-new course offered at FIT. In this interview, we discuss the definition of revolution, its impact, and the Global South.
economic market - that you have to pay for food. And that was precisely one way the revolution was won: under the radar. It’s an underestimation of things that are seen as apolitical but are actually political. And that’s beautiful. MH: How would you pitch this course to future students?
This course focuses on novels and memoirs that address the development and/or aftermath of revolutionary movements as reflected in modern and contemporary comparative literature. It will introduce students to the study of world literature from a comparative perspective, by examining texts produced across different historical periods and national contexts. (G7: Humanities; G9: Other World Civilizations)
NA: I want students to understand that literature and cultural studies -- what we sometimes see as purely aesthetic -- are actually very political. And the things that literature does and cultural studies does that I think other fields don’t, with all due respect to other fields, is that they problematize while they aestheticize politics in a beautiful way. So aesthetics and revolution are never separated for me. It’s the medium that allows you to do that simultaneously. Also, the constellation of violence and politics and aesthetics in a literature class is understudied and undervalued.
This is Professor Nada Ayad’s first time teaching this course at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She has previously taught the course at the Cooper Union. Mary Helen Guastello: Tell me a little bit about your background. Is this your first-time teaching at FIT? Why are you teaching this course? Professor Nada Ayad: Yes, this is my second semester here at FIT. The reason I am teaching this course is because this is what my dissertation was about, and this is my area of research -- specifically Egyptian women’s literary reactions to the three revolutions in modern Egypt. I focus specifically on “gendered” responses to the revolutionary moment. MH: Where did you go to school? NA: I was raised in Cairo, Egypt and went to the University of Southern California to study Comparative Literature. I later moved to New York in 2016. MH: How did you construct this course to be taught under the FIT curriculum? NA: I focus on literary studies and literary criticisms, but it’s really important for me to think of different genres, i.e. songs, film, graffiti art. Right now, the class is heavily theoretical, but we are also going to study two novels, two films and songs. My investment was that I wanted students to use the same critical lens that they afford literature - to use that same lens and read graffiti and read songs with the same sort of criticality. MH: If you were to describe the class, why is it important? Why is it important that you teach it? NA: When students think of revolutions, they think of revolutions as violence and being male-centric. I want to expand the definition of revolution to include actions that are seen as apolitical, but aren’t actually historically apolitical. So specifically in my research, I think about how cleaning and cooking and caretaking was actually historically part of the revolutionary process. It was so revolutionary because colonial powers did not see these gestures as political. For example, in Egypt, during the 1919 Revolution, against British Colonialism, the Egyptians took care of each other. They fed each other. It was across class. It was outside of economic exchange so you’d have rich people feeding poor people, but the English saw that as frivolous and outside of exchangeability on the
MH: You started the first day of class with Nina Simone’s “Revolution.” This speaks volumes to revolution because of her political stance of revolution as a form of violence. Why did you feel this was the right song to choose? NA: One of the things I want to do in the class is to start every day with a different definition of revolution because I want to problematize and expand what revolution is. Revolution is not one thing. The other thing I want to do is to get us to think about the Global South and solidarity in ways outside of geography. Students don’t know what the Global South is or what these topics or geographic spaces that we are talking about are, but most students are familiar with the Civil Rights movement and most students are familiar with Nina Simone. I wanted to bring in a text that was familiar in an American context, with the understanding that all students are familiar with the racial issues that we have. And then from that to build a bridge between this American context and this ambiguity to define revolution as it exists in time and space. We focused a lot in class on Simone’s lyrics engage with a complex definition of temporality. This song is so simple, but it has complexity and creates this impossible definition of revolution that is already happening – it’s already too late, it’s already happened, but it’s also happening now. MH: So revolution is a construct of time. NA: Absolutely. There is no beginning and no end to it. Which can blow your mind. MH: How did you dissect this definition of revolution? Because revolution is something that is in the past, the present and the future. NA: There is a romance when we think of what revolution is and what a revolutionary is and I want to breed and cultivate that romance, but there is also something that is very real and very dangerous. It also doesn’t really exist in a closed time because revolutions are different than war. Revolution is different than a coup. The word is so rich and multiple. Today in class we’re watching “The Battle of Algiers” and I want to focus on how this film traveled. The Black Panthers watched “The Battle of Algiers”, and during the Iraq war the Pentagon showed “The Battle of Algiers” as an example of how Arabs begin revolutions so there’s these cross cultural, cross colonial solidarities that are important for people to understand, that these things are happening, that there are
resonances (11:06) and echoes in an American context. It’s not this thing that’s far away that has nothing to do with us. MH: For context, can you explain what the Global South denotes and what it pertains to? NA: The Global South is not a geographic location, only. It stems from the colonial context. This is not only economic term, but a political and cultural one. After the end of colonialism, you have the rise of globalization so then what happens is people from the ex colonies have now moved into these historically colonial spaces, and have the suffered brunt of the challenges under globalization: poverty, displacement, human and civil rights abuses, hunger, war, disease. MH: What is one thing you want your students to take away from this class? NA: To understand cultural productions from places in the world that are seen in a very monolithic, violent way by popular media, and culture. I want them to study cultural productions that are actually beautiful and lyrical and aesthetic and also political, historical and decolonial simultaneously. I want students to be able to analyze these different genres, literatures, political theories, and songs, with equally critical lenses so that something like Nina Simone’s popular song merits our attention as much more traditionally academic works. I want to cultivate interest in the Global South, not only as a politically charged, and economic term but also one that is aesthetically inspirational, although that’s ambitious. If you are taking a minor, ethics, sustainability, English, or simply need to meet a G7 or G9, take this class. Professor Ayad brings light to issues that are undervalued and that need to be discussed. It’s important to understand and cultivate a Global perspective. The course has certainly had a sizable impact on me in a brief time.
FIT
MARCH 2019
5
Designing the Future for Women and the Healthcare Apparel Industry BY THUY ANH DANG
Conversation with Professor Amy Sperber
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rofessor Amy Sperber is a busy woman. She is a mother, a professor, a freelance designer, and a Fashion Design MFA student here at FIT. Patched denim coat or oversized black caftan, thick rimmed glasses or her messy bun,… the bold, neutral colored, visually striking style she embodies truly reflects her background as once a skateboarder and still, a punk goth. “I wear a lot of tie dyes at home”, she said. As an educator for almost 10 years, a freelancer for 20, and an inspiring advocator of change since forever, she sat with W27 to discuss about some of the health care apparel she had done in the past, the source of her passion, and her experiences as a professor and a woman. W27: Prior to the interview, W27 knows about the bra you designed to support women in post pregnancy. Could you help elaborate more about the process of creating this product? Professor Sperber: So there were two gynecologists in the Pacific Northwest who through years of practice, understood a lot of post birth breast issues that could be addressed in a special designed bra. Since they did not have the ability to design the bra themselves, they invited me to help create their vision into a reality. For instance, if mothers were breastfeeding and there were issues that needed temperature adjustments, I developed and focused on how a bra could be multi purpose: support the feeding on one breast, treat the other. Women were also able to adjust the treatment to hot or cold. Since the breasts change dramatically once the baby is born, it is important for women to maintain even feedings. If you just breastfeed on one side, the side becomes engorged, there will be pain and potential health problems. As a result, we designed a detachable tab to remind a woman which side of the breast she had fed, so she could switch side the next time. Unlike non-pregnant women, women who breastfeed or experience post pregnancy medical breast treatments need constant access to the breast. Our solution was to design easy removable cups. One breast covered, one breast opened. Women are just amazing machines, so we were designing bra for those needs which regular bra could not accommodate. front
front
back
double layer nursing/ pumping bra top layer molder foam cup with lace trim second layer trimed with decrotive elastic
W27: Besides the medical difficulties, were any other issues you must focus on while designing this bra? Professor Sperber: As much as we did a lot of developing variations for those detachable adjustors, we need to design it aesthetically in a way to make the mother feel beautiful in her bra. At the end of the day, it cannot be just a medical device. The bra is still a part of the way we dress and self-express. In addition, if we are able to put on a cold pack, we need it to be removable and sit in the freezer or else the bra would not be washable and machine dried. W27: Wow. That is truly an innovative collaboration from workers in the medical field and in the design field. How were you able to meet these two gynecologists in the first place? Professor Sperber: I had a friend who knows the gynecologists through high school, so the friend contacted me. Funny enough, my friend also worked for a team that was doing PR and Marketing for the TV broadcast of Oprah’s Favorite Things. The team promised if we submit a doctor recommended item, we would have a platform to show the world our product through Oprah. It took about a year for us to develop, sample, and do back and forth client testing to make sure the bra would work, since it is a multifunctional product. After all, they live in the Pacific Northwest I live in New York. However, the irony is by the time we had it developed she stopped her show. W27: Is the bra design publically used regardless? Professor Sperber: Not really. It was not a thing that the commercial market thinks is important and would like to support, even though pregnant women, or women in general, make up approximately 50% of the population. It is enraging when you think about it. At the end, the bra was developed just for their practice. If we personally like to commercial our product, it would require a financial commitment that neither of us have. Even though there is not an underwire or foam in this one, but dozens of band sizes, cup sizes in a range of bra samples for supposedly, 50 sizes just to start would cost us thousands
front foam cup layer inside view
view of back complete bra
inside of foam cup has pockets on 3 sides of cup to support various treatments for nipples
DESIGN COURTESY AMY SPERBER
front showing foam cup opened and suport layer with opening
Amy Sperber — Portfolio
velcro screen printed with daisy.
front view of suport layer with opening and attachement sling for
inside of foam cup has pockets on 3 sides of cup to support various treatments for nipples example of pads for various hot and cold treatments.
hot treatment insert sling has velcro opeing for thin hooks cought on loops cold treatment insert
to manufacture. Probably if we still had Oprah’s show as our platform, an undergarment company could have supported us, but we never made it. Still, it was one of the projects that I truly believed in. W27: Besides the medical bra, did you collaborate in projects that relate to health aid? Professor Sperber: I once worked with a doctor who discovered certain commercial clothing, which impact the behavior of children who are on the spectrum of autism or have sensitive sensory. We developed a line called Soft. It was meant to help parents feel happy to dress their children who experience a lot of uncomfortability due to their sensitivity. For an instance, when these children wear clothes, an overlock stitch, which we normally ignore, could irritate the nose and cause the child to create tantrums. If the parent wants to put their kid in a cute blazer, we would produce very soft t-shirts with clothes printed on them. It was informal clothing in appearance of formal ones. We did all kind of tests in seams, sewing machines, necklines, stretch control, overlocks with Indian manufactures. That was a legitimate commercial brand that continued for about 5 – 6 years. W27: Did you expect your career path to get heavily involved in designing health care apparel? Professor Sperber: I have always wanted to design practical functional clothes. My initial passion was to work for skateboarding or snow boarding companies. I was lucky to have crosspassed the people that needed to design support, health aid apparel. W27: Did the surrounding and situation that you grew up in influence this passion? Professor Sperber: Oh yeah, I was a punk rocker and a skateboarder. When I was in college from 1994 – 1997, I was an active riot girl, like woman trying to take power for women. My feminism blossomed here from understanding these movements, so when I graduated, I was determined to design clothes for girls who skateboard. Skateboarding was a sport where women were able to be active participants at the time. We weren’t just cheerleaders. The clothes had to let her move and not constrain her from doing tricks. It was a passion of mine to create these functional clothes. Sad fact, women were not legally allowed to run the New York City marathon until the 70s. It just seemed ludicrous. W27: With years of experience, why did you come back to school for the MFA Fashion Design program? Professor Sperber: Right now, for the fashion business I am in, the expectations are to produce something that would generate revenue. I want-
PHOTO COURTESY THUY ANH DANG
ed to give myself true time and space of experimentation to see what I was capable of with the experience I have. That, for me, is a real luxury. Plus, MFA Fashion Design consists of 15 very different individuals with all unique ideas, so it was a great environment to be in. W27: You are a mother, a professor, and a student. Everything seems like a lot of work. Professor Sperber: I try to give my best at everything. I still need to do the work, get good grades. I still need to be an attentive professor in the space. However, everything ultimately circles back to the priority of raising my child. So yes, I try, but I have to understand that there are limitations. W27: How was your experience as a professor for nearly 10 years? Professor Sperber: I mainly teach part time while working in the industry and communicating with my clients. Besides FIT, I taught in Parsons for almost 5 years, and a community college in Coney Island. I had the opportunity to teach students from drastically different economic ranges. Some the students I know have really struggled financially. To go to the Whitney Museum was for them, an expensive and far trip, but if they understand it is a learning opportunity, they try making it their priority. Regardless of your financial background, students would definitely succeed if they are extremely driven and hardworking. W27: How do you foster creativity in students who had the opportunity to learn from you? Professor Sperber: I like to see what they are good at and foster it, what they can do more with their passion and not shy away from unconventionality. I get excited when I see passion. It is clearly a seed of potential and possibility, which is very obvious to see. W27: What do you think is a future of fashion? Professor Sperber: 3D modeling, definitely. We need to be creative technical designers and amazing visual communicators, like how we navigate on Instagram and other types of social media. That is the future of the industry. Plus, throughout history, 100 years maybe, we have seen 44 presidents and not a single female. My daughter will see a woman president, and that would seem like the absolute norm. We have already seen progress in politics.
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CAMPUS LIFE & CULTURE
FIT’s BY ALEXANDER LOPEZ-GUEVARA
Drawing Club
Kicking off the spring semester comes with a new addition to the many clubs and organizations at FIT. Every year, these same groups make it their mission to guarantee an exceptional and enriching experience for any FIT student—one that places community and growth at the center of its values. Over in the Art & Design building, where Illustration majors spend their semesters priming their boards for their next painting or thumb-nailing ideas onto Cintiq tablets, one specific student has decided to take on the challenge of developing a special club. Alyssa Jed, a junior currently enrolled in the Illustration program, has become the lead student in developing FIT’s newest drawing club. The club’s formation follows consistent concerns from students regarding the importance of draftsmanship in the world of visual storytelling. The curriculum pushes for an understanding of anatomy, mastery of line and gestural forms, as well as a grasp of compositional ability. The students are not expected to be immediate masters, but it’s paramount that practice, hours and patience leads to such a title. The masters understood this; Da Vinci’s sketchbooks were filled with studies of anatomy, and subsequent painters turned to studies of statues and Renaissance paintings to guide them in their craft. When religious themes began to be less explored by modern artists, these same artists instead chose to explore the world around them—specifically the industrialization of their surroundings. With inventions like the printing
A Descent Into Hell:
Climax Movie Review
ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXANDER LOPEZ-GUEVARA
BY ALEXANDER LOPEZ-GUEVARA
W27
press and the camera, artists were not only able to hone their skills as time progressed, but were able to document and vastly distribute it too. This is one aspect of the business model for an illustrator. Now, just as it’s important for an illustrator to study the past, it is also important to document the present. And what better way than to draw it? Through consistent and daily drawings, an aspiring illustrator at FIT can hone their artistry by mastering the single most important aspect of it: draftsmanship. Jed hopes that the formation of the club encourages students from all over FIT to come out and practice drawing. “We have the city as our campus,” said Jed, who is looking to find the best places outside of Chelsea to practice drawing. Brooklyn is amongst one of the prospects, as well as the Society of Illustrators on Lexington Ave and 63rd Street. She even mentioned churches, considering the amount of artistry that went into the construction of their usually gorgeous interiors—filled with stained glass windows, polished wood and ornate light fixtures.
FIT used to have a drawing club, but it has been inactive for the past couple of years. Jed hopes that the new club will gain a strong following, filled with artists seeking to master their draftsmanship outside of the classroom. When asked about her concerns for the club, she mentioned that it is finding someone to replace her, come Spring 2020, when she graduates. Until then, she hopes to travel and study, and expand on the new Drawing Club.
PHOTO COURTESY ALYSSA JED
A24 has been gaining plenty of attention over the last couple of years, producing some of the most critically acclaimed films to hit the silver screen—films like Moonlight (2016), Ex-Machina (2014), Hereditary (2018) and recently, Climax. These films cultivated an entire new fan base: one that confided in any future production’s quality if the trailer indicated A24’s touch. Such was the case for the“Climax” trailer. Released in the summer of last year, it immediately received lots of buzz from the A24 fan base, as well as the fan base for master of cinematic violence, Gaspar Noé. With only four months before the deadline, Noe wrote, shot and edited Climax for its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Noé, a Franco-Argentinian filmmaker, who is known for his films Irreversible (2002) and Enter the Void (2009), has taken on another production that presents the darkest parts of the human psyche, set against a backdrop filled with bright and saturated colors and a killer soundtrack. Enter France, in the mid 90s at an abandoned school, where a group of dancers come together to rehearse and celebrate a grand performance. The film opens with interviews of the dancers, each being asked about the importance of dance in their lives, as well as questions dealing with aspirations, backgrounds and mantras—slivers of information that vaguely describe each character before the audience is hypnotized by the opening
dance sequence. In one take, Noé captures the exhilarating power, intensity and seduction of dance. Igniting the screen to Cerrone’s techno masterpiece Supernature, the audience witnesses the dancers cover a range of styles: krump, vogue, body contortions, and more— before they celebrate the evening with more dancing, wickedly funny and perverted conversation and—sangria. Unbeknownst to them, someone has spiked the sangria with LSD—a drug that when taken, produces hallucinations, changes in body temperature, and a complete disconnect from reality and logic. After another intense sequence of hypnotic dancing, the audience watches as the dancers begin to feel anxious, delirious and angry, signaling that the descent into hell has begun. Through masterful long shots and colors that bathe the setting in devilish hues of red and the most ghastly greens, Noé follows one specific character, Selva (Sofia Boutella) as she traverses through the school and witnesses the other dancers’ deliriums unfold in violent ways. The film takes place in its own vacuum—a setting that allows the viewer to watch chaos unfold uninterrupted, as if watching rats in a maze completely disconnected from reality. The experience of watching the film is a trip itself, as the audience is kept locked to the festering madness—to the point of mental exhaustion— only breaking away when the aftermath—and the culprit—is revealed. The film stays true to Noé’s aesthetic, but doesn’t cross any new lines in his choice of subject matter and cinematography. Regardless, it remains a cinematic experience that prospective audiences won’t want to miss out on. Climax premieres in US theaters on March 1st.
FIT
MARCH 2019
An Industry Dominated By Women? BY MARIA ALIN
“The Fashion Industry is Still Led by Men,” “Fashion’s Women Problem,” and “The Gender Pay Gap is Alive and Well in the Fashion Industry.” These are examples of headlines that I found when researching this topic, and they are all talking about an industry aimed at women disproportionately dominated by men. However, when deciding on writing an article about women in the fashion Industry, the idea was to tell the story about an industry that is not perfect - with its size-ism and diversity problems - but that is also a developed, forward striving one in the sense that it consists of so many talented, empowered women in prominent positions. But how far have we actually come? And is the industry really as forward striving as we think? Looking at the fashion industry from the outside (or even from the inside apparently, if I were to consider myself on the inside), it is easy to get the image of an industry that is a very modern and progressive one in terms of gender equalization. Take fashion week for instance; we look at the female models on the runway, influencers and street style stars where women definitely account for the majority of those in the spotlight. Given that women are the primary end consumer of fashion goods, we also see mostly women in the audience
of the shows and you get the feeling that this is definitely something special. An industry where women actually have the power. However, this does depend on what you consider to be power. In the fashion industry, women make up a total of 70% of the entire workforce but holds less than 25% of leadership positions in top fashion companies according to The Business of Fashion. I was surprised by these numbers. I suppose the fact women make up 70% of the industry is not that surprising, but their relative exclusion from leadership roles certainly is. This is not only an American issue, when British fashion companies revealed salary data recently there was a significant difference between the salaries of men and women. Burberry, among others, explained that the reason for this is simply that the majority of their C suite executives were men and as these positions holds the highest salaries, the equation makes sense. But how come most of these positions keeps on being filled with men rather to women? Eighty-six percent of the graduating class of fashion majors at FIT in 2018 were female. Approximately the same percentage goes for other fashion schools in the country such as Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute. This percentage continues to stay the same as what goes for the entry level jobs at major as well as minor fashion companies according to the Glass Runway, a survey done by Glamour and the Council of Fashion designers in America on the state of the fashion industry in 2018. And the survey also shows that there is no aspiration gap, as a matter of fact, women are 17% more likely than men to want to get to the top, in the beginning of their career. But somewhere along the line, most often between the climb from middle management to the top, the gender balance shifts and the male colleagues usually take over. One interesting aspect of it however, is that a bulk of the original wave of American fashion designers were women. Some examples would be Claire McCardell, Liz Claiborne, Anne Klein among others. And the European fashion market of course had its share of legendary female designers and entrepreneurs such as Gabrielle Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, Jeanne Lanvin, Madeleine Vionette and Nina Ricci. But somewhere along the line, male counterparts who often were celebrated for their artistic work and showmanship, replaced these women whose work often was described with words such as practical and functional, and this might also have had an impact on the designer companies of
PHOTO COURTESY GLAMOUR MAGAZINE
today. The question is, how do we change this? Samantha Barry, the current editor of Glamour, was quoted by Vanessa Friedman in The New York Times (May 2018) regarding this topic. Ms. Barry said, “Right now consumers put their fashion dollars behind companies that are sustainable, why not do the same for companies that are run by women? That way female-led brands benefit, and other brands will be encouraged to follow their lead.” This really got me thinking because in a time when sustainability and ethical fashion seem to be a pretty hot topic, I suddenly realized how I rarely heard anyone talking about choosing to support a brand because of their female leadership. It might require a bit more from the consumer, to learn about each and every company and figure out how their leadership model looks. But have we not learned that we as consumers have our responsibility and have to do our research about the companies we shop at? Ms. Barry’s idea might just be exactly what we need to do to make a greater impact. On a positive note, something that is palpable and might be happening as a result of the lack of female designers at major brands is the surge in successful independent labels started by women for women, such as Mary Katrantzou, Simone Rocha, Saks Potts and Rejina Pyo to name a few. And this, one has to admit, must be considered to be a positive outcome, even though starting your own label should not have to be required to acquire a top position at a fashion company. Although we are not by any means where we strive to be in terms of gender equalization within the industry, I still consider it to be of highest importance that we, in the month of the celebration of women, acknowledge the successes we have reached in these past years. Dior appointed their first female designer in 2016 in Maria Grazia Chiuri, Givenchy did so as well with Clare Waight Keller in 2017, and now Karl Lagerfeld is replaced by Virginie Viard after his 19 years at Chanel. One might consider it to be a tad late that these brands waited until now with to appoint women at the lead position, but what I would like to emphasize is that change is happening and the fact that these old, conservative fashion houses are embracing change by appointing these women in the most important roles of the company must count for something.
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CULTURE
W27
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n the midst of the celebration of Women in this month’s issue, we found it suitable to celebrate not only the birthday of this woman who happens to be born in March, but also the great successes and accomplishments she has reached over the past year, since 2018 in particular was HER year. Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, Lady Gaga now has so many items to include on her resume that I barely know where to begin. We all probably have our own relationships to Lady Gaga. Because no matter if we love her, hate her, enjoy her music, revel in her performances, get amused and inspired by her way of dressing, or appreciate her work for the LGBTQ community; everyone more or less has an opinion or at least a thought regarding this woman. What I do believe though, is that many opinions might have shifted after seeing her two latest appearances on the screen – Gaga Five Foot Two as well as, of course, A Star Is Born. My personal view especially changed, or rather elaborated, after watching the Netflix documentary Gaga Five Foot Two. When thinking about it, I may not have had that many strong opinions regarding Gaga beforehand, other than knowing that she is a great performer (especially aiming at her superbowl halftime show performance which I personally loved) but there are always those subconscious preconceptions, and I believe that I still get surprised to this day when people, public ones and superstars in particular, present themselves as vulnerable. Baring Gaga coping with heartache and physical ailments, while simultaneously showing her work and performing in the documentary really awakens emotions in me as a viewer, and for anyone who ever had to handle stress, anxiety or mental illness, I believe that the documentary becomes relatable and one does feel a connection to Gaga in a way that beforehand might have not existed.
BY MARIA ALIN
Also, in A Star Is Born, Gaga manages to show her heretofore-unseen vulnerable side in a very believable and sympathetic manner. During a screen test for the movie, director and co-star Bradley Cooper handed Lady Gaga a makeup wipe and had her remove all of her makeup before starting filming. They then had the camera zoom in on her face wearing nothing but chapsticks and eighthour cream; he would not let her be that girl from Lower East Side who was used to spending hours doing her makeup before gigs, just Stefani Germanotta. Afterwards, Gaga has stated that it put her right in the place where she needed to be for the movie, because when her character talks about how ugly she feels — that was real. She says that she is in fact very insecure and that she likes to preach about feeling confident, but that she does not always practice what she preaches. The fact that the movie is building a story around Ally, Gaga’s character, supposedly being ugly has received
some bad critique because of the simple fact that Lady Gaga is clearly not ugly. When thinking about it from that perspective, it clearly seems a bit off. However, I for one did not take it as if the issue were about her actual looks rather than her lack of confidence which on the other hand is an immensely common topic among girls and young women of today (and yesterday and unfortunately probably tomorrow). Furthermore, Gaga has a history of being bullied as a child and even as a grown up woman she has had to receive a great extent of negative comments regarding her looks, which naturally might have had an affect on her confidence and self esteem. In the film, Gaga does depict this in a very convincing and beautiful way and I do believe that this might be one of the reasons to Gaga’s increased in popularity and success during this past year – people, and women in particular, feel that they can relate. When Lady Gaga was cast for the remake of A Star Is Born, she told Cooper about the different venues she used to perform in Lower East Side as an undiscovered artist, and she prompted that they were to use one of these specific locations in the movie. Gaga also handpicked Drag Race alum Shangela to play her drag mother and insisted when the drag superstar initially rejected to audition for the role. For over a decade, Gaga has had a clear objective and that has been to support the gay community.. As soon as in her first cover interview (Out, September 2009), she stated that she wanted to “inject gay culture into the mainstream. It’s not an underground tool for me. It’s my whole life. So I always sort of joke the real motivation is to just turn the world gay.” And one step in this process, was definitely done this past year when she managed to have an even greater impact on the classic musical movie whose main character previously has been portrayed by both giants Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand, rather than “just” starring in it when managing to change the location of the first meeting of the two main characters to a drag bar. When being interviewed by The Los Angeles Times (Aug 2018), Cooper expressed about Gaga, “Her learning curve was insane, just from the first day to the second day. Everybody already knows that she’s got a God-given talent as a singer, and she was able to utilize that plutonium to act. If this is something she wants to pursue, I will just have been lucky to have been part of her story as an actress.” Gaga and Cooper have both received several awards after their performances in the movie and latest addition to the assemblage is the prize for Original Song that they, not too surprisingly, received at the Oscars for Shallow, which was written by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt. We can probably all agree that this is doubtlessly not the last we have seen from Gaga, and if a career as an actress is something that she chooses to pursue, she sure has the right support behind her.
FIT
MARCH 2019
Maggie Rogers
and Her Electric Bolt to Fame BY LOLA CORNILLON
PHOTO COURTESY COUPDEMAIN MAGAZINE
“When things are this big, why not do what you love?” says Maggie Rogers, in Juno, Alaska, for her documentary, Back in My Body, returning to the very place that she attributes to a life completely changed. And ultimately, this year, she has done just that. Thrown at lightning speed into fame after a video with Pharrell Williams went viral while she was studying at NYU, Rogers has come full circle into understanding how she wishes to be seen as an artist, how she understands this new wave of life, and where she is ready to go with the release of her first-ever album, “Heard It In A Past Life.” As a twenty-year-old college student who had to quickly adjust to a video she was unaware of, suddenly bringing her (at the time) unfinished song, “Alaska, “into the world – Maggie Rogers shows us the humbling ability of an artist who just wants to make music. Beginning the year, Rogers had already gone on tour with Mumford and Sons, performed live on SNL, and on January 18th, she released her first ever album. She has since debuted the album on Late Night with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Myers and the Ellen Show. Most recently, she brought on stage indie rock Gucci witch goddess Florence Welch, of Florence and the Machine, introducing her as “my musical big sister, the most powerful witch I know,” at her show in London. From a video on the internet just a few years ago, Rogers has clearly grown in powerful and magical ways and does not seem to be slowing down. “Heard It in A Past Life” is a twelve song album that brings us through and around the mind of an artist forced to grapple with the vulnerability, fear and excitement of something completely unseen. With a background in folk and dance music, Rogers is able to beautifully convey the elegance and the fear of something private suddenly becoming public in the form of three-minute indie pop songs. This album includes two songs from her E.P., one of which, “Alaska”, encapsulates the point in her life when music felt foreign and confusing, the shift of understanding where she wanted to go – suddenly, on a trip to Alaska. On “Alaska” she writes: This is the song that changed my life. Nearly everything that’s happened in the last 2 years has been an action or reaction related to that singular moment when this song was shared. Maggie Rogers has since performed at the University of Alaska and the University of Alaska
PHOTO COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Southeast, where she debuted her song “Back in My Body,” returning to the very place that in many ways, brought her where she is now. On her song “Light On,” Rogers writes, “I think this is the most vulnerable song I’ve ever written. It’s an uncomfortable thing to tell a group of people who supported you through everything that it wasn’t always perfect, that I wasn’t always happy. Change is messy. Messy is human.” In November of 2018, at the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in Paris, I spoke to Maggie after rehearsing and dancing for about eight hours to “Light On” for a video filmed by La Blogotheque. I spoke to her about how it was to perform at SNL, about the choice to have no shoes on stage, about a changed life, about how special it is to have a conversation with such a wholesome, down to earth musician. She told my friend she had been staring at her eyeliner all night. She wears all her own clothes, and the night of SNL, she had no idea what shoes to wear so she wore none. For the video, she wore pink high-wasted flared pants and decided mid-way that she didn’t feel comfortable and threw on blue jeans. She said that she hadn’t watched the SNL show yet because she’s worried on how it will change how it lives in her head. During the video, she told everyone, “This song is a gift from me to you, you are as much a part of it as I am, be present, take up space - push me if it feels right in the moment.” The release of Maggie Roger’s album engages her audience with the most vulnerable and comfortable self that she is willing to share with the world, through experiences that weren’t always comfortable or easily understood. “Heard It In A Past Life” is a musician existing in real-time, recognizing the strength in making space to come home to yourself, to feel gratitude and thrill towards an almost universal shift, and to let vulnerability become something much more electric.
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CULTURE
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Jennifers Body and its Evolution BY ASHLEY FRUENDNER
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n the nearly ten years since it’s release, Jennifer’s Body, has transformed itself from a failed dark comedy to a cult classic. Released in 2009, Jennifer’s Body, written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama, follows the story of Jennifer played by Megan Fox, and Needy played by Amanda Seyfried. Jennifer and Needy, who have been friends since they were children are now in high school. One night Jennifer brings Needy to the only bar in their small town of Devil’s Kettle to see a band named Low Shoulder. Later that night Jennifer is sacrificed so the band can become famous but, due to not being a virgin, Jennifer becomes possessed by a demon and begins to kill boys in the town to feed the demon in her, which causes her to glow. The whole movie is well written for the time it was made. It really embodies that time in the world. However, the film did fail when it first released. Director Karyn Kusama has spoken out about how the marketing for the film is one of the reasons it did so poorly. “I kept sort of reminding everybody, ‘Guys, we can’t market this movie to boys,’” Kusama said, “and then have them go to the theater expecting one thing and then seeing Megan Fox not really take off her clothes but rip a guy’s intestines out and eat them.” (Indie Wire, 2018) As we know, they didn’t listen to that and the marketers for the film marketed it solely to attract a male audience. Cody stepped in as well stating “You’re disappointing your audience. That’s an issue,” Cody said. “And also
you’re turning off girls, who might have enjoyed the film. It’s almost like they had a marketing plan in place before seeing the movie and then just stuck with that.” (Indiewire, 2018)
embedded in this horror film adds another layer to the horror aspect in itself. High school is often described as hell which adds to the film.
There are so many aspects of this film that are what caused it to be received by an audience that wasn’t expected. Perhaps the movie was too early for the audience that has now made it the cult classic it is today. Platforms such as Tumblr saw many users talking about the film. This film isn’t meant for a male audience in truth it’s for women. Though we have this toxic friendship of sorts when it comes to Needy and Jennifer we also have this relationship that’s more than just platonic as many viewers have come to say. It’s showing a girl who is only seen as an object being of power in the sense that she is now murdering people that only see her for her looks.
When it comes to what people see as the rape/ revenge narrative, Kusama speaks of it stating that “It’s so interesting...everyone working on this film called it the ‘sacrifice scene’ the ‘rape scene’ or went so far to call it a ‘gang rape’.” She felt that she had to keep explaining that she isn’t raped but, “the sense of violation and just the fact that she’s spread eagled on a rock and in the middle of nowhere kicking and screaming for her life, I think that that creates a collective unconscious sense of that’s the experience for so many women… I understand the comparison of a rape/revenge story.” She wanted to explore more the dehumanization of women and of how this is more of a violation/ revenge story due to the dismissal of Jennifer as a human and as just a tool to advance someone else’s life.
A recent Q&A with Kusama after the showing of the film at Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg where they discussed how the film has grown over the years. Kusama felt a connection to Needy and Jennifer which is what caught her attention when she was looking at the script. “Something I always loved about the script is that the boys are not bad guys. It’s not like it’s actually an easy narrative where the boys are jerks and the girls have to take an easy revenge path, they’re victims too.” Kusama says that due to the narrative of the film makes it so much easier for people to view this film without gender roles. The high school experience being
While the movie flopped at its release, Jennifer’s Body has grown with the times and been picked up by an audience who has found new meaning in this 44% rotten rated film. It’s a film that’s truly shifted with the times and picked up new meaning from those who are now viewing it. Hell is a teenage girl, one who isn’t going to let some boys use her to make their lame rock famous.
FIT
MARCH 2019
The Development of Feminism through Disney Princess Movies BY YAJIE NIU
Foreword:
of view who you want to be. Female’s dreams shouldn’t be about pleasing the patrilineal society, but instead about pleasing themselves.
From the first movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), to the most recent Moana, Disney princess movies have been in the public’s view for over eighty years. Although those movies do not have any particular connection with each other, there is one obvious clue that shines through the timeline: the development of Feminism and the change in female’s social status. The Pre-Feminism Princesses: Stupid, Good at Chores.
Beautiful,
In 1937, the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a huge success, for it not only brought Disney fortune and fame that allowed them to build up their animation empire, but also influenced the production of future long animations. Inspired by the classic Hans Christian Anderson story, Snow White was portrayed as perfect. This however, also made her the dullest Disney princess, since she did not have any character. Throughout the movie, all Snow White did was sing and dance and play with animals (which soon became the basic characteristics for most Disney princesses), she always obeyed and never attempted to be independent. In a few words, Snow White was a passive character from the beginning to the end. But as movie critic Roger Ebert stated, the movie itself wasn’t about Snow White but instead about her fairytale world. America had just gone through the Great Depression in 1937, the people truly needed a fairytale to give them hope and confidence to carry on, it proved that Snow White did not fail its purpose. Moving on to the 1950s, slightly after WWII, Disney saved their bankruptcy with the successful release of Cinderella, following a similar business strategy as the production of Snow White. However, dull princesses that spark hope only attracted a specific audience that had gone through destructive traumas. Sleeping Beauty, which was produced during a rather peaceful time (1959) received little attention compared to the previous movies. Sleeping Beauty was such a failure that Disney did not produce any princess movies in the next thirty years. It’s not difficult to discover that except for their beauty, kindness and sweetness, all three princesses have a talent in chores. The movies even waste a good ten minutes or so in each to emphasize this point. It’s undeniable that the princesses’ image was tailored to represent the ideal women defined by the patrilineal society: men not only need a beautiful wife, that wife also should be capable of being a good housewife. Only women who live to these standards would be saved by men (represented by the princes in the movies). Intelligence? Innovative minds? Individualism? Doesn’t matter. Elements of feminism were represented by female villains: no matter if it’s jealousy, desire for power or abstractly ‘evil’. Perfectly understandable and acceptable characteristics in modern society. The female villains represent the talented, intelligent females who are prejudiced in a masculine society. PHOTO COURTSEY JIRKA VINSE JONATAN VÄÄTÄINEN
New Wave Feminism Princesses: Confident, Powerful, Living it Up.
Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora all were tailored to fit male’s ideal female stereotype.
More diverse princesses started to appear after 1989. They were less perfect but all had a strong character. On the other hand, all the males in the movies were made to be good characters, no matter who they are or what they do. The Post Feminism Princesses: Imperfect, Diverse, Rebels. In 1989, The Little Mermaid hit the big screens, releasing a fresh wave of feminism with her. Perhaps Disney finally realized their reason for failure, they started to make changes to the new princesses they were creating. Ariel for example, did not share the perfections like the previous princesses, instead she was like a teenage girl who would fight with her father, run to forbidden places, and even set off on her own to find her true love. Belle in Beauty and the Beast was even more amazing: she was the first princess that knew how to read, a priority enjoyed by males solely for a long period of time, which was also a way for them to gain high social status or power. Belle is a brave, clever, independent young woman, strictly speaking she is the very first feminist princess in Disney movies and the most popular among all Disney princesses. The reproduction in 2017 continued to emphasize the feminist elements in the original animation and brought the movie to a new level with the feature of Emma Watson. At the same time other movements such as the protests against racial discrimination forced Disney to be diverse while creating their princesses. In the following years, colored princesses started to appear with their stories: Middle Eastern princess Jasmine from Aladdin (1992), Native American Pocahontas (1995), and Mulan from China (1998). Although all these movies have already made progress by creating princesses with various characters that stayed away from the stereotypical social ideal for females, the idea of bonding females with marriage and family stood in the way of the revolution. At the beginning of the movies, all the princesses faced the bitter fact that they could not find a perfect husband, but as the movies proceeds they all managed to find their true love, as if the purpose of their adventures were still related to love instead of themselves. Although Mulan saved her country with her excellent fighting, extraordinary courage and wisdom which is something very masculine that was never pictured being accomplished by a female, especially by a female in a very conservative Eastern country. But do note, Mulan did not become a rebel for herself, instead it was only to save her father from being forced onto battlefield; She had worked hard and fought hard in the army not because she wanted it, but simply because she had to prove that she was as good as the males. Post Feminism princesses escaped the fate of relying on princes to save them, but they had not come to realize the deeper purpose behind feminism: to put male stereotypes about females aside and decide from a female’s point
The princesses that appeared after the Post Feminism princesses all had the clear idea what they wanted to do and who they wanted to be. In 2001, a not-so-popular movie, Atlantis: the Lost Empire was released. Although the movie itself is not a princess movie, the female character princess Kida is one of my favorites. I consider her the princess who is closest to modern day females. According to the movie, Kida understands different languages, she masters Atlantis’s cutting-edge technology, she fights and moreover, Kida holds the power of Atlantis, something that has never happened with any other female character Disney produced. Kida however was quite forgotten, possibly most people in the early 2000s couldn’t accept the existence of such a powerful female character. A few years later in 2009, The Frog Princess featured the very first African American princess, entrepreneur princess Tiana. Unlike the previous princesses who were doing everything only to prove themselves, Tiana had the dream of owning her own diner since she was young, and the audience witnesses her hard work for her dream from the beginning of the movie. Tangled (2010) is another perfect example that indicates the deeper concept of new wave feminism. Rapunzel who was abducted since birth had a simple ambition: to find her blood bond family and to seek her own (female) identity. The movie ends with Rapunzel united with her parents as she finds out who she really is. The ‘prince’ of the movie, Flynn, is actually no prince but a thief, the love between them was only a side product during Rapunzel’s journey. In the next movie Brave, Scottish princess Merida not only enjoys extreme sports, she is also the very first princess who refuses marriage, which puts her mother under a curse. Moana was the first Disney princess to have proportions more akin to an average person, her characteristics were built quite like Kida but since the decade had changed, people accepted the “Power Woman” image much better than before. As for Frozen, it was one of the most controversial and most talked about movies of the time. In Brave and Frozen, the themes are focused on the relationship between females instead of between male and female. Frozen focuses on sisterhood between princesses Anna and Elsa, and the prince finally plays the role of the villain. Some viewers suggest a deeper meaning behind the film - the implication of lesbian relationships. Although it is quite debatable, one sure thing is that instead of depending on men, females become each other’s’ saviors. In the movie, Elsa lives under strict confinement by her parents in order to prevent her from hurting others with her superpowers, just like how society used to suppress women. At the end of the movie, Elsa accepts her true identity and releases her superpowers, clearly communicating a message: Females should not be afraid of being who they are and who they want to be. Looking back at the Disney princess timeline, I’m proud to see how much progression the feminist movements have brought to the animated society which reflects the sentiments of our world. Maybe in the future there will be transgender princesses, drag king princesses, or scientist princesses. But nevertheless, Women’s Movements will continue, revolutions will spark, gradually society becomes better.
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W27
COVER SHOOT
' Creative/Art Direction: Erin Tucker Photography: Karolin Buttler Styling: Nicole Territo Set: Olivia McDowell Models: Lauren Camerer Jessica Garcia Emily Martinez
FIT
MARCH 2019
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COVER SHOOT / HOFIT
W27
international women’s day friday, march 8, 2019
FIT
MARCH 2019
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HoFIT HUMANS OF FIT BY ISHNA BISHT
NEGUSS FLASH ADVERTISING, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Flash is a freshman at FIT who is enthusiastic about everything AMC stands for. He aspires to be a Creative Director of fashion magazines and his love for editorial justifies it. He was born and brought up in New York and is bold as brass like any other New Yorker. What is ‘Women’s Empowerment’ to you? It is a topic that we shouldn’t even be fighting for. It should come naturally. It’s more than just fighting for equality. It’s a basic necessity.
How can fashion play a role in this social issue? I think our industry is one of the few industries that does not have this issue as largely as other industries. A lot of well deserving women are at the top here, running this industry with full force and they are an inspiration to other girls as well as the society, proving that they can be these powerful game changing leaders.
Who are the ‘Superwomen’ in your life? Every woman in my life has played a different role in shaping me which I’m very thankful for. My sister has supported me my whole life. She taught me to face my fears and not be afraid of taking risks. My mum is a hardworking woman and I learned from her how precious time is and that one should make the most of it.
AMBIKA RANA FASHION DESIGN Ambika is an international student who is talented and, I must say, crazy enough to be in the intensive One Year AAS program. She is from India and has brought with herself her unique aesthetic of effortless Indian-Western fashion.
How can fashion play a role in this social issue? I think empowerment is about confidence and having your own identity and fashion is a great tool to reflect that. Fashion is not just an art, it’s a way of expression.
What is ‘Women’s Empowerment’ to you? To me women’s empowerment is to be treated equally and to have the ability to make my own decisions free of any judgment. It is such a basic thing that it’s sad we’re still fighting for it in the 21st century. Who are the ‘Superwomen’ in your life? All the women around me are ‘superwoman’ in their own right. They have all struggled to be where they are today and it’s really remarkable. They inspire all of us every single day.
JOSEPH LIN MENSWEAR DESIGN Joseph is a Burmese born American and has been naturally inclined towards fashion and tailoring since childhood as his father is in the business. His love and passion for menswear tailoring did not leave any thought for confusion while choosing a career for himself. He aspires to be the Creative Director of Dior Menswear as is reflected in his aesthetics. What is ‘Women’s Empowerment’ to you? I think it is simply their basic right for equality. We don’t realize how important women are. I’ve seen my mom go through a lot so I have a lot of respect for women and what they have to go through at every step of the way. I think the focus should always be on what the person’s good at rather than their gender.
Who are the ‘Superwomen’ in your life? My mom has always supported me in my choices. She has always pushed me to work hard and to grab every opportunity life offers you. She has taught me to always give my 100 percent at everything I do. How can fashion play a role in this social issue? Our industry have a lot of women. Strong, independent, powerful women who have taken over the world. But the thing is it’s not just one gender who dominates this industry. Those who are good at it are at the top. That is inspiring. I think it’s not necessary to make rebellious art and quotes to help this issue. Rather than showcasing it one should absorb it in their habits. I honestly think that’ll be more impactful than anything else.
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OP-ED
W27
KARL LAGERFELD
and His Complicated Legacy
BY ALIVIA MATTHEWS On Tuesday, 19 February 2019, the fashion world was dealt a significant blow, as it lost one of the most iconic and influential designers in modern history, German-born French designer Karl Lagerfeld. Respected and loved by most, he is credited with being the creative director of major fashion houses Fendi, Chanel, and his own brand Karl Lagerfeld. For decades, his innovation and ingenious thinking powered the Chanel and Fendi brand forward with classically chic silhouettes featuring modern twists. To give a brief fashion history lesson for those new to the Lagerfeld name, he entered a coat design competition sponsored by the International Wool Secretariat, won the competition and befriended Yves Saint Laurent and was soon after hired by Pierre Balmain (all these names sound familiar yet?) . He worked as Balmain’s assistant, and later apprentice, for three years. In 1958, Lagerfeld became the artistic director for Jean Patou and freelanced for designers like Chloe and Valentino before he was hired by Fendi to modernize their fur line in 1967. Most notably, he saved the Chanel brand from collapsing in the 1980s by taking over as creative director since Coco Chanel died in the
70s, revamping its ready-to-wear fashion line and creating the interlocking C’s logo we all know and recognize. To this day, his repertoire of fashion insight is legendary, but so are his snarky and vocal attitudes about women. Through all the greatness and success of the brands Lagerfeld has led, he was also under fire on multiple occasions for his outspoken and larger-than-life attitudes toward critical women’s issues like body type, feminism and stereotypes and hypocrisy. In the well said words of Rebecca Jennings in her Lagerfeld tribute article in Vox, “[he] transformed what we know today as the aesthetics of wealth [and] also took great care to determine what wealth and status were not: fat.” Throughout the length of his career, Lagerfeld was quite open about his disdain for women larger than the universal runway model size, which is considered a 0 or a 2 at best. In an industry that already ostracizes anyone outside of this range, Lagerfeld was among the few designers who actively defended the unspoken practice of hiring exclusively skinny models to walk in shows and pose for campaigns, on the grounds that “No one wants to see curvy women,” as he told the German magazine Focus in 2009. In the same interview when he was asked how he felt about the German women’s magazine Brigitte announcing that it would only publish photographs of “real women” instead of photo-enhanced models, Lagerfeld said, “You’ve got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly. The world of beautiful clothing is about ‘dreams and illusions.’” Lagerfeld was also critical of Adele’s weight and Pippa Middleton’s (Kate Middleton’s sister) look during the Royal Wedding claiming that she looked better from the back than in the face. Even in the face of the #MeToo movement, among claims of sexual harassment by three models, Lagerfeld bluntly criticised to Numero magazine, “If you don’t want your pants pulled about, don’t become a model! Join a nunnery, there’ll always be a place for you in the convent.” Despite the questionable, bizarre truth in his statements about the cruel reality of criticism of the female body and feminism, Lagerfeld, for all his abrasive, conservative beliefs, was best known among his peers for his quirks: his impossibly spoiled cat Choupette, his
unapologetic devotion to glamour, and downto-earth humour like referring to selfies as “electronic masturbation.” There are plenty of Lagerfeld quotes that are objectively hilarious and showing his better side: in his 2013 book The World According to Karl, he wrote, “Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants.” Much to the chagrin of millions of girls and women everywhere, this statement may hit a bit close to home because of how much truth it holds, but holds the lighthearted principle that there is never an excuse to lack style. But at the end of the day, his fashion police tendencies can be attributed to several factors, including his severe weight loss in the early 2000’s and his views on feminism. As vocal as Lagerfeld was about body types, and even the #MeToo movement, he took it into even greater heights when he shocked Paris Fashion Week 2014 with a finale that left everyone with mixed feelings. A review article by The Guardian started off with commenting, “On Tuesday 30 September 2014 the unthinkable happened: feminism entered the realm of high fashion. In the finale to the most anticipated show of Paris fashion week, Chanel models strutted down the catwalk brandishing placards demanding women’s rights, in a faux protest that was simultaneously hailed as a breakthrough for a new wave of feminism and decried as consumerist claptrap”(Topping). Powerfully put, just as the show was, Lagerfeld’s models marched down the runway with bullhorns, exchanging placards and standing up for women’s rights and equality. While noted that Lagerfeld was known for his sense of humour, the show was not simply a joke or mockery. Trish Halpin, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire “thinks he was harking back to Coco Chanel’s feminist values – she was very much a strong and empowered woman. I think this just shows that fashion, feminism and empowering women do not have to be mutually exclusive.” The controversy of it all lies in the hypocrisy of “jumping on a feminist bandwagon in order to sell designer handbags” after all the calculated, offensive comments toward women. Writing in the Guardian, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett suggested that the movement had been appropriated by the designer and his fashion house. The slogans held up by models – including “Boys Should Get Pregnant Too” and “Make Fashion Not War” – could be the “inner script” of a “talking feminist Barbie doll”, she said. “It is the fate of any counter-cultural movement to become co-opted and repackaged. The market dictates, and the market has decided feminism is cool.” And indeed it did, paving the way for other designers to address political issues more forwardly in the world of high fashion. Through the dry humour, quick wit and never-ending brilliance, Karl Lagerfeld was truly a force to be reckoned with and will be greatly missed by the fashion community worldwide.
FIT
MARCH 2019
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Why We’re Here BY HANNAH KREBS
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here are many towns in Baltimore County, but the people in these towns rarely interact with one another. Everything they know and love is believed to be right there in front of them, so why would they venture outside their town? As this was the accepted culture, I decided to abide by it. I made friends with the kids in my neighborhood and elementary school, even if we had very little in common, and I never stepped outside of my comfort zone. In middle school and high school, when we finally had the opportunity to socialize with students from other towns, we had already established our friend groups and were nervous about stretching beyond our jurisdictions. I had made a couple of friends from other areas but worked tirelessly to maintain my friendships with the local kids. Even though I didn’t truly relate to them, they were the only company I had. In hindsight, I realize that I could have been a lot happier if I had at least tried to embrace life outside of my town, but like my peers, I was intimidated by the unknown. However, when you’re living within a bubble, you eventually reach the perimeter, you run out of places to go, people to see, and things to do. I grew bored of the sameness. I would try to stretch myself by taking day-trips and short vacations but even then, I felt as if I could never get far enough away. My life had become an inescapable routine-school, home, work, friends, repeat. By the time I was sixteen, I knew I had to leave, not just Baltimore County, but the state of Maryland. I needed something new, anything new, but most of all, I needed to be somewhere where I could flourish. Speaking to my friends here who are also out-ofstate, it became apparent to me why we found each other. In our own nuanced ways, we each felt the need for something more. I decided to interview Delaney Nelson and Emily Qualia to better understand their reasons for coming to New York. Delaney is in her second semester in the twoyear Fashion Business Management Associates program and is originally from Rapid City, South Dakota and Emily is in her second semester in the one-year Fashion Business Management Associates program and is originally from Del Rio, Texas. Delaney answers first, followed by Emily. The first question I asked was simply: why did you come to New York? Delaney: I came to New York partly for school, of course, but I guess I’ve just always been attracted to the romanticized idea of what it is, and I don’t know, movies and books, and there’s so many opportunities here, and obviously I want to be here for fashion and this is the place to be in America for fashion so that’s kind of why I’m here. It’s just New York. It’s so diverse and there’s so many kinds of people here and so many different things to do that I felt like I wasn’t in America, yet at the same time I knew it was America, of course, but it was such a different feeling from anywhere else that I’d been, and that uniqueness really drew me in. Emily: I came to New York mostly for the opportunities, being from Texas, especially South Texas, there are hardly any retail stores to shop at, there aren’t a lot of options so I felt very limited there and I wanted to be in a city where they had everything, not just the bare minimum. I wanted to experience everything and I wanted to be around people that had shared interests and shared passions and people who wanted to be challenged because I didn’t feel challenged in the environment that I was in.
Then, I asked bluntly: what did you not like about home? Delaney: So I’m from South Dakota, a small town, about 70,000 people and although my side of the state is a bit more liberal, it’s still very traditional and everyone is very much the same. It lacks a lot of individuality and there’s no opportunities for fashion. I don’t want to say no, but not what I’m looking for and although I love where I grew up and I’m very thankful for it, I knew that there was more for me and that I could be successful anywhere, so why not be successful in one of the most amazing cities. Emily: I feel like I appreciate my hometown in Del Rio, Texas, I appreciate it for what it is but I just always wanted more and what I also didn’t like is that it did lack individuality and I just felt like nobody was pushing me to be more than what I was and just being in this environment has pushed me and I’ve been more challenged. So, that’s what I didn’t like and that’s what I found here. My final question: how has your experience been since moving here? Delaney: It’s been a lot and I didn’t have any expectations coming here. I knew where I was going to school and that was it. I didn’t know anybody, but so far I’ve made some really amazing friends and that has been really important to me, and you know, homesickness, as far as that goes, it hits me every once in a while, but I know this is where I can be free and have independence and that is such an amazing feeling. So, that’s been a plus and also, just school in general, being able to learn what I want to learn for once rather than the required curriculum in high school, that’s been really awesome just exploring this whole new side of something I’ve always been passionate about. However, of course, being an adult now comes with a lot of other challenges like money and even buying groceries, and time management is a huge thing. Yeah, it’s been all over the place, but over all it’s more than I could ask for. Emily: Well, there’s been a huge shift from the first semester to the second semester even just in the people, I feel like everyone arrived first semester with kind of a wall up, ready to compete, but the second semester, people have kind of unified a bit more and it feels like more of a community this semester, so it’s been a nice transition with that. I feel like I came to New York and to this school with a very specific expectation of how my experience was going to be, and at times I felt kind of disappointed because I’d created this sort of fantasy, but as I just let life happen and take opportunities as they come, I’ve been a lot more satisfied with the way things have worked out. Our reasons for leaving our hometowns behind and coming to New York as well as our experiences so far have been surprisingly similar. When I arrived at FIT, it was tough in the beginning to adjust to life without my mom and brother. They’re my biggest supporters and I had never been apart from them. It was especially hard to leave my brother who I realized, shortly after leaving home, was the closest thing I had to a friend. However, I quickly adjusted and feel that I couldn’t have asked for more, I’m living in a city with a plethora of areas to explore, studying what I love, and have the most amazing friends with me along every step of my journey. Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is truly my life. I had spent so much time brooding at home that I started to normalize my sadness, but all it took to free my mind and lift my spirits was moving to New York. New York has changed me for the better and for that I am eternally grateful. PHOTO COURTESY HANNAH KREBS
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THE SHOWS
W27
NOVUS COLLECTIVE
Meet the FIT designers from The Spring 2019 Novus Collective:
THE NEW “IT” FASHION SHOW FOR FIT
INDERCAGE - BY MYASIA CODY AND JAVANCE GRAHAM
BY THUY ANH DANG
A fashion brand owned by two siblings -- Myasia, a designer, and Javance, an artist -- who found their styles both seek symmetry, proportion and harmony, which are the beauty conditions to achieve the Greek’s ‘Golden Mean’. The designs show simplicity but use color blocking, geometric shapes, and patterns to define the boldness and the sophistication in the woman’s natural shape. They wish to empower women who are insecure about their outer appearance to embrace the ‘inder’ within their natural self, and not have to go through means of plastic surgery to attain a certain beauty standard. Even though the two designers were able to deliver the motif through means of construction for their first collection, they are still trying to reach the financial ability to print Javance’s intricate artworks into the designs. Within the next five – ten years, they hope to expand to manufacturing locally in New York for closer management and have a family of employees, collaborators who appreciate and believe in their message of design.
If you have followed some of FIT’s fashion design friends on Instagram, or have passed the campus bulletin boards, you may notice the hustling energy coming from numerous independent runway shows of designers at FIT, including the first season of the Novus Collective. Novus Collective is a collaborative group, started in 2019 with five fashion designers who wish for exposure and experience without the heavy financial expense of an entire debut. Think Style Fashion Week of New York City or Runway 27 of FIT. As Novus Collective advances to the next season (yes, there will be a show every season), they hope to collaborate with more designers in and out of FIT. W27 was fortunate to be one of the guests for their first fashion show. I was lead through a long pristine hallway with gallery walls, which led to a well-lit runway space with chairs neatly placed. Designers had their own room for last minute adjustments and styling. Every person in the team had specific positions. I was surprised by the professionalism coming from such a small independent team. The following interview happened in the midst of the aftershow chaos with Myasia Cody, one of the five designers and organizer of first season’s Novus Collective. While congratulating, networking, and figuring out last-minute payments, she was aware of the cleaning hour time crunch before the building closed. W27 was with her after she finished ordering pizza to Kaufman Hall for the aftershow team celebration. W27: First of all, congratulations on the first Novus Collective fashion show. How is your current state of mind? Myasia: It felt like accomplishing just the beginning of something bigger. It’s important to understand everyone really collaborated together to make the show happen. I initially wanted to do it so badly. I know am going to school but I want more. I want to develop my own brand, so instead of waiting for years, I would rather start right now and keep learning as I go, though people have advised me not to. I invited designers who wish to do the same thing, and that was how it started.
“‘Inder’ in Hindi means ‘god’. In the Hindu culture, someone called ‘Inder’ is popular and a lot admired. When you see someone who is well admired, you may say I wish I could find that magnetism they have without realizing that you cannot grasp it in someone else, but you have to find it from within. Easier said than done, as if it is caged by our internal hardships. However, if we strive to seek that authenticity, we can attain that popularity, that mystique, that magnetism that everyone seeks, ‘The God Within’.” - Javance Graham
W27: How was the process of creating an independent show? Myasia: I am glad we had four other designers and a whole team, but it was a long process. Figuring out what you need to do, financially making the deadlines, booking the stage venue, ordering fabrics, models, photographers, et cetera, along with finishing the deadlines for school work. It is not a company yet, but it felt like having your own little business and you were learning as you go. Five of us, designers, were able to rent a venue for about $1,400, and had about four – five months to get the money together. Managing the guests was also challenging. You want their friends and family members to come. You want other people to come. Some people could not get the tickets right away, so there was the waiting process and the rush. You need to make sure you are organized and keeping track that way.
SLS
Sophia Scinto remembers her childhood totally immersed in the design world. Her father is an artist, and had a major impact on her dream of becoming a fashion illustrator and influences the creative modern input evident in her designs. At the age of nine, she would doodle in her binder and sign it as ‘SLS design’, the initials of her full name, which later become her brand name. She often does not get inspired by history, but by the present and future of streetwear which she describes as edgy and structural. Sophia Scinto wishes to represent her brand with a message of confidence and body positivity, as her designs reveal a woman’s body through many cut outs and detailing. “You can be fashionable and beautiful in any size, which to me is important.”
W27: How are you able to invite the guests to the show? Myasia: I would meet people in the train and ask them if they would like to come to our show as VIPs. You could just tell someone’s a stylist since they dress their part well. They did come. Besides that, we are FIT students. When we volunteer in New York Fashion Week, we meet people and create a network at those events, which we can use and expand further. Perri Jones is Liu Jiashan’s friend who she met at New York Fashion Week. She knew Alexander Wang’s siblings Dennis Wang and Aimee Wang who we invited to the show also. W27: What is your goal for next season? Myasia: To have more designers, and possibly get a bigger space. Hopefully, the Novus Collective could in the next couple of years become an organization part of the New York Fashion Week. W27: How would the designers register to be a part of the show? Myasia: We do have an application process. Hopefully, by the end of March, we will have a final list of designers for Novus Collective Fall 2019. You either send us your information to our Instagram account @novus_collective or email to indercage@gmail.com. Simple as that. You do not have to be in FIT to do this. We look forward to their next show on Fall 2019!
- BY SOPHIA SCINTO
PHOTO COURTESY BRAD HARTER (@BRADHP)
FIT
MARCH 2019
LIU JIASHAN
- BY JIASHAN LIU
Jiashan Liu showcased the debut collection in Novus Collective inspired by the silhouettes and the construction of 80s menswear and womenswear. It is evident she does not see gender as a restriction, but a possibility for exploration in style and power. She wishes to represent her brand as genderless, because she believes as humans, we can both be badass and sexy at the same time. “When Myasia asked me if I want to do a show with her for Fall/Winter 2019, I was like sure without any further thinking of all the chaos and hard work it entailed. The process was literally blood and tears. School has always been intense, so winter break was my only time to work on this collection. I made a calendar of due dates, every five days a look is due, no New Year or Christmas celebrations. I sat in front of a sewing machine the whole month with my boyfriend supporting me in the back of my tiny apartment. Shout out to my boyfriend Renaldo Correa, and also my beautiful roommate Jessica Zaffiro for helping me to finish everything on time!” PHOTO COURTESY BRAD HARTER (@BRADHP)
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
NOLCHA SHOWS FALL/WINTER 2019 BY LITZIE BUTLER Nolcha Shows hosted 8 designer runway shows at Fall/Winter 2019 New York Fashion Week. Designers including UNWONTED, ACID NYC, Bennov, Supin, Videmus Omnia, Amnesia, Virtruvius, and Hathairat. I was lucky enough to be able to get a media pass for the 8:30pm show on February 10th, which had fashion brands Amnesia, Virtruvius, and Hathairat. Amnesia is a Hungarian brand that displayed unique garments and accessories, inspired this season by Budapest, its winter colors and its vibrant mystic lights. The brand was founded in 2002 by Eva Prokai, the designer. Its pieces stand for beauty, style, quality, and free spirited women. Materials used in this collection were different types of vegan leather and faux fur, knitted viscose, and chains. Amnesia sources their fabrics from Italy and makes the pieces in Hungary. What makes this collection so unique are that the fabrics are their own graphic design, which includes party animal prints and the view of Budapest at night. Virtruvius is a collective of students from Vancouver, Canada who participated as part of their conceptual and technical fashion training. The name of the collection is “I am Astronaut,” which is inspired by the news of the discovery of an earth-like planet. The students used their imaginations to create garments inspired by aliens, moons, gravity, and planets. The students that were chosen to be in the show, showed passion, confidence, and creativity as their main focus. Hathairat is a brand, founded in 2016,
with hard to miss statement styles by a Bangkok born designer, Hathairat Maneerat. The brand was inspired by renaissance detail and urban lifestyle from the designer. Think chic and glam looks with details like shirring, puffy shoulders, and ruffle cuffs. It included a mix of pieces that can be dressed up and down for different occasions like dresses, bodysuits, blazer, pants and skirts. Fabrics like lace, brocade, crepe, satin, and rhinestone trimming were used, all manufactured and designed in NYC. The designer grew up with a love for fashion since high school. Auckland, New Zealand is where she spent her teenage years before studying fashion design in Paris and moving to NYC, where she is now based. She is now the creative director of her brand. She has always followed her natural instincts in fashion and never follows trends. Designs are what she thinks would look best on the individual woman. Various luxury fabrics are used like fine detail of ruffles, multiple layers and voluminous looks which demonstrate her signature fun, pop-culture inspired, unique prints. Women who are elegant, daring, confident, whimsical, and cosmopolitan, is what her clients are.As far as creative direction, the focuses are statement styles that are go-to-occasional-wear with a witty, romantic, character and modern appeal.
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FEATURE
W27
Rachel Antonoff
A Badass Boss Lady BY MARY HELEN GUASTELLO
n the last day of freshman year, I sought out some serious retail therapy after spending hours vehemently studying and facing one too many heartbreaks over the course of the semester. I carefully examined every garment on the delicately merchandised racks at Opening Ceremony. Nothing stood out to me nor could I really afford anything at the time, but of course, I was on a mission to swipe my card regardless of the status of my bank account. I bought an overpriced Callipygian white teeshirt that I wore once to the Whitney Museum where I happened to meet Diane Keaton and I haven’t seen it since, but that’s beside the point. Walking down Broadway with a red and blue OC bag in hand – the one that everyone at FIT carries, I was burdened by a white long sleeve button down and leather jacket as the sun shined 80-degree heat down on the New York streets. My feet maneuvered the rest of my body through the pungent smells of trash and urine until my nose was hit with a breath of fresh air as I stepped inside Madison Square Park. I would spend a lot of time there to clear my head, read frivolous textbooks, and watch dogs play from afar in the dog park. I noticed someone familiar standing across the street – I about shit my pants when I realized it was Rachel Antonoff. She was standing there for some time, dressed in white raw hemmed jeans, a white tee-shirt with typography that read “Daddy,” and a pair of red metallic Panela slides. My brain contemplated walking over to her to say something. “No, I shouldn’t bother her.” “Yes, you should. She’s your favorite fashion designer.” With very little convincing, I walked up to Rachel. I was so incredibly nervous, my hands were sweating, what was I going to say to her? “Rachel, I’m really sorry to interrupt.” She looked up from her phone, probably in the middle of posting a funny Instagram story and smiled. I introduced myself, gushed about how she was my favorite fashion designer, how I saw her recent post on Instagram about interns and how I HAD
to intern for her. We talked for a little while longer, she invited me to come in for an interview the following day and turned to her dad, Rick Antonoff, and said, “Dad, we have a fan!” When I sat down with Rachel for my interview, I wasn’t nervous. I think a lot of that had to do with how kind and personable she was. I felt comfortable, like I was talking to someone I had known for years. I expressed to Rachel my dissatisfaction with the fashion industry, how most of my experiences prior were that of superficiality. She addressed my concerns and said that’s why she was here, to make a difference, to make fashion fun and political, to raise question about the issues within the industry and within the world. She expressed how she hoped this experience would change my mind – and little did I know that it would not only change my mind, but change my heart too. The interview began to wrap up and we discussed what my role would be as an intern. Before I was about to leave her showroom, she said, “One more thing, do you like dogs? Because sometimes we bring dogs into the office.” “Like dogs?” I said, “I love dogs!” After that, I knew that this is where I belonged. Rachel Antonoff is New York City based fashion designer. She combines creativity, originality, and historical influences to create whimsical femininity with touches of the new garconne. Her quirky and colorful apparel is a byproduct of her magnanimous personality presented in a way that makes you eager to discover your own. To put it simply, she’s a genius. I would be remiss for not mentioning her brilliant team composed of four intelligent, funny, strong willed, independent women. Hannah, the queen of style, is the Associate Designer. On my first day, she was wearing the most gorgeous peptolbismol pink velvet loafers. She works directly with Rachel on designing each collection and is an incredible Sonos DJ. Katherine, perhaps one of the loveliest human beings I’ve ever met, is the Production and Development Assistant. She was equally an amazing Sonos DJ and once made a
PHOTO COURTESY MARY HELEN GUASTELLO
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hilariously nostalgic comment about ‘Dance, Dance Revolution.’ When I was interning, Katherine’s favorite podcast was “My Favorite Murder.” I learned a lot about the Golden State Killer during that time and if you know me well enough, you know I love a good true crime story. Katherine works alongside Laura, who is responsible for production and product development. She taught me how to spec a garment. Side note, Laura proposed to her now-husband and she wore sneakers to her wedding. Isn’t that the coolest thing you’ve ever heard? Oh, and she loves crack pies from Milk Bar. And finally, there’s Charlotte, one of the most talented graphic designers I’ve seen and fellow Lorde-enthusiast. One time I watched her paint the most perfect prawn in like two minutes – and now you can actually buy that beautiful pink prawn print on the Howard Pintuck Dress or the Vinita Pleated Skirt with the Karen Bra Top to match on rachelantonoff.com. Team RA is one of a kind. They treated me like family and I never dreamed in a million years that I would get the opportunity to work with such an incredible group of dedicated women. My experience at Rachel Antonoff is one that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. It is rich with unforgettable memories and not to mention, the most lavish birthday celebrations. I discovered Rachel Antonoff at a time in my life where I wasn’t confi-
dent in what I was wearing or in the way I looked. I felt at a loss by what a majority of the fashion industry was producing and when I saw Rachel’s Fall 2016 collection, I finally felt like a designer was really speaking to me. Her use of bright colors, velvet textiles, silly stripes and playful patterns - such as prawns and poodles - exhibit a sense of happiness that most designers lack. Her garments speak for themselves, carrying their own personality - the creativity, time and dedication that each garment is a product of is expressed via quality. Rachel uses her platform to raise awareness about her personal values in the clothing she designs, like “Adopt Don’t Shop” tees and “Reproductive Rights” sweaters. Her use of wit and sarcasm are often incorporated into her garments such as the “Hysterical Female” tee and “Nihilist” tee. It’s a brand that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but truly cares about being a positive force in the industry by spreading the importance of goodness. Rachel Antonoff restored my faith in the industry and without the designer and her team, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Rachel Antonoff is a badass boss lady who’s reminded myself and so many girls like me that it’s okay to be a hysterical female.
FIT
MARCH 2019
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NYC
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dvertised as the largest U.S. exhibition in the past ten years to be solely dedicated to her art and life, “Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving” is currently on view at the Brooklyn Museum until May 12th. The show delves deep into the artist’s roots through the display of items such as old family photographs, her collections of Tehuana clothing and pre-Colonial jewelry, and even some of her makeup (Kahlo’s favorite brand was Revlon). After both her and Diego Rivera’s deaths, portions of La Casa Azul, the couples’ famed Mexico City house and Kahlo’s childhood home, were kept locked under instructions from Riveras’s will. After being rediscovered again in 2004, vast amounts of the couples’ personal possessions were reassessed and inventoried. Some of said objects have never left La Casa Azul before until now, so, if you’re not already intrigued, this beautifully-curated, deeply personal show is one every Frida fan has to make sure not to miss.
W27
THE
FRIDA KAHLO EXHIBITION
APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING BY LARA DE LA TORRE
I first heard about the exhibition after being stopped on the street by a stranger asking about the tote I was carrying that day - cream-colored canvas stamped with fuchsia lettering reading FRIDA KAHLO: ART, GARDEN, LIFE from the New York Botanical Garden show four years ago. She was wondering where I had gotten it and whether or not I had already heard about the upcoming exhibition that was going to be held at the Brooklyn Museum. Being a life-long fan of Frida’s, I immediately did my research and bought a ticket to the show with one of my best friends ($12 each with a student ID). Counting down the days till the exhibition, we were both beside ourselves with excitement; we had grown up admiring Kahlo’s work and her bold, Latinx-proud lifestyle. When the day of the show arrived, I made sure to completely clear my schedule in order to have the freedom to comfortably wander the museum as long as we wanted. This forward-thinking move turned out to be the best thing I could’ve done for the day; we were taken aback at how long it took to see everything on display. Not that I’m complaining, the exhibition was one of the most immersive and uniquely individualized I have ever experienced. After spending a good three hours studying every item and reading every sign, wall-hanging, and display with words on it to be found, my friend and I left the museum in a daze - our minds thoroughly saturated with the vibrant colors that are trademarks of not only Kahlo’s paintings, but every other visual aspect of her life, as well. What I most appreciated about “Appearances Can Be Deceiving” is the amount of seemingly obscure personal possessions the curators chose to put on display: a doll she had sewn when she was a child, scraps of love notes to Diego still stained with the gentlest shadows of her lipsticked kiss, clouded old bottles of her nail polish. It’s one thing to read about someone, see pictures on the Internet of their life and what colored it, but it is an entirely different experience being face-to-face with objects that someone you deeply admire had contact with; the equivalent of seeing their ghost. Other items such as the custom-made prosthetic she had to use for her right leg after it was amputated at the age of 46 and the plaster corsets that she took the time to paint and personalize served as windows into the darker parts of her life that have grown to be romanticized over time. It was these remains of her that I found to be most stirring because of what they represent: a woman who plowed on no matter what was thrown at her next. After contracting polio at the age of six which left her right leg significantly weaker than her left; after being impaled in a bus accident at the age of eighteen which left her in virtually constant pain; despite all of this and more she continued on to live a full life that she always made a point to take control of. From her refusal to remove her iconic facial hair to the full, multi-colored Oaxacan skirts she wore in honor of her mother’s Tehuana roots, Frida Kahlo was an artist in every aspect possible; she never shied from an opportunity to express herself to the fullest. Now, sixty-five years after her death the Brooklyn Museum has done an incredible job of continuing to celebrate the dynamic, passionate life of a person that we can all still continue to learn from.
PHOTO COURTESY LARA DE LA TORRE
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FIT
MARCH 2019
ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXANDER LOPEZ-GUEVARA
March Events in NYC
BY ALEXANDER LOPEZ-GUEVARA
March: the month that signals the commencement of a new Spring, where temperatures might still feel very much like winter, but won’t be reason enough to keep New Yorkers away from all of the exciting new opportunities to come. With Women’s History Month, St. Patrick’s Day and the first day of Spring framing the month of March, there are plenty of events to partake in. Here is a list of events happening around the city that hopefully generate lots of fun, learning and exploration throughout March, and after. 1. Asser Levy Women’s History Month Art Exhibition: The Asser Levy Recreation Center—a center named after one of the first Jewish settlers of the Dutch colony on what is now Manhattan—is hosting an event that honors female artists that cover a wide range of styles, influences and techniques. The opening reception is on Friday, March 29th, from 4 to 9 and is open to the public! 2. St. Patrick’s Day Parade: St. Patrick Day will be celebrated this year on March 16th, and will run from 11 AM all the way until 5 PM (although, if you’re a New Yorker, you’ll know that celebrations usually carry on until dawn. The parade involves bagpipers, Irish foods, lots of drinking and kaleidoscopic shades of green lining 5th Ave. from 44th St. to 79th St—all to celebrate the patron Saint of Ireland (and to fulfill commercial interests. But mostly just the Saint). 3. Metaphysical Masterpieces Guided Tours by CIMA: The Center for Italian Modern Art is hosting
guided tours every Friday and Saturday throughout March from 11AM to 2PM. Each tour lasts about an hour, and if you arrive 15 minutes early, a complimentary espresso is offered! Admission is free when you bring your student ID! 4. Night of Self (Less) Care: This unique event, held on March 27th at 8PM in Brooklyn, will deliver great standup comedy while simultaneously raising funds to distribute feminine hygiene products to women in shelters. The lineup is incredible too: With comedians Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Liza Treyger, Aparna Nancherla and Broad City’s Ilana Glazer! Admission is $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Also, for every box of tampons or pads you bring, you’ll get a free raffle ticket! 5. Ramy Youssef and Friends (21+): Youssef, an Egyptian-American comedian residing in NJ, is currently working on a show produced by Hulu and A24 (The production company behind Moonlight (2016) and Hereditary (2018)). He hopes to bring more Muslim characters to television in an attempt to “avoid [going to] law school”. He will be hosting an event in Brooklyn on March 26th, from 7:30 PM to 9 PM to celebrate and discuss his current achievements and wants you to be a part of it! 6. Sheroes by Vivid Arts Network: To celebrate Women’s History Month, VAN will be showcasing their international exhibition titled Sheroes to celebrate women who have helped advance the fight for equality. The reception will happen
on March 22nd, from 6PM to 9 PM in the Washington Heights area and is free to all! 7. Make Your Own Graphic Novel with Illustrator Maurice Buckley: Buckley, a member of the Art Students League, has partnered with Sunset Park’s Recreation Center to host workshops for individuals who would like to learn how to compose, light and write their own graphic novels. No experience is necessary and it is absolutely free! Workshops will be held on March 12th, 19th and 26th! Make sure you RSVP fast! 8. Discovery Hike: Bring in Spring by Greenbelt Center: Take the ferry over to Staten Island on March 23rd and explore the central Greenbelt with a hike guided by the Greenbelt Nature Center. The hike, which starts at 11 AM will last only an hour, is free and is a great way to spend the Saturday afternoon! 9. Holi in the City: this event, with roots in Indian religious stories revolving around the fall of evil deities and the achievements of the good-willed, involves celebration through color, music and dancing. The event is to be held on March 23rd from 1PM to 8PM, and prospective attendees are expected to wear all white—in preparation for the festival that involves barrages of colored powder, food and all-around fun. General admission starts at $35 (for now!)
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FIT
MARCH 2019
style on 27.
BY KAROLIN BUTTLER AND ARIANA PAINO
Armando Maldonado Fashion Design
If there’s anything I’d like to see change for women in the fashion industry is...I think more so for the plus models. It’s because whenever they use plus sized models, for the most part, it’s always kind of for lingerie or some kind of bodycon evening wear gown. I would like to see them more in luxury street style looks that they use for the majority of models.
Annie
Conner Salas FBM
I’m really focused on sustainability, which is why I only buy vintage or from sustainable brands. So, I’d want to see more options for sustainable, new clothes because I feel like often I’m only able to buy vintage or from Reformation. I feel like there aren’t enough brands that are prioritizing sustainability.
Haein Won FBM
Emma FBM
I feel like more people are aware of how terrible fast fashion is, but most are not as proactive towards it and then supporting more ethical brands. I wish for more action and people actually spending their money at places that they truly support. So, a better awareness of all the issues of the fast fashion industry and then actually supporting industries that are trying to really do good things for the industry.
Tommy FBM
PHOTO COURTESY KAROLIN BUTTLER
FBM
In observation of our Women’s Issue, it is important to remember how much the fashion world influences on women. We went around campus to ask our fellow students their opinions on the fashion industry and a change they would like to see in it, specifically in regards to women.
There are a lot, but I just want fast fashion to go away. I’m over it.
I usually shop online and retail stores, like brick and mortar. I feel that not many people are going anymore, but I really like to go for the customer experience. I think it would be nice to see more people going to these stores.
Less fast fashion.
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