Stony Brook University SUNY Korea

I started as a student at FIT in 1962, and was the first Korean national to graduate from the Fashion Design Program. During my time at FIT, I received a great deal of inspiration from the FIT Fashion Research Lab. This experience is what influenced me and my vision to establish a museum when I returned to Korea. Although the FIT Fashion Lab at that time was much humbler compared to the current Museum at FIT, it inspired and guided my life’s work.

My mother, Choi Kyung Ja, a pioneer of Korean fashion, studied in Japan, then returned to Korea and established Hamheung Dressmaking Academy at Hamheung, Hamkyungnam-do in 1938; the matrix of Kookje Fashion School. The school has continued with me as the second director and now with my daughter as the third director of the institute. We have produced internationally renowned designers such as Andre Kim and Lie Sang Bong. Through these relationships and donations made by many designers and celebrities and with additional acquired pieces, I opened the first and only, Korea Museum of Modern Costume in Seoul 25 years ago. I put my life, heart and soul into the collection and curation of the museum.

I am with great pride and pleasure that FIT, my Alma mater, opened a campus in Songdo. The university gathers students from all over the globe allowing them to learn, grow and dream together. It reminds me of the enthusiasm I had as a student at FIT in New York half a century ago. I am grateful for everything I have achieved based on the learning, experience and the vision that I gained from my time at FIT.

The SUNY Korea Museum of Modern Costume opening on the Songdo Campus will operate mainly to support the academic courses taught. My wish is for it to grow into a learning center where younger generations of fashion students may share in the same experience I had at FIT. I dream SUNY Korea Museum of Modern Costume will develop as the major contributor to fashion education in Korea, in the near future. I certainly believe this wish will come true.

SUNY Korea Museum of Modern Costume, Chief Director Heisoon Shin

Exhibition Overview

Title: ART DECO

Exhibition Period: June 19 - September 11, 2026

Opening Ceremony: 1:00 PM, Friday, June 19, 2026

Welcome to the 2026 graduating class exhibit.

Each year, the Fashion Design department at FIT SUNY Korea mounts the graduating AAS Students’ Exhibit. This year’s work was inspired by the Art Deco period — born in Paris and expanding from the 1920s through to the late 1930s, the Art Deco era celebrated modernity, technology, and glamour through bold geometric shapes, sleek lines, and luxurious materials.
This year, 26 graduating students will showcase their Art Deco pieces at the ongoing exhibit, which will run through September 11th. Works will range from illustrations to physical garments.
The Art Deco-inspired works will feature expensive hand beading and exquisite craftsmanship using materials such as crystals, rhinestones, sequins, feathers, and hand thread art.

Professor Leonard Bess
Chair of Fashion Design, FIT SUNY Korea