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The prestigious Student Scholarship Competition from the Society of Illustrators provides a launchpad into industry for talented graduates. This year, a jury of eminent artists selected 300 of the best undergraduate illustrations out of 8,700 entries to display in a special exhibition; about 25 of those students won scholarships. An unprecedented eight artworks from five FIT students were selected for the exhibition, and four of those students won scholarships. Click here to read the original article. 

In conjunction with the Macy’s Flower Show, five Fashion Design BFA students have their works on display at the retailer’s flagship store in Herald Square through April 10 for a fourth consecutive year. Jacob Caraccilo, Katty Liang Feng, Larglinda Ilazi, Yoojin Lee, and the grand prize winner Jiown Park were challenged to design a garment that reflects the bold and stylish spirit of this year’s flower show. The annual event at Macy’s is described as an “ode to springtime” featuring thousands of stunning flowers.  Click here to read the original article. 

March 24, 2022 An Exhibition and Experience Design MA alumna was part of a team that won a People’s Choice Award for designing the Peru Pavilion at World Expo 2020. The pavilion exterior is covered with a representation of a colorful fabric featuring striped patterns and icons to emphasize 3,000 years of textile traditions in Peruvian culture. Visitors cross a recreation of the famous Q’eswachaka bridge, made of grass woven into ropes. Every year, the local population remakes the bridge just as the Incas did hundreds of years ago. The Peru Pavilion won out over 190 other entries. Diana Estabridis ’12 worked as an exhibition design specialist on the project.  Estabridis, who lives in Lima, is proud that the installation hosted more than 1.4 million visitors. “We cannot compete with developed countries that have three to five times the budget Peru has,” she said. “We cannot compete with the technology that other countries produce. But we can try to send a different message, to reflect and make people wonder about simple things that are very often overlooked.” World expos, or world’s fairs, are large international exhibitions that showcase the achievements of nations. Expo 2020, delayed by COVID-19, opened in fall 2021 and closes at the end of March. The Commission for the Promotion of Peruvian Exports and Tourism (PROMPERÚ) executed the project, in part to attract investors. Estabridis was in charge of analyzing, evaluating, and monitoring the exhibition design process. She worked with the contractors to help them understand the story PROMPERÚ wanted to convey—and help the construction team understand Peruvian culture. Exhibitor magazine, a monthly publication featuring best practices in trade show marketing, organized the award, which expo visitors voted for online. Click here to read the original article 

February 22 On March 12, the Museum of Arts and Design will open an exhibition about clothing used as a medium of expression for fine art. The show, which calls this practice “garmenting,” is curated by Alexandra Schwartz, adjunct professor in FIT’s Art Market Studies MA program. Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art features 35 international artists whose work converts dress into “a critical tool for exploring issues of subjectivity, identity, and difference.   Click here to read the original article 

February 18, 2022   9 Story Media Group, industry-leading creator, producer, and distributor of award-winning animated and live-action content for young audiences, and Karma’s World Entertainment, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges’ entertainment media company, are pleased to announce a first-of-its kind partnership with the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Design and Technology Lab (FIT DTech). Inspired by the hit animated Netflix series Karma’s World—for which fashion is central to the brand DNA – FIT students designed a 50-piece fashion-forward children’s collection for licensing partners to incorporate across a range of consumer categories, with the first product set to launch later this year. Designs include jumpsuits, jackets, sweatsuits, dresses, swimsuits, and footwear.   Click here to read the original article 

January 18, 2022   Three students in FIT’s Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology have been awarded Fashion Scholarship Fund scholarships of $7,500 each. Katyana Avila, 20, a Fashion Business Management major from Union, New Jersey; Aliyah Freeman, 28, a Home Products Development major, also from Union; and Kyuwon “Kate” Han, 47, an International Trade and Marketing major from Brooklyn, were among 123 students across four disciplines—design and product development, marketing analytics, merchandising, supply chain—to be named FSF Scholars.   Additionally, Freeman was named one of 23 recipients of the Virgil Abloh™ “Post-Modern” Scholarship. In July 2020, Virgil Abloh announced the creation of the fund, raising $1 million to support the next generation of Black fashion industry leaders. The mission of the fund is to foster equity and inclusion within the fashion industry by providing scholarships to students of academic promise of Black, African American, or African descent. Abloh named the fund “Post-Modern” to represent that recipients will not only receive funds, but will also be given access to vital career support services and mentoring.   The Fashion Scholarship Fund is the foremost fashion-oriented education and workforce development nonprofit in the U.S. The FSF works directly with the country’s most talented young students from diverse backgrounds and awards over $1 million each year in scholarships to help these students succeed in all sectors of the industry including design, merchandising, marketing analytics, and supply chain. The annual FSF Case Study Scholarship is its signature program. The scholarship topics change each year but always involve an in-depth student challenge that focuses on real issues facing the fashion industry today. The FSF also provides scholars with a wide range of internship and career opportunities, mentorship, networking, professional development, and unprecedented access to the industry’s most influential leaders and companies.   Avila’s case study, #LetGlow, focusing on marketing analytics, is a look in to CoverGirl’s current marketing strategy, and proposes a new campaign that brings awareness to mental health and promotes being kind to oneself. Han’s case study, BOMBAS, focusing on supply chain, examines how the sock company BOMBAS can expand its positive impact as a mission-driven company through the implementation of supply chain innovations and optimizations. Han, who worked in the industry for a number of years after getting her AAS, came back to school in large part because of her interest in supply chain studies.   Freeman’s case study, focusing on design and product development, looks at Pyer Moss: The Reclamation Collection, a sustainable collection of home products designed to encourage collective Black rest and healing. The concept offers sustainable solutions for the home that reflect the ethereal beauty of Black American culture while prioritizing collective rest and healing in an ever-changing world.   “Looking at the way the home has been impacted by COVID and how people are renegotiating their spaces and how they’re interacting with their products,” Freeman said. “I wanted to incorporate the post-pandemic ideals and values of African American consumers in the home, so I started to reimagine the home for them and how values from the past and the present kind of impacted the way that we all interact with our homes. So I approached the case study from a perspective of different values—folklore, music, and different aspects of the experience of Black culture.”   Each of the FIT students received $7,500 with no restrictions on what they could do with it. Freeman plans to save the money to start her own resale business for home furnishings and antiques. Han is saving hers for now.As for Avila: “For me, my money is going straight back to school,” she said. “My parents are first-gen immigrants, and they spent all their money to come here so I didn’t have any college savings. I’ve had to pay all my tuition. To live in the city, I’ve had to RA. So any scholarships I can find, anything, I’m always going for it … This is going back to tuition.”   Click here to read the original article 

January 18, 2022     A new course focuses on sustainability and technological advancements in fashion as the industry moves further toward the Metaverse.     ByondXR, a market leader in immersive, virtual retail experiences, has announced that it is bringing its software to the classroom through an exclusive course created for FIT. The course, titled The Business of Virtual Merchandising (FM304), utilizes the same ByondXR software that is altering the landscape of fashion by changing the way wholesalers and retailers are leveraging technology to shift their businesses to digital platforms. Students will develop skills to use the software, gain insight into the world of virtual environments, and understand how technology is paving the way for sustainability and innovation in the fashion Industry.     The course is being offered for the first time this semester as a part of the Fashion Business Management department in the college’s Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology.     The Business of Virtual Merchandising will present students with an interactive and immersive experience, offering students an in-depth look at e-commerce and an opportunity to apply their knowledge to a virtual setting. As e-commerce continues to boom, students will learn firsthand how ByondXR’s software bridges the gap between digital and physical spaces, reduces costs for buyers and wholesalers by eliminating the need for international travel, and shortens the time to market through offering on-demand placement orders. FIT’s commitment to combining traditional learning techniques with technology-driven tools directly aligns with ByondXR’s vision of the future of fashion. Students will gain industry knowledge in the digital fashion sphere, the tools and techniques required to excel, as well as a competitive edge when venturing into new careers, having understood the extensive possibilities in the world of digital fashion.     FIT holds sustainability as a core principle in its commitment to the future, and with the digitization of fashion, waste in the industry has proven to be significantly reduced.     “Today’s student is extremely motivated and excited for the possibilities that the future of the industry will bring,” said Robin Sackin, chair, Fashion Business Management. “They understand that currently there are challenges due to the pandemic but they are enthusiastic about exploring new opportunities and careers in this ever-evolving industry. As we all look ahead to a post-pandemic world it is important to realize that the opportunities that were available for a graduate 10 years ago are comparably different to those available today.”     Click here to read the original article

Decemeber 21, 2021 Northwell Health LIJ Forest Hills, in Forest Hills, Queens, saw its first COVID-19 patient on March 11, 2020, and would go on to see more than 2,000 COVID-19 patients in the facility over the next year.     Now, two FIT Illustration MFA students—Jensine Eckwall, from Newtown, CT, now living in Ridgewood, Queens, and set to graduate this coming summer, and Nikki Scioscia, from Lexington, SC, now living in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and in her third year—have designed and installed two murals in a site-specific outdoor staff rest area at the hospital that will serve as a memorial garden honoring those lost to the pandemic.     The design of the murals, which were formally unveiled on December 14, is heavily influenced by American Folk Art, Eckwall explained. In one of the images, the sun is rising because the community hospital used to play The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” when someone was released from the COVID ward. In the other image is a tree displaying the message “New York Will Heal Because of You.” The tree’s roots signify the roots at the hospital, which are closely connected to the borough of Queens.     Merav Deguzman, director of Patient and Customer Experience Education at LIJ, has a daughter who went to FIT, and has seen ChalkFIT—the college’s annual outdoor mural project. She thought of FIT students to paint the hospital’s mural in memory of those lost to COVID, and approached Brendan Leach, chair of FIT’s MFA in Illustration, about it.     Click here to read the original article

December 14, 2021 FIT alum Aniyah Smith, Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing BS ’20, has created Push Beauty, an inclusive and accessible cosmetics company for diverse populations. Smith, inspired by the Husky Startup Challenge after beginning her Northeastern MBA program, received an inaugural $2,500 Innovator Award from the university’s Women Who Empower initiative to support her efforts. Her line will include products for disabled people that can be opened and used with one hand. “I realized that diversity goes past color, wealth, and background,” Smith says. ”It’s really about environments and experiences that people have, and a lot of the time they are very different from your own. And so my goals have changed. My career choice to be a founder of a brand has stayed the same, but what that brand is and what it means to people has definitely evolved.” Click here to read the original article

On Dec. 8, FIT launched an unprecedented initiative to transform the lives and careers of people of color in the creative industries. Through a multifaceted, comprehensive approach, the Social Justice Center at FIT (SJC) is designed to increase opportunity and accelerate social equity for those whom the industry might otherwise leave behind.     People of color make up only about one in five workers in the creative industries. Because the problem of underrepresentation is deeply rooted, the solution cannot be one-dimensional. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) individuals in these industries face systemic barriers at every stage of their lives, beginning in childhood and lasting through retirement. That is why the SJC is building a seamless and sustained support network that addresses early education, college mentorship and training, and professional career support.     “The focus for the Social Justice Center at FIT is on the whole individual,” says FIT President Joyce F. Brown, who spearheaded this first-of-its-kind initiative in higher education. “We will intervene early with BIPOC youth so they can make informed decisions about their future and the careers they might choose to pursue. While they are in college, we will provide exposure to the inner workings of industry as well as concentrated support and training. Our partners in industry will then mentor, guide, and provide opportunities to accelerate their career potential.”     The SJC aims to nurture a racially and ethnically diverse talent pipeline, from the middle school classroom to the executive level. If successful, it will break down systemic barriers and ensure that BIPOC professionals achieve their full potential. It will provide scholarships for middle school, high school, and college students, and offer a pathway to advancement through internships, mentorships, and apprenticeships with SJC partners.     This approach is supported by four pillars:     collaboration among leading corporate and nonprofit CEOs who are committed to this vision, the talent, creativity, and expertise of FIT faculty, staff, and students, a sustained commitment to funding scholarships and programs, and ongoing accountability that will identify and measure the advancement of BIPOC professionals. Dr. Joyce Brown and Jeff Tweedy in the Pomerantz Center lobby at FIT     The SJC has received substantial industry support, including $1 million pledges from the foundations of PVH Corp., owner of iconic brands including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger; Capri Holdings Limited, whose luxury portfolio includes Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, and Versace; and Tapestry, Inc., which owns Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman. G-III Apparel Group made the establishing gift to the SJC Scholarship Fund, which already has reached more than $1.5 million in contributions.     Stefan Larsson, chief executive officer of PVH Corp., hopes that his company’s early involvement will encourage further investment by industry: “It is only by coming together that we can make a real and lasting, positive change.”     Numerous scholarships are already available: the Social Justice Center Endowed Scholarship, the Amsale Aspire Initiative, the Art Smith Memorial Endowed Scholarship, the Black Student Illustrators Graduation Award, and the Prada Scholarship at FIT, among others.      Jeffrey Tweedy, former president and chief executive officer of Sean John and a Menswear Design and Marketing alumnus, will be a special advisor to President Brown to help build and expand the center. A search for an executive director is underway. Additionally, an industry advisory council of 16 executives has been established to counsel, collaborate, and help measure progress toward equity.     “After George Floyd’s murder, it occurred to me that we were in a very different place than a lot of the people and companies who simply wanted to do something,” President Brown says. “We were really very privileged to be in a position to make a difference. I wanted to create a different kind of pathway for people of color, so that we could see a different kind of outcome.”

On a cold winter day in New York, there’s nothing like strolling past the holiday windows of upper Fifth Avenue. Luxe retailer Bergdorf Goodman mounts the ne plus ultra of window extravaganzas, and this year Fashion Illustration faculty member and alum Carlos Aponte, Illustration MFA ’21, is a creative force behind one of them.     The project began in June when David Hoey, who directs the Bergdorf windows, reached out to Aponte. Hoey envisioned a building exterior with a view inside the apartments, and cats sitting on the fire escapes. Someone proposed including an artwork that portrayed a cat, and then the ideas started flowing, Aponte says. “Once I began sketching it was obvious that all the rooms needed to be about cats. … Suddenly the concept turned into a massive cat dollhouse.”        “I had to design 15 apartments, and I decided to make each one different to show the diversity of the city of New York—classical, retro, Latin-inspired, etc. I sketched all the ideas. Once they were approved, I did a color version.” The apartments would be rendered in 3D, with exaggerated perspectives, and foam-core models were created. Once those were approved, they were printed in color and assembled. “I’ve never done paperwork in 3D, so this was an opportunity to be creative outside the flat image,” Aponte says.     Look carefully at the finished product for witty details, like a painting of a cat made to look like an Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe portrait. There’s also a Roman emperor feline bust and a Picasso-inspired Cubist kitty. “I was very proud of creating a pattern to make a disco ball out of paper that really looks like a disco ball,” Aponte says. “It took me a while to figure that one out.”     The window was certainly a team effort, with contributions from Bergdorf artists Carl Tallent and Sebastian Montoya. Artist Samantha Smith created the furry cats that clamber across the composition. And Aponte learned something as well. “I had no idea how to do this project,” he says. “Having no idea of how to do something opens the possibility of play, and play leads to other creative realms.” 

She almost didn’t escape.     In August, the United States began withdrawing forces from Afghanistan, ending the longest war in U.S. history. New York Times journalist Fatima Faizi was living in Kabul, the capital. As the Taliban started to reclaim the country, Faizi gathered her family together and prepared to evacuate. “Don’t worry about bringing clothes or shoes,” a friend advised. “You can replace those. Just bring things that remind you of home.” In the end, she carried only a knapsack and a tiny painting from Bamyan, a city she loved.     On November 11, Faizi spoke virtually about her experiences as an Afghan journalist and women’s rights advocate for FIT’s Department of Social Sciences’ World Affairs Lecture. The annual talk, which is open to the public, offers students a firsthand account of global events that might seem removed from daily life in the U.S.. Souzeina Mushtaq, a faculty member of the University of Wisconsin, River Falls, interviewed her.      When Faizi arrived at the Kabul airport, the scene was chaotic, with the sounds of gunfire and crowds of people desperate to escape the shooting. Faizi and her family raced from one corner of the building to another. Eventually, a member of the Taliban told them they had to return home. “There are no planes,” he told Faizi. She and her family hid out in a journalist colleague’s house for several stressful days. Ironically, when air transport finally became available, members of the Taliban escorted Faizi to the plane, and to safety.     Growing up, Faizi wanted to be a journalist, but her family was opposed to the idea; so she studied photography. She got her break at a protest in 2015. A friend at the news channel Al Jazeera knew of her work and asked for photographs; she had also done a few interviews, so she sent both, and the outlet published them. Two years later, a friend who was leaving the Afghanistan Times bureau told her to apply for the job and explained how to get in touch with the bureau chief. Faizi got the gig. As a woman journalist in Afghanistan, she had better access to women’s stories than most men. But in conservative or rural areas, she stood out; once, a male subject told her that her trendy sneakers signaled that she was an outsider.     Mushtaq pointed out grim realities of reporting in Afghanistan, and asked how Faizi dealt with trauma. “I go for walks, and I cry a lot,” she replied. “Sometimes, I don’t sleep for two weeks.”     One student wanted to know what strategy, as a journalist, Faizi used to keep readers from feeling desensitized by the tragedies in Afghanistan. “When it’s just numbers, no one pays attention,” Faiza said. “‘500 people were killed somewhere’? It is just a number. But when we tell stories about personal experiences, personal lives? Then they become human beings, and people pay attention.”     This lecture was organized by Praveen Chaudhry, professor of Social Sciences, and presented in partnership with the Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Presidential Scholars Program, and the Office of International Programs.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade turns 95 this year, and properly observing this landmark event requires a lot of clowns. “Half-baked holiday sweets” clowns, as Macy’s calls them, will be costumed as pies, cookies, and cakes. “Silly seaside” clowns appear as starfish and seahorses. “Spacey” clowns are astronauts, and—a new category this year—“first-responder” clowns, outfitted as firefighters and hospital workers. These and many more were dressed by a crew assembled and overseen by the parade’s costume crew chief, FIT adjunct faculty member Barbara Berman. This is her 20th parade.     Some things never change. As always, Berman and her team arrived at the New Yorker Hotel on West 34th Street at 4:45 am. There, they helped the 600 clowns, 300 float escorts, 159 teens, 75 stilt walkers and special characters, 2000 balloon handlers, 450 officials, 100 banner carriers and more, into their costumes. After performers complete the 2.5-mile procession from Central Park to Macy’s at Herald Square on West 34th and Broadway, Berman’s team will help them back into their street clothes. “The transformation is amazing,” Berman says. “Performers might arrive sleepy or a little grouchy, but after they walk that parade and see all the happy people? They come back euphoric.”     For the Green Giant parade float, Berman’s team dressed the float escorts as ears of corn and sunflowers. Universal Studios is presenting the Holiday Express float, with escorts outfitted as train engineers; and the South Dakota Office of Tourism will present a float that resembles—you guessed it—Mount Rushmore. (Escorts dress as park rangers.) Costume hems require special attention; if they get stepped on, the outfit can unravel, so Berman’s crew members are quick to provide hand-sewn solutions or, in a pinch, safety pins. “The styling certificate program in FIT’s Center for Continuing and Professional Studies has classes in hand-sewing, pinning, and taping,” Berman points out. She recruited part of her team from her class in PR and Special Events in the Fashion Events Planning and Publicity Program, where she serves as the lead teacher.      Because of COVID-19, parade proceedings will be slightly different this year. “It’s not back to normal because normal isn’t normal any more,” Berman says. Macy’s is taking every precaution to keep marchers and attendees safe. Berman’s team has been reduced from 100 to 85. Some participants were mailed their outfits to reduce density at the New Yorker, but that creates an additional challenge: “COVID put 20 pounds on a lot of people,” Berman says, “so we have to have emergency sizes available in a huge trunk near the start.” Tall, vertically oriented balloons require the handlers to stand close together, so they were omitted last year in favor of the horizontal balloons. In 2020, much of the event was curtailed, and certain segments were pre-recorded at Macy’s satellite spot at the New Jersey Meadowlands. The good news is, this year, the whole parade will be live.      Berman’s team helps keep the parade’s holiday spirit alive, and in 2008, Macy’s thanked her with a Rollie—a special award for working on the event. “Will I be working on the 100th?” she wonders. She thinks for a moment, then smiles. “Probably.”

Chalk FIT, an annual tradition since 2013, brings together fourth-year Illustration students to create chalk murals along the college’s concrete exterior walls. The illustrators paint with a chalk suspension to allow for precise detail and shading.     This year, Chalk FIT went up in late October and will be viewable through the fall semester, if not longer. The theme is “The New Normal”—a look at how students have persisted through the COVID-19 pandemic. About 80 students created panels, as well as 15–20 alumni from the class of 2021 who didn’t get to participate last year. Associate Professor William Low oversaw the project this year; faculty members Richard Elmer John Nickle, and Steven Tabbutt also included their classes in the project. “I think it’s a great way to show that we’re back in business,” said Dan Shefelman, chair of the Illustration and Interactive Media Department and the founder of Chalk FIT. “It’s also a way to show passersby all the different sides of FIT students: They’re political, they’re bright, they’re fun, and some of them are dealing with pretty dark issues.”     Shefelman pointed out two standout collaborations between students: a mural addressing suicide, by Rylie Coen and Brianna Kelly, and another, by Melanie Wong and Oscar Yohe Tapia, emphasizing the importance of imagination and fantasy while being stuck in front of a computer. “It brings a vibrance to the community,” Shefelman says. “People look forward to it, and now it’s back up.”

On Thursday evening, November 4, The Fragrance Foundation (TFF) celebrated Virginia Bonofiglio, assistant professor and head of FIT’s undergraduate program in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing (CFM), and Stephan Kanlian, professor and head of the college’s graduate program in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management (CFMM), for their outstanding work in education and in the beauty industry. They were inducted into the Fragrance Foundation Circle of Champions, which honors individuals within the fragrance industry who have made an exceptional impact over a significant period of time. This year marks the first time that educators have been recognized with this prestigious honor.     “We are absolutely delighted to recognize and celebrate the contributions and achievements of FIT’s Virginia Bonofiglio and Stephan Kanlian, whose dedication to training and instructing future leaders in the fragrance industry through academic purpose and innovation is truly unparalleled,” said Linda G. Levy, president of TFF.     The in-person dinner was carefully planned to bring approximately 180 people from the beauty and fragrance industries together safely, after two years of being remote with no in-person events.     Attendees included Dr. Joyce F. Brown, president of FIT; Robin Burns-McNeill, chair, FIT Board of Trustees, and co-founder of Battalure Beauty; Dr. Brooke Carlson, interim dean, School of Graduate Studies, FIT; Shannon Maher, interim dean, Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology, FIT; Francisco Costa, Fashion Design ‘90, fashion designer and founder of Costa Brazil skin care; Tennille Kopiasz, CFMM ’04, CFM ’98, chief marketing officer, Fresh/LVMH; Crystal Sai, CFMM ’17, executive director and chief of staff, global online, Estée Lauder Companies; Linda Wells, founding editor-in-chief, Allure; and Laura Slatkin, executive chairwoman and founder, NEST Fragrances. Students from both programs were also on hand to celebrate professors Bonofiglio and Kanlian.     Interim Dean of the School of Graduate Studies Brooke Carlson, Head of CFMM Stephan Kanlian, FIT President Joyce F. Brown,  Head of CFM Virginia Bonofiglio, and Interim Dean of the Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology.  Dr. Brooke Carlson, Stephan Kanlian, FIT President Joyce F. Brown, Virginia Bonofiglio, and Shannon Maher. FIT’s CFM and CFMM programs are the first of their kind. CFM was started in 1988 in response to industry demand. In 1993, FIT expanded its offerings further by opening the Annette Green Fragrance Foundation Studio, a fragrance development laboratory named in recognition of Green’s work on behalf of the program. Today, CFM has graduated many students who have gone on to lead successful careers in the beauty industry, both at global companies and as entrepreneurs who have launched their own businesses.      Dr. Brown’s remarks echoed Levy’s sentiment and gratitude for the evening’s honorees. “There is so much about these two beauty programs that exemplifies FIT and its history. Like the college itself, each one was founded by visionary industry leaders—leaders like yourselves who understood the value of education and the need for new and innovative thinking. FIT attracts what we like to call ‘unconventional thinkers’—the kinds of students who love to problem-solve, experiment, and explore. When you marry that kind of spirit with rigorous, forward-looking curricula and faculty leaders like Virginia and Stephan, industry is the ultimate beneficiary,” she said.      Tennille Kopiasz, an alum of both programs, spoke about her experiences. “Moving to NYC to live my dreams, I discovered the beauty industry that was far better than I ever could imagine,” she said. “You pushed me to not just work in an office internship, but to work behind a counter and touch the consumer. That is where I saw first-hand the transformational power and the confidence beauty gave women.”     “This jewel of a program was handed to me and I have been honored to grow the program and nurture its students for the last 11 years,” Bonofiglio said. “Our alumni are our greatest advertisement and a testament to all that an education at FIT has to offer. It is now, has been, and will always be about the students. If we are the educators, they will be the innovators, the disruptors, and the game changers who will propel this industry into the future. I want to thank them in advance for all they are going to do.”     CFMM was created in collaboration with industry as an innovative two-year leadership development program for outstanding emerging executives. Upon its inception in 2000, CFMM quickly became recognized as the beauty industry’s think tank, comprised of executives helping shape the future through high-level global research. To date, over 350 graduates of the program have gone on to positions as general managers, chief marketing officers, executive vice presidents, senior vice presidents, and vice presidents.     Alumna Crystal Sai, executive director and chief of staff for global online at Estée Lauder, shared how much Kanlian encouraged her and made a difference in her education at FIT and her career. “Professor Kanlian was always my biggest cheerleader and support system,” Sai said. “And not just to me—he was that for all of the students in our graduating class. I’ve always admired and have been fascinated by his commitment to the success of this program and to the success of each and every one of us in our careers.”     In his own comments, Kanlian used a quote from President John F. Kennedy to explain the foundation of the CFMM program: “‘Leadership and learning are indispensable to one another.’ I had this in mind as the blueprint for an industry think tank at FIT in my first meeting with President Brown 22 years ago. We spoke about an opportunity to train the next generation of leadership for a dynamic, creative industry. With her enduring support, and the partnership of industry, beauty has become an integral part of the Fashion Institute’s DNA.”     The surprise of the evening came when Levy announced The Fragrance Foundation FIT Diversity Scholarship, a $100,000 academic award that will benefit FIT’s Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing programs on the undergraduate and graduate levels. Scholarships for both programs will be awarded based on their application criteria. This gift demonstrates TFF’s commitment to diversity and education.     Guests of the event left with beautiful bags designed by FIT alumna, fashion designer, and artist Rebecca Moses, whose original drawings are being donated to FIT by The Fragrance Foundation.