J.R. Campbell at the Fashion School's annual fashion show

The 2010/11 academic year was another incredibly busy one for the Fashion School! We continue to grow (and sometimes experience growing pains) in both numbers and quality. This long post is essentially a copy of my annual review as the Director of the Fashion School. I thought it might be good for everyone to know what I have been up to, and to learn a bit about what I hope to do next.

We have a large and strong faculty contingent in the Fashion School that spans our three locations (Kent, NYC and Florence, Italy). I am continually impressed with the dedication of the Fashion School faculty, especially at this institution where teaching demands are pretty high – they are all involved in so many things while being truly dedicated to their teaching practice and to our students. Recently, we hired our newest tenure-track faculty member, Dr. Kim Hahn, who will be joining us in the Fall 2011 semester. That brings the Fashion School up to a total of 19 full-time faculty and over 20 part-time faculty across the three locations!

In Fall 2011, we will have our LARGEST INCOMING FRESHMAN CLASS ever (both in the Fashion School and at KSU)! This will bring our total number of students well above 1200, making us one of the largest fashion schools in the US offering 4-year bachelors degrees. We appreciate being recognized in the recent attempts to rank fashion schools both nationally and internationally by the team at fashionista.com, who placed the KSU Fashion School at 4th and 13th respectively in the US and in the world! Obviously, we think we are doing great things, but it’s nice to know that others do too. One of our biggest strengths is that we have one of the lowest tuition rates in the US for a well-known fashion school, while also providing (expecting, actually) opportunity for all of our students to study at one of our own study-away locations (the NYC Studio or the Palazzo de Cerchi in Florence) or to engage in one of our partner study away programs, such as the Paris American Academy, Hong Kong Polytechnic University or AIU London. We also now have a great network of Fashion School alumni from all across the nation who are absolutely fabulous at helping to get our existing students internships and opportunities in the industry. We are continuing to increase our use of digital design and production technologies and seek partnership worldwide to explore how we can integrate the use of these tools to lead to new modes of design and production as well as new business models for the fashion industry. Through all of this, we hope to “Inspire Students To Become Resourceful And Creative Fashion Leaders.”

Following is an account of the progress on my personal goals as the Director from the 2009/10 academic year, a description of new activities during the 2010/11 academic year, and my goals for 2011/12 (more photos are below):

Progress on Goals from 2009/10: (progress further described in narrative)

1. Develop proposal for the Masters of Fashion and Doctorate of Fashion to submit to the College Curriculum Committee in early fall 2010 and to OBR by end of fall semester;
     a. PDP developed and submitted to OBR, feedback completed May 9th, 2011

2. Develop a strategic plan and infrastructure for the NYC studio;
 a. Strategic plan developed, budgeting model still in progress
     b. Staffing infrastructure re-aligned to fit strategic plan; Outreach Program Coordinator and NTT Faculty positions created.

3. Develop mission statement for the TechStyleLAB and continue to develop educational and entrepreneurial opportunities there; initiate fund-raising campaign for TechStyleLAB;
a. Mission statement developed
     b. Business plan in progress
     c. Funding for TSLAB website and laser cutting machine received from Murphy Foundation
     d. Website in final development
     e. Laser cutting machine purchased, installed following door re-construction, and initial training has taken place
     f. TechStyleLAB technician hired
     g. Murphy Foundation funding approved to support a TechStyleLAB Manager position; position is in the search/hiring phase
     h. Student internship program initiated; first student started May 17th, 2011
     i. Tax planning advice received
     j. Payment processing / website implementation still awaiting review from KSU

4. Increase both the number of students and the comparable number of scholarships for international and study away programs; Increase Hong Kong Polytechnic University exchange by 3 students; explore possibilities for a spring semester program in Florence; work to have 60 students per term and in the summer at the NYC studio program;
     a. Achieved. 4 students to HKPolyU this year, all 4 funded with Broadbent Scholarship; 1 student funded to attend the new PAA program was awarded both the Broadbent funds and a housing scholarship from PAA.
     b. HKPolyU will accept 5 KSU students in SP 2012.
     c. 48 students attended Florence Program in Fall 2010, 65 are planned for Fall 2011.
     d. 11 students in the PAA program
     e. Numbers have decreased for summer NYC Program – need to address out-of-state tuition scholarships

5. Explore possible international connections with China, India and Korea;
 a. Next steps for course concepts were discussed during meeting with BIFT faculty in Beijing during March 2011. Target implementation of shared course is for summer 2013.
     b. MOU agreement has been discussed with Ewha Women’s University in S. Korea
     c. Verbal agreement received from iFashion Director, Dr. Park at Konkuk University to consider KSU Fashion School as the US location for iFashion test-site partnership.
 d. Potential for India trip in Fall 2012; members for FDM Advisory Board sought from major India fashion companies.

6. Create formal contract between Kent State University and Paris-American Academy for the vendor agreement;
a. PAA/KSU contract, program fees created, finalized and approved

7. Revise junior-year curricula across the degree programs in design and merchandising;
   a. Junior year and ENTIRE fashion design curriculum has undergone major revision, leading to the proposed creation of a BFA program. Submitted and approved at College of the Arts Curriculum (CCC) meeting; preparing for submission to KSU Educational Policies Council (EPC)
   b. Fashion Merchandising curriculum also underwent major revisions leading to better alignment with design and preparation for graduate programs. Revisions approved by the CCC include requiring all FM majors to select a minor beginning Fall 2012.
     c. New arrangements for the revived MBA with Fashion Concentration were negotiated and agreed upon, leading to an understanding that all fashion students who apply early to the MBA combined program will be considered MBA with fashion concentration; and will be allowed to complete their fashion electives (FDM grad courses) prior to the core MBA requirements.

8. Continue to explore viabilities of a minor connected to Fashion Journalism;
a. Three meetings were convened with CCI leaders to continue conversations on this topic. Shared courses have been publicized; next step is to consider courses that could work to create a complete and combined minor degree program.

9. Work to develop a Kent Core course (e.g. Costume History and/or Fashion and Popular Culture)
a. Developed, proposed and approved by the CCC, but frozen due to Kent Core.

10. Continue development of the communications strategy and web site.
   a. Website still in progress, often impacted by unknown changes in Common Spot…
     b. I have proposed the creation of a media team in which I will select a student to be the lead editor, and I will function as the executive editor for helping to maintain news activities in the Fashion School. I had hoped to start this prior to the end of the spring semester, but was not able, so will advertise this for fall 2011.

2010/11 Narrative

 Travel/Partnerships:

Tampa, Florida –

View of Tampa, FL

• Visited with Dr(s). Rex & Geneva Damron in Tampa to learn more about the Mentor/Scholarship program they manage through their foundation.  This led to the creation of our own Mentor/Scholarship program in the Fashion School, which is in and evolutionary stage and in consultation with members of our advisory board and alumni to gain insight on how to create the best fit for us.

Korea –

"DMZ" - view of piece created collaboratively with Vince Quevedo

• Exhibited my work in the Korea Fashion Art Biennale at the Korean Centre for the Arts, Seoul.  The collaborative piece created with Vince Quevedo was recognized with the top award for the international exhibition.  (see reference below in ‘Research/Creative Activity’).
  

  J.R. outside of the Fashion Art Biennale "War and Peace" exhibition

• In addition, as part of the Fashion Art Biennale symposium, I was invited to give a presentation on my work to faculty and students in the Design College at Hong Ik University.
  

  J.R. Presenting at Korean Universities

• I was also invited by Ewha Women’s University to present (separately) to both undergraduates and graduate students in the textiles and clothing program.
• While I was in Seoul, I also met with Dr. Chang Kyu Park at Konkuk University to learn more about his research center called ‘iFashion’, which focuses on design and production technologies/interfaces in fashion.  Dr. Park has received extensive funding from the Korean government to support the development of integrated on-demand production technologies (3D body scanning through to digital output).  He provisionally agreed to have KSU become a test site for the system if funding is received to host a system in the US.
  

  iFashion Touchscreen Customization Interface

• Finally, I also visited with Dr. Hyeong_Seok Ko, who has designed a system called “Digital Clothing” which consists of a 3D fabric rendering software, integ­­rated with patternmaking software.  His team has developed a means to use a digital calibration board and off-the-shelf digital camera to capture garment pattern for patternmaking.
  

  Dr. Ko, Hyeong_Seok and J.R. Campbell at Seoul National University

DC (Digital Clothing) Suite Digitizing System

• In the Fall semester, delegate groups from both BIFT and Ningbo University spent time visiting the Fashion School and listening to my presentation about the School.
• While I was in Korea, the Dean of the Fashion program at CAFA, invited to host us along with their students to show our student work in Beijing during China Fashion Week.  Seven senior designs students were selected and traveled with Dr. Sherry Schofield-Tomschin, Linda Ohrn-McDaniel and me to Beijing in late March, 2011. All expenses were paid by the sponsor of the fashion show event, Boboalon.  While we were there as a group, we toured the CAFA campus and learned about their fashion programs.

Abigail Drake - one look from her senior collection - on stage in China

African Inspired design by Vanecia Kirkland - on stage during China Fashion Week

Digitally printed ensemble by Zachary Hoh - on stage during China Fashion Week

Digitally printed look by Bethany Clark - on stage during China Fashion Week

Design by Stacie Moening - on stage during China Fashion Week

Design by Caitlin Nugent - on stage during China Fashion Week

Samantha Woodard's menswear design - on stage during China Fashion Week

• We also took time to visit BIFT; to get a full tour and to hold a visioning meeting about next steps in creating a combined summer course concept between our institutions.  The goal will be to create a course for summer 2013 in which a student from BIFT will be paired with a student from KSU to work on a fashion project together; requiring each to spend some time learning and working in each others’ languages.

 Development:

Kleibacker Scholarship –

• Shawn Gordon (the College of the Arts Development Director)  and I travelled to the Columbus Museum of Art, following the passing of Mr. Charles Kleibacker, to collect a large donation of books and illustrations that were bequeathed to the Fashion School from Charles’ estate in early Fall semester.  The books were catalogued and sorted by the Fashion Library and the KSU Museum staff and recommendations have been made on which would be best to add into their catalogs.  In the Fall 2011 semester, I will organize an event for the public to purchase the books that we are not keeping and use the proceeds to contribute towards the newly created Charles Kleibacker Student Scholarship.
• When a cash donation came through from the Kleibacker Estate, I created an endowed scholarship account for the scholarship  and reserved some funds to create a more formalized archive practice/procedure for all of the illustrations held in the Fashion School and Fashion Library.  This is in process.

Friends of Fashion –

• I worked with the President and Board of Friends of Fashion this year to better understand their mission and objectives for supporting the Fashion School and Museum.  This has led to an updated mission statement and revision of their membership dues.

Ferragamo –

Mr. Leonardo Ferragamo, President/CEO of Salvatore Ferragamo

• During our Fall visit to Florence to meet with the staff and Director of the Florence Program, I was able to secure a meeting with Mr. Leonardo Ferragamo with the assistance of Marcello Fantoni.  During the visit Emily Aldredge and I presented information about the Fashion School and learned more about Salvatore Ferragamo.
• Following the visit, the Fashion School decided to induct Mr. Ferragamo into our Fashion School Hall of Fame.  We were encouraged by Marcello, through his communication with Mr. Ferragamo’s team; and informed that he might also be quite interested in receiving an honorary doctorate from KSU.
• With the assistance of Dean Wearden, Dean Crawford, members of the President’s and Provost’s offices and Char Reed, we created the nomination letter for Mr. Ferragamo’s honorary degree to be reviewed by the Board of Trustees.
• The nomination was supported, and on April 7^th, Mr. Ferragamo came to Kent to receive his honorary doctorate and be inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Friends of Fashion sponsored a lovely reception following the ceremony, and a great deal of publicity and conversation occurred.
• Following the events, Mr. Ferragamo has been very helpful in providing opportunities for our students to engage in internships in Florence.
• The next step will be to travel to Florence to discuss potential for creating a ‘Ferragamo Summer Fashion Workshop Series’

Ron Burbick/ Downtown Kent –

• Dean Crawford, Shawn Gordon and I met with Ron Burbick to learn about opportunities within the new downtown Kent projects (Acorn Alley II) and learned that Ron had been reserving a key location for the Fashion School to hold a retail environment.  He offered to contribute funds annually to offset rental costs (for a 5 year contract) from his own foundation.
• I met with our FAC and we decided that it would definitely be worth pursuing, if we can work out all of the details.
• We have now signed the lease to open the first “Fashion School Store” in Kent, OH.  More details to follow.

CFDA/Vitamin Water –

• CFDA and Vitamin Water partnered this year to create a lecture series (promoting the Vitamin Water products) in which select schools were chosen to have up and coming designers come and speak to the students.  We were asked to host one of their events, which occurred on March 30^th, 2011 and was very well attended.
• As part of our agreeing to host the event, CFDA and it’s partner donated $10k to our Student Scholarship fund.

KSU Florence:

• We had a total of 48 students attend the Florence program (our largest group to date) in Fall 2010, and used local instructors to teach the design and merchandising courses, as well as the Europe Study Tour course.  They used the Palazzo de Cerchi space very creatively and created an open/shared studio environment for the design students that was very successful.
• The contingent of students planned to attend the FDM Florence Program in Fall 2011 will consist of 65 students!
  

  Entrance window to the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence, Italy

One of our Fashion School students, Jay, working in the Florence Studio

Student work space in the Florence Studio

Paris American Academy:

Paris American Academy

• This year marked the launch of the KSU/PAA courses during summer 2011 session.  We have 10 students attending the program that will receive KSU course credit for studying at PAA. 
• I worked with Peter Carman, President of PAA, to come to an arrangement of terms, and then we met with constituents on campus to determine correct approval, sign-off and program fee procedures to officially start the program.
• Additionally, we inspired Peter to offer a housing scholarship to one of our students to match the $3000 Scholarship supported by Mr. Bob Broadbent for the PAA Program.  This means one student was able to attend the program with only the cost of flights and food while in Paris.

Ohio – based travel/development:

• Among many smaller visits in our region, I was able to meet with and discuss partnerships with two significant clothing production facilities in the Cleveland area this year – Hugo Boss and Vocational Guidance Services.  My goal is to continue to scope mechanisms for creating a scalable network of clothing assembler/sewers in the Akron/Cleveland area.

NYC Studio: 

• In conjunction with Emily Aldredge and the FDM Faculty, a strategic plan has been developed
• The budgeting model discussion are still in progress
• Staffing infrastructure has been re-aligned to fit the strategic plan.  To do this, we created the Outreach Program Coordinator and NTT Faculty positions, which were filled by Matthew Stewart and Young Kim respectively.
• This structure allows for continued administrative as well as academic support for the Director of the NYC Studio.  Young Kim, as an NTT faculty member has a more direct channel of communication with the Kent faculty, and works directly with the PT faculty at the NYC Studio to help facilitate consistency and understanding across the campuses.

TechStyleLAB:

 Website Development –

View of the TechStyleLAB website in development

Through Murphy Foundation funding, we were able to have a new TechStyleLAB website developed that will allow customers to upload images and/or create and edit them online, then order their designs to be directly digitally printed onto fabric and paid for through the website interface.  This will help to put a much more public face on the TechStyleLAB concept and become a platform for creating future interactive innovations for access to these digital output technologies.

TechStyleLAB Technician –

In January we hired our TechStyleLAB Technician, Amy Howell, to begin supporting the commercial service and student interaction directly in the LAB environment.  Amy currently works half time, and we hope to increase her role as income allows.

Equipment –

Also through support from Murphy funds, we have purchased a wide-format laser cutting/etching machine.  This can be used to explore options for digital cutting garment patterns in fabric, and also as a surface design tool to cut or etch out designs into fabric surfaces.  We are currently waiting for the entry to the LAB to be re-done to allow for getting the machine into the space.  As a digital tool, this is a technology that will be the next simplest machine to adopt into our online commercial workflow, but it will also greatly expand our range of research investigations in the fashion context.

TechStyleLAB Manager –

In early 2011, we submitted a proposal to the Murphy Foundation to support the cost of creating a new TechStyleLAB Manager position.  The grant was awarded and allows for $100K over a two-year period to be paid as a salary to start this position in the center.   The plan is to advertise and hire the TSLAB Manager in early August 2011.

Stoll –

We have continued to have conversations with Stoll Knitting and are currently waiting on a bid to see if we can potentially purchase a multi-guage digital knitting machine that will allow for direct garment creation.  I met with representatives from Stoll during my last trip to NYC and we are stirring up some possibilities as you read this.

Advisory Board:

• This year, the advisory board met in NYC in the Fall, but we did not meet in the Spring semester.  It was determined that a more active and formalized structure would be appropriate for the board, so Mr. Love Goel volunteered to be the Chair of the Advisory Board and to work with me to re-organize the structure.
• We have drafted the new structure, and the informational documents to support the changes.  We will now have a smaller Executive Board, which will be responsible for addressing up to four main themes/projects annually; and will retain a larger Advisory Board to selectively activate for appropriate connections.
• The Executive Board will meet twice a year (once in NYC and once in Kent), and is currently being re-formed.  Carry-over members have been asked, but new members are also strategically being solicited.

Enrollment strategies and management:

• The following events were created in the Fashion School after I started as the Director.  These represent our most successful and strategic recruiting tools:
• Behind the Scenes – occurs on the day before the fashion show, allows prospective students to spend an afternoon learning about the school and then attending the dress rehearsal of the fashion show.
• Shadow and Prospective Days – Shadow days literally allow for prospective students to shadow some of our FDM students to gain a sense of what their classroom experiences are like.  These occur almost every Wednesday during the academic year.  In order to accommodate the large number of requests for visits, we also hold a more general informational Prospective day on Fridays.
• AALANA Open House – This was a new event pioneered by our faculty member Tameka Ellington, with my supportvand with the guidance of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.  It was very well attended and has already been referred to as a model for other schools to attempt.

Curriculum:

 Fashion Design –

• This year I worked with the faculty in curriculum revision to create the proposed BFA, Fashion Design degree program.  The BFA will require increased studio credit and the creation of a final thesis collection. BA students will be required to take fewer studio credits with an emphasis on a diversity of studio practice and liberal art electives.
• We also proposed to establish Establish an “FDM core curriculum” across all undergraduate fashion degree programs that introduces students to the fashion industry (FDM 10010 – Fashion Fundamentals), visual aesthetics (FDM 10020 – Fashion Visuals), fashion textiles/fabrics (FDM 10030 – Fashion Fabrics), and fashion technology (FDM 10050 – Introduction to Fashion Technology). FDM 10020 – Fashion Visuals has been revised to address both fashion design and merchandising majors. FDM 10050 – Introduction to Fashion Technology has been established as part of the “FDM Core.”
• Additionally we proposed changes to the “Writing Intensive Course (WIC)” requirement, the “Foreign Language Requirement, and multiple design courses to support the proposed changes.
• For the BFA, Fashion Design, a total 125 credit hours; and for the BA Fashion Design, reduced total of 122 credit hours (previously 127/128) will be required for graduation. Major Program Requirements credits decrease from 67/66 to 63; Additional Program Requirements credits decrease from 59/60 to 44-45 hours.
• NOTE: ALL of these changes still await final approval at the KSU Educational Policies Committee and Board of Trustees levels before they become official

Fashion Merchandising -

• The Merchandising faculty worked to create more flexibility and elective offerings in the FM degree program, incorporating the FDM Core concept, and proposing to require all FM majors to declare a minor.

Combined MBA –

• We met with the MBA management team recently and determined solutions to help evolve the combined MBA and Full Time MBA programs with a concentration in Fashion.
• New arrangements for the revived MBA with Fashion Concentration were negotiated and agreed upon, leading to an understanding that all fashion students who apply early to the MBA combined program will be considered MBA with fashion concentration; and will be allowed to complete their fashion electives (FDM grad courses) prior to the core MBA requirements.
• Students in the combined MBA will be considered Full Time MBA Students.
• Eventually, we will migrate this to be a combined graduate level program; once we have our own Masters level degree program, as we are currently the only undergrad to grad combined program in the MBA contingent.

JMC/VCD Fashion Journalism conversations –

• Directors and faculty representatives from FDM, VCD and JMC met three times under the organizational auspices of the Associate Dean in CCI to discuss and determine further collaborations between our units related to the topic of ‘fashion communication’.
• Courses from each program were specified as options for students from each of the other respective programs to be able to take for elective credit immediately.
• Information about the NYC Studio course offerings were distributed to all, with the offer to have any of their students enroll in the NYC program as a means to take courses to support their major and begin to understand the fashion contexts.
• Fashion Photography (offered by both JMC and VCD) is under discussion for offering at the NYC Studio as a way to bridge the programs.

MFASH/DFASH -

• The Pre-Development Proposal was developed and submitted to OBR; and feedback was completed May 9th, 2011.
• Our next meeting of the FDM grad faculty group will begin the process of developing the full proposal based on the feedback submitted.

Fashion Show:

Melissa Campbell, J.R. Campbell and 2011 Designer/Critic Jeff Bergus at the Fashion Show Dinner

• As part of this year’s fashion show events, I created a more formalized and separate ceremony for the Scholarship donors and recipients.  This event, held prior to the fundraising dinner, was a strong success, but might need to be moved to a more isolated timeblock to be manageable for all involved.

Communications Strategy and Website:

• Media/Publicity –  over 30 articles/reviews in local, national and international venues were published about aspects or activities in the Fashion School in 2010/11.
• Highlights include the following:
  • WKSU interview on TSLAB – http://www.wksu.org/news/story/27910
  • China Fashion Week – China News TV – http://english.cntv.cn/program/cultureexpress/20110329/112620.shtml
  • More work is planned for the Fashion School website, as a means to better connect with alumni and internship opportunities.

Facilities and Classroom Management Strategies:

Integrated Studio concept –

• This year I began an initiative to explore the better integration of the studio/classroom and computer lab environments.  We have started by purchasing 30 powerful laptop computers, which will be used to replace the 25 computers in our existing 3^rd floor CAD lab.  Instructors will be able to reserve and check out the laptop cart to bring to any classroom space to assist in the instruction of specialized software in fashion design and merchandising.
• The next step will be to de-commission the 3^rd floor lab and convert it to a large office and check-out room for all electronic supplies in the Fashion School.
• Following this, we will begin exploring the distribution of sewing machines, drawing and cutting tables in each of the studio classrooms, as a means to create integrated spaces where the entire design process (inclusive of having the laptop open on the studio table) can occur.

NYC Studio, Office space created for the NYC Director -

• In January, we also paid to create a small private office space for the NYC Director, so that private communication can be managed in the close NYC Studio environment.

Extension/Professional Service/Outreach:

• Senator Brown’s Office – met and worked with Jesse Gannon to facilitate Hugo Boss meeting
• Team NEO – Cleveland. Met with group to present TechStyleLAB idea and scope funding opportunities.
• Lorrain County Technology Grants. Met with group to present TechStyleLAB idea and scope funding opportunities.
• City of Ravenna, Downtown Arts Center development project. Worked with James Thompson to scope out possibilities for a downtown Ravenna retail and production facility for the Fashion School and/or the College of the Arts.
• Nanette Lepore – wrote letter in support of “Saving NYC’s Garment District”
• Cotton Incorporated Project – “Luxury of Cotton” – directed 10 students to create engineered digitally-printed jackets as part of the grant team, managed by Dr. Nancy Stanforth

Digitally engineered print designs created by a Fashion School faculty and student team as part of a funded Cotton Inc. project managed by Dr. Nancy Stanforth

Guest Speakers I invited to speak at the Fashion School:

Philip Delamore, Senior Research Fellow, Fashion Business Resource Studio, London College of Fashion, UK

Peter Heslop, Director, Textile & Design Laboratory, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

Invited Lectures:

Hong Ik University, Seoul, S. Korea. Exploring the metaphor of digital interactive design collaboration as a virtual de-militarized zone (DMZ).  Lecture given as part of the Korean Fashion Art Biennale symposium at Hong Ik University.  9th November, 2010.

Ewha Women’s University, Seoul, S. Korea. Exploring digital interactive design collaboration: fashion art + fashion industry.  Ewha Woman’s University, Textiles and Clothing Department.  Seoul, S. Korea.  10th November.

Liquid Crystal Institute. TechStyleLAB: Exploring digital interactive design collaboration: fashion art + fashion industry.  KSU. April 20^th, 2011

Cleveland Executives Association. TechStyleLAB: Exploring digital interactive design collaboration: fashion art + fashion industry.   May 20^th, 2011

Research/Creative Activities:

• Fashion Art Biennale – Seoul, S. Korea.  Vince Quevedo and I won the International Artist of the Year award for our collaborative piece “DMZ”.  Korea Fashion Art Biennale: Fashion Art – War/Peace. Seoul, S. Korea. 104 international artists from 17 countries were represented at this exhibition during the G20 Summit.
• KSU Museum exhibition – Installed 3 Collaborative Pieces with Vince Quevedo, including DMZ

 2011/12 Goals

1. Curriculum: MFASH/DFASH – develop full proposal and submit for review with anticipated start date of Fall 2012
2. Curriculum: BA/BFA/BS – submit major curriculum revisions to the undergraduate programs for EPC and OBR review
3. Development/Recruitment/Retention: Reposition Annual Fashion Show for presentation in Stump Theatre to build on partnering with the School of Theatre and Dance
4. Development: Investigate opportunities for creating a Ferragamo Summer Workshop Series in Florence
5. Development: Investigate possibility for creating a group trip to Florence
6. Development: Determine further steps in any partnerships with Korea, China and India
7. Facilities: Continue to implement the phases toward ‘open’ studios and integrate computer use into all studio classrooms via laptop provision
8. Extension/Professional: Manage jurying and exhibition process for BIFT/ITAA exhibition in Beijing as part of joint symposium
9. Extension/Professional: Look for a means to showcase Fashion School student work during China Fashion Week again.
10. Communications: Create a student-based editorial team to help report on FDM events; as well as continue to update and grow website
11. Communications: Work to develop a complete prospectus for the Fashion School to use for recruitment, international visits, and development activities
12. Research and Curricular Projects:  Successfully hire a manager for the TechStyleLAB and develop the facility in context of the new Fashion School Store space in Acorn Alley

http://english.cntv.cn/program/cultureexpress/20110329/112620.shtml

Fashion Art by Vince Quevedo

Many things to report that have been happening in the Fashion School…. but one that I would like to announce that is coming up is:

BEYOND FASHION: FIBER AND FASHION ART BY VINCENT QUEVEDO
March 4, 2011 – February 12, 2012
This show will be in the KSU Museum Higbee Gallery

One of the pieces that will be on display is “DMZ,” which Vince and I created collaboratively for the Fashion Art Biennale in Seoul, South Korea.

Here is an excerpt from Vince about the upcoming exhibition:
“Our physical and emotional states are layers upon layers of independent planes stacked but separated in opaque and sometimes translucent elements that make up who we are. These layers build character that defines the uniqueness of an individual. Sometimes, these layers build a visual facade concealing internal elements. My work is about exposing the internal elements and revealing the parts that make the whole. My body of work is a unique blend of ideas and materials reflecting contemporary culture and my translations of it relative to the attitudes and reactions connected to emotions.
“Beyond Fashion: Fiber and Fashion Art by Vincent Quevedo” are pieces from my past collections that are not an attempt to persuade viewers to accept my personal ideologies, but to recognize and distinguish the power of clothing relative to beauty, intrigue, intimacy and complexity. Although wearable, their intent includes a theatrical presence demanding a certain level of attention beyond that of ordinary clothing or art. This compilation also examines the potential of clothing as a sculptural entity dependent on visual cues in space. This is not to say these pieces have no meaning, indeed they do, but the literal or abstract presentation I leave for the viewer to define.”

Logo for the Paris American Academy

Main Building at Paris American Academy

I am really looking forward to this weekend, because Peter Carman from the Paris American Academy and Emily Aldredge, our NYC Studio Director have come to Kent to help host our Fashion School International Study Away Day on Saturday the 25th September. We will be presenting in-depth information about all of our study away programs, but especially highlighting our NEW offering with the Paris American Academy.

Starting this summer, KSU students can enroll to take actual KSU Fashion School courses at the Paris American Academy!!

We will also be informing students and parents on how they can plan and prepare for any of the study away opportunities we provide, including our semester study programs at our NYC Studio http://www.nycstudio.kent.edu, our KSU Florence Campus, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and AIU in London.

PLUS – this weekend is the celebration for the 25th Anniversary of the KSU Museum! The event, called 25 Years of Dazzle, will include the sneak preview opening of the Katharine Hepburn Exhibition as well as a reception and dinner. Over 300 people will be attending this celebratory event.

http://kentwired.com/four-tickets-to-hong-kong-please/

The scholarship award winners are:

Tiffany Hu
Rachel Koester
Sarah Metzger
Gabrielle (Gabby) Ondrejech

Congratulations!!! The scholarship award is $3000 for each of these students, who will be able to continue to pay Kent State University tuition to attend HKPolyU while taking courses there and living in their student housing. We will also be hosting four HKPolyU students in the Fashion School at Kent State during the Spring 2011 semester. What a great exchange.

Shawn Gordon, our College of the Arts Development Director, and I were scheduled to meet with Dov Charney, the CEO/owner of American Apparel.

photo courtesy of American Apparel website

Unfortunately, he was called away to NYC, but we had an excellent meeting with American Apparel Production Manager, Marina Andrade, instead. Marina took us on a tour of the entire facility. The vibe of the entire company was very energetic and friendly. Thanks so much to Marina for meeting with us; and we hope to be able to find ways to connect more in the future. For more information on the company, which is a vertical manufacturer producing all of their product right in L.A., check out their site: About American Apparel

Digifab and First2Print - LA (photo courtesy of Digifab)

On the following day, we spent time speaking to Alex and Avedik Izmirlian of Digifab , a full service digital textile printing business.

On Friday, August 6th, in San Francisco, I was able to view the TechnoCraft exhibition at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The show, curated by artist/designer Yves Behar, was organized into six subthemes: Crowdsourcing, Platforms, Blueprints, Hacks, Incompletes, and Modules. His delineation of these themes define the real value of the exhibition, but he has also selected some great examples for illustrating the themes.

TechnoCraft - Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

As described in the Core77 site:
Crowdsourcing mines the collective talent of the community to develop new design solutions. From product generation to the voting process, Crowdsourcing puts the decision-making power in the hands of the masses. One participant in the exhibition, Threadless, is an online apparel store that solicits consumers to design and vote for new t-shirts each week.

Platforms consist of designers creating open, software-based platforms, that provide the tools for individuals to create and/or customize their own unique products. From shoes to t-shirts to fantastic creatures, platforms make it easy for individuals of all skill levels to take on the role of designer. PUMA’s Mongolian Barbeque is an iconic example of this theme.

Blueprints act as ideas that can be given away or sold, putting the power to create in the hands of the consumer. Rather than create and sell a finished product, designers sell or give away instructions so that anyone can create/recreate the design in their own way. Autoprogettazione (or “self design”) is Enzo Mari’s collection of designs for furniture you can make yourself. Originally exhibited in 1974, Mari gave out a free catalogue with detailed instructions for making these basic, easy-to-assemble furniture pieces using off-the-shelf lumber and nails.

“Hacks” is used as a term that has moved far beyond the manipulation of computer software, extending into the public’s consciousness. Tables, iPhones, and bikes are revised, modified and manipulated to achieve a new look or new functionality.

Incompletes intentionally leave room for creativity on the part of the user. The degree to which the end user is involved varies with each design, but all depend on the role of the user to provide input for a design to properly function. With Marijn van der Poll’s Do hit chair made by Droog, through a hammer or other tool you can change the original stainless steel cube into a chair of your own design.

Modules are individual components that come together to create customized creations. Intelligently designed modules allow for the user to develop an outcome that is driven in equal parts by ingenuity and budget. Designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s Clouds, made in collaboration with Kvadrat, allows the user to arrange and re-arrange a variety of tiles to create installations and new designs.

View information on the exhibit here: TechnoCRAFT (July 9th through October 3, 2010 @ Yerba Buena Art Center, San Francisco)

UCDavis Professor and friend Susan Taber Avila, toured the exhibition with me and then we met artist/designer Corrine Okada Takara, who took us to meet fashion designer Colleen Quen at her studio. See Corrine’s post about our visit at her “techfusionfabrics” blog.  Colleen’s partner Rick Lee is an exceptional furniture/interior designer, and both Rick and Colleen are collaborating with Corrine on a project that will be displayed in the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. The gown that Colleen is working on will include digitally printed silks that we printed in our TechStyleLAB in the Fashion School.

Here are some of my photos from the TechnoCraft exhibition:

YBCA - Window

YBCA - Window inside

TechnoCraft - "Modular" units

TechnoCraft - "Modular" units - Kradvat

TechnoCraft - "Modular" units

TechnoCraft - "Modular" units

TechnoCraft - "Modular" units - part of a networked community

TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" wallpaper

TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" table legs

TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" lamp

TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" lamp

TechnoCraft - "Programmable" felt pad chair

TechnoCraft - "Incompletes" stool

TechnoCraft - "Incompletes" daily calendar clock

Adidas - "Modules" - 'mongolian bbq'

TechnoCraft - "Modules" - messenger bags

TechnoCraft - "Hacks" - chair 'sketches'

TechnoCraft - "Hacks" - chair 'sketches'

TechnoCraft - "Hacks" - chair 'sketches'

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TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" Color-able dress: the dress is digitally printed in black and white and comes with washable markers, so the wearer can color it in and change the design after each wash.

TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" Color-able dress: digitally printed in black and white with washable markers

TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" Color-able dress.

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Here are photos I took at Colleen Quen and Rick Lee’s studio:

Colleen Quen - Chinese lamps for digitally printed gown

Colleen Quen - Sewing sleeves for digitally printed gown

Colleen Quen - cutting lanterns for digitally printed gown

Colleen Quen and Corrine Okada Takara - digitally printed fabrics from our TechStyleLAB and Spoonflower

Colleen Quen and Corrine Okada Takara - digitally printed fabrics from our TechStyleLAB and Spoonflower

Colleen Quen - previous design work

Rick Lee - circle coach desig

]]> http://thefashionschooldirector.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/connecting-to-the-west-coast-u-s/feed/ 0 thefashionschooldirector American Apparel - front entrance Digifab and First2Print - LA TechnoCraft - Yerba Buena Center for the Arts YBCA - Window YBCA - Window inside TechnoCraft - "Modular" units TechnoCraft - "Modular" units TechnoCraft - "Modular" units TechnoCraft - "Modular" units TechnoCraft - "Modular" units TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" wallpaper TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" table legs TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" lamp TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" lamp TechnoCraft - "Programmable" felt pad chair TechnoCraft - "Incompletes" stool TechnoCraft - "Incomplets" daily calendar clock Adidas - "Modules" - 'mongolian bbq' TechnoCraft - "Modules" - messenger bags TechnoCraft - "Hacks" - chair 'sketches' TechnoCraft - "Hacks" - chair 'sketches' TechnoCraft - "Hacks" - chair 'sketches' TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" Color-able dress TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" Color-able dress. TechnoCraft - "Unfinished" Color-able dress. Colleen Quen - Chinese lamps for digitally printed gown Colleen Quen - Sewing sleeves for digitally printed gown Colleen Quen - cutting lanterns for digitally printed gown Colleen Quen and Corrine Okada Takara - digitally printed fabrics from our TechStyleLAB and Spoonflower Colleen Quen and Corrine Okada Takara - digitally printed fabrics from our TechStyleLAB and Spoonflower Colleen Quen - previous design work Rick Lee - circle coach design http://thefashionschooldirector.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/the-one-year-mark-as-the-fashion-school-director/ http://thefashionschooldirector.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/the-one-year-mark-as-the-fashion-school-director/#comments Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:53:28 +0000 thefashionschooldirector http://thefashionschooldirector.wordpress.com/?p=178 ]]> On July 1st, I will have completed one full year as the Director of the Fashion School at Kent State University.  What a year! Here are some of the highlights since January 2010:

Peter Carman and the Paris American Academy:

To spend more time discussing our partnership between the Fashion School and the Paris American Academy (http://parisamericanacademy.fr/PAA/WELCOME.html), Peter Carman visited us in Kent.  Starting in the Summer session of 2011, students from the KSU will be able to take approved Fashion School courses at the Paris American Academy, which is located very near the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens.  Two Fashion Design and two Fashion Merchandising courses have been developed and approved, thanks to assistance from Dr. Catherine Leslie, for students to take for credit towards their major.  It’s a great partnership, and Peter is a fantastic guy.

Peter Carman, President of the Paris American Academy, visited the Fashion School in April. When we had a bit of spare time, we took him to see President Garfield's memorial in Cleveland.

Peter Carman - visiting Garfield memorial

Garfield Memorial

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Modista’s “Dreamland” fashion show:

The Modista Student Organization put on a great fashion show

Kori Fields presenting 'Dreamland' - a fashion show produced by the Modista Student Organization

early in the semester that presented designs from regional businesses as well as design work by Fashion School students.

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Meeting Tim Gunn:

Tim Gunn gave a great presentation as part of the Burton D. Morgan lecture series at the Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, OH.

On April 6th, I was graciously invited to join the Burton D. Morgan Foundation staff and the administration of the Western Reserve Academy in Hudson to hear Mr. Tim Gunn give an excellent presentation to the WRA students.  We then had a lovely lunch with Mr. Gunn, hosted by the Head of School, Christopher Burner and his wife.

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Stark County’s “Tie One On” competition and exhibition:

Fashion School Alumnus Christine Peterson and a team from Community Services of Stark County approached the Fashion School to assist on manufacturing the results of a competition that they have held called “Tie One On/Scarf One Up”, in which area school children and local artists could submit designs online.

Tie One On - entries on display in Canton

Two winning designs were selected for production and are being produced as short-run/limited edition silk scarves and ties.  We are printing the silk here in the Fashion School’s TechStyleLAB and the organizational team is working with a tie company in Vermont to have them sewn and assembled.  Last month, the group displayed a range of the submitted designs, as well as the prototypes for the tie and scarf, which were very well received.

Tie One On - Christine Peterson (Fashion School Alum) watching digital printing of the silk satin

On the 26th of June, they will hold their Gala event for Tie One On, in which the locally designed scarves and ties will be available for purchase!

Tie One On - digitally printed silk scarves

Tie One On - digitally printed silk tie

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Jenny Barnett, Contributing Editor of Harper’s Bazaar lectured at KSU:

In the middle of March, we were able to bring Jenny Barnett, Contributing Editor of Harper’s Bazaar Magazine, to KSU to help facilitate discussions around fashion communications, and how we might approach the connections between the Fashion School and the College of Communication and Information.  We had some good discussion involving students, faculty and administrators.  Then Jenny gave an excellent presentation about her experiences and the types of roles in a fashion publication that bridge between journalism and fashion. I hope to continue these conversations and see how we can get these connections to best filter into our curriculum for our students.

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The Fashion School’s Annual Fashion Show:

There is so much to say!  The Fashion Show was a great success this year, even with all of the changes.  We showcased some exceptional student work. I think it can be best shown in the range of photos posted in the gallery at the bottom of this blog, which includes a range of photos from the 2010 Re:Create Fashion Show. Thanks to Bob Christie for a number of the photo credits. Students: sorry I didn’t have time to properly label everyone’s designs… please let me know which ones are yours and I will gladly update their captions.

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SP 2010 NYC Study Tour:

Although I didn’t go along with this group, I thought it might be useful to show some photos from the Spring 2010 NYC Study Tour group, which were taken by KSU Photographer Bob Christie. Check out the full photo gallery below! The NYC Studio is going strong. This summer marks a transition to working with Educational Housing Services to provide housing options for our students while studying in NYC.

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A brief explore into the surrounding regions:

I got a chance recently to take a quick trip with friends and family over to Pennsylvania to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s house called “Falling Water”.  This region has so many impressive histories.

I also was able to visit Columbus, OH a few times – Once to meet some Fashion School donor/connections; once for the Ohio Women’s Summit conference to help display Noel Palomo-Lovinski’s work; and once for a more sombre reason – to attend the memorial event for Charles Kleibacker at the Columbus Museum of Art.

Dale Chiluly exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art

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JR + JR = CUTPRINT – workshop held at our NYC Studio in June:

JR+JR Workshop: Julian discussing approach with participants

The JR + JR = CUTPRINT workshop went very well at our NYC Studio this June. We had 15 participants in the class, including faculty from Parsons, Stephens College and the University of Delaware; KSU Fashion School students; and industry professionals. The course was designed to demonstrate Julian Robert’s techniques for “subtraction pattern cutting” and to combine them with my approaches to engineered digital garment printing. Participants created one complete subtraction cut garment; and will be able to create their own digitally printed version following the workshop. See the full range of design work and our collaborative process for the workshop shown in the image gallery at the end of this blog.

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Margarita Benitez will be joining us as a tenure-track faculty in the Fall 2010:

Just a quick note to say that we are eagerly anticipating Margarita Benitez’s arrival at the Fashion School this Fall 2010, following her experiences at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Margarita will be working closely with our TechStyleLAB concept and will be exploring teaching and research in digital fashion and wearable technologies. Check out her website at http://margaritabenitez.com/

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What’s next:
Over the summer we hope to greatly add to and enhance our recent website redesign for the Fashion School and to focus on finishing the first stage proposal for our graduate programs, continuing to discuss and improve the undergrad degree program curricula, continuing to improve our communications strategy and to get the good-word out about the accomplishments of the Fashion School faculty and students, and focus on strategic planning both within the Fashion School and as part of the College of the Arts at Kent State University.

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The full photo gallery:
http://www.muji.us/) and the Inakaya restaurant." title="NY Times Building" />

]]> http://thefashionschooldirector.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/the-one-year-mark-as-the-fashion-school-director/feed/ 2 thefashionschooldirector Peter Carman - Paris American Academy Peter Carman - visiting Garfield memorial Peter Carman - Garfield Memorial Kori Fields Tim Gunn with J.R. and Deborah Hoover Tie One On - entries on display in Canton Tie One On - Christine Peterson (Fashion School Alum) watching digital printing of the silk satin Tie One On - digitally printed silk scarves Tie One On - digitally printed silk tie fashionshow_recreate Falling Water Dale Chiluly exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art JR+JR Workshop: Julian discussing approach Peter Carman - Paris American Academy Peter Carman - Garfield Memorial Peter Carman - visiting Garfield memorial Kori Fields Modista's 'Dreamland' ticket Tim Gunn with J.R. and Deborah Hoover Tie One On - entries on display in Canton fuel Tie One On - Christine Peterson (Fashion School Alum) watching digital printing of the silk satin Tie One On - silk satin printing Tie One On - digitally printed silk scarves Tie One On - digitally printed silk tie fashionshow_dinner2 karen_jerry_herbers Lefton_Crawford_Campbell bobbroadbent_award NancyMcCann Deanna_Turcotte_Heather_Haden JR_speaking fashionshow_dinner fashionshow_recreate fashionshow_producers MeganMurphy dartanyabutcher jennaweickert tess_accordino madison_geroski natalie_jupp fashionshow fashionshow2 fashionshow3_murphy fashionshow4 fashionshow5 fashionshow6 fashionshow7 fashionshow8 fashionshow9 fashionshow10 fashionshow11 fashionshow12 fashionshow13 fashionshow14 fashionshow15 fashionshow16 fashionshow17 fashionshow18 fashionshow19 fashionshow20 fashionshow21 fashionshow22 fashionshow23 Designer_critics SP2010_NYCstudytour NYC_timessquarefromataxi SP2010_NYCstudytour2 SP2010_NYCstudytour3 SP2010_NYCstudytour4 RScottFrench EmilyAldredge merylrazner davidleung NYC - midtown view NY Times Building JR+JR Workshop: Julian discussing approach JR+JR workshop: previous Julian designs JR+JR workshop: examples of subtraction cut dresses JR+JR workshop: Julian presentation JR+JR workshop: participants JR+JR workshop: Julian notebook poster JR+JR workshop: subtraction patterns with imagery JR+JR workshop JR+JR workshop 2 JR+JR workshop: J.R.'s 'hydrangea river' print JR+JR workshop: Julian planning cuts JR+JR workshop: bodice placement and hole JR+JR workshop: first cuts JR+JR workshop: 'hole shaper' placement JR+JR workshop: matching 'hole shaper' JR+JR workshop: pinning 'hole shapers' together for sewing JR+JR workshop: drawing the final pattern layout in 2D JR+JR workshop: testing the garment with first holes JR+JR workshop: garment back view JR+JR workshop: talking about print placement with bodice placement JR+JR workshop: how the dress drapes and re-configures JR+JR workshop: results! JR+JR workshop: knit jersey engineered print JR+JR workshop: contoured engineered print dress 'front' JR+JR workshop: contour dress - three-quarters view JR+JR workshop: contour dress - back JR+JR workshop: great fabric and drape combination! JR+JR workshop: great combo 2 JR+JR workshop: engineered layout with J.R.'s 'hydrangea river' design in silk chiffon JR+JR workshop: Timo Rissanen's 'zero waste' approach to Julian's subtraction cutting Falling Water Dale Chiluly exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art http://thefashionschooldirector.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/designer-critics-reception-and-luncheon-sponsored-by-the-friends-of-fashion/ http://thefashionschooldirector.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/designer-critics-reception-and-luncheon-sponsored-by-the-friends-of-fashion/#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:30:21 +0000 thefashionschooldirector http://thefashionschooldirector.wordpress.com/?p=162 ]]>

Charles Nolan &Dana Buchman: Fashion School Designer Critics. Photo by Bob Christie.

March 16th was a crazy day. Dana Buchman, Charles Nolan and Robert Tagliatpietra (of Costello – Tagliapietra) were in the Fashion School to conduct the final critiques for our senior design students’ collections; the Friends of Fashion group hosted an event in their honor, led by Dr. Geneva Damron and Betsy Mangin; the senior design students were invited to the reception to meet and mingle with the Designer Critics and the Friends of Fashion; the Fashion School Advisory Board were also here to participate in the Luncheon and continue on through the afternoon with our advisory board meeting; we had an Open House Day for prospective students; AND Nordstrom was in Rockwell Hall with us – conducting interviews of our students all day long!

Robert Tagliatpietra talking to Fashion School students during the reception. Photo by Bob Christie.

It was a beautiful sunny day, and seemed to be a great success! I am still recovering.

Dana Buchman talking to Fashion School Students. Photo by Bob Christie.

]]> http://thefashionschooldirector.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/designer-critics-reception-and-luncheon-sponsored-by-the-friends-of-fashion/feed/ 0 thefashionschooldirector Charles Nolan &Dana Buchman: Fashion School Designer Critics Robert Tagliatpietra talking to Fashion School students Dana Buchman talking to Fashion School Students.