Cait K. 🎀

NYC Adventures 🏙

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Inside the Talented Mind of Van Gogh

The Van Gogh Immersive Experience in NYC was an incredible event that provides viewers with an amazing glimpse into the life of Vincent Van Gogh. His discovery of painting, his studies, the search for his artistic style, and the relationships he had with family members and others were highlighted throughout the Immersive Experience. These influential moments and inspiring pieces produced by the artist were brought to life through projections, sounds, and lighting, allowing one to be fully involved with his precious world. Within his lifetime, Van Gogh produced around 900 abstract paintings and about 1,100 sketches and drawings, all focused on nature and his surroundings. Most of these pieces were completed within the last decade of his life. Experts believe Van Gogh produced a new creation every 36 hours, especially as he was obsessed with refining and re-envisioning his work.

Vincent Van Gogh had a multitude of challenges regarding his mental health. At one point in his life, he sank into madness with alcohol and ended up in a mental institution. This influential part of Van Gogh’s life is portrayed by the music played throughout the Immersive Experience. During his rough state of mind, Van Gogh worked with a fellow artist known as Paul Gauguin. They had very different artistic views which led to intense arguing, further motivating Van Gogh to take a drastic measure and chop of his own ear. Van Gogh ended up cleaning the ear, packaging it up, and dropping it off to a brothel with a note stating “here is a souvenir of me”. This consistent challenge with his state of mind influenced hundreds of his creations, all the way up to his final painting titled “Tree Roots”, which was created only a few hours before he took his life. The Van Gogh Immersive Experience was a fantastic opportunity to glance into his artistry and learn more about the amazingly talented Vincent Van Gogh.

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Study Tour Documentation

Having the opportunity to view other students’ NYC Tumblr blogs was a great way to see everyone’s creativity and take-aways from the study tour class. Most of the blog layouts were one of three themes. A majority of the formats were post by post, with the other entries only visible by scrolling through the page. Another common theme was utilizing the same post by post content, however a grid of pictures in the top right corner of the page was added. The final layout was a vertical style as four posts were lined up next to each other with extra entries visible through scrolling. This variety of themes assisted in conveying the creative measures each student utilized in their NYC blogs.

There were two locations that most students loved visiting. M&S Schmalberg and Prada captured everyone’s heart as they were a few of the most hands-on and interactive tours. The photos from each visit were plentiful among the blogs, some at the start or end of the post while others were scattered throughout the entry. Students also described their experience of living in NYC. Most people enjoyed the opportunity, mentioning that they would potentially live there. Others had an opposing opinion, stating they were homesick and would rather be somewhere that is not as fast-paced. Overall learning about everyone’s experience and take-aways of the NYC study tour through Tumblr blog posts was an enjoyable way to discover each other’s opinion of the city.

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The Possibilities Provided by Texworld

The world of fashion may seem like a very simple yet massive industry filled with endless brands and employees. This idea far from the truth as the fashion empire is relatively small and extremely connected. To further knit each member of this world, an international tradeshow called Texworld links global suppliers, fabric buyers, designers, and fashion professionals all together. Through the innovative app designated for Texworld’s events, these essential personnel are able to physically find desired content with the simplicity their smartphone.

There are four different sections of products and services throughout the Texworld venue. Fabric, apparel, USA services, and upcoming Donegar trends are available for interaction through both the app and in person. With the fabric and apparel sections, visitors are able to use the app to scan fabrics and silhouettes they are interested in, which will notify the supplier of their preferences and result in the company reaching out to the potential client. In the USA services section, there are a handful of booths from various companies that are within the country and available to consult with immediately. Tying in each element of the Texworld trade show, Donegar has a few themes displayed for inspiration, complete with a concept, a color palette, fabrics and patterns.

Attending a trade show like Texworld may require a strategy when searching for specific products and services. One of the members of the Texworld production narrated the steps for successfully taking advantage of all there is available. Before arriving to the venue, be sure to have a game-plan of knowing the desired fabrics and silhouettes. Then go straight to pursue these items by scanning with the app to lock in potential options. Taking advantage of the Donegar displays is an additional key procedure as they can provide further inspiration through fabrics, silhouettes, and color palettes. Ending with connections created through the USA service booths can further assist in piecing together a future collection that was inspired and assisted by the opportunities provided by the Texworld trade show.

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The Detail Behind Prada’s Empire

Prada is a major icon in the fashion luxury market industry. With a start in luggage, Prada has evolved their merchandise into a vast range of clothing pieces and accessories. The infamous triangle is one of the sole elements that has been an essential staple to the empire as it continues to capture the attention of their beloved clientele. Most recently a younger generation has grown in admiration for the brand, resulting in Prada’s sudden interest to market towards this influential age range. This may be a benefit resulting from the global pandemic as the e-commerce for Prada evolved during this era, which expanded the popularity and demand for their iconic pieces.

The main flagship location for Prada is along 5th Avenue. As a flagship, this store has the most merchandise out of any of the Prada sites. Almost every piece that is produced by the empire is available in a very limited selection at this location. This particular store also influences every other Prada venue across the globe, especially as Mrs. Prada’s husband, Mr. Bertelli, is overly involved with the appearance of the products and the displays. The window displays of the 5th Avenue Prada are changed after store hours by Mr. Bertelli, along with the placement of the merchandise throughout the store. He is aware of everything that occurs with the family business’ merchandise, exemplifying the detail and connection Prada establishes with each customer that continues to drive demand for the iconic empire.

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The Flowers of M&S Schmalberg

M&S Schmalberg is one of the oldest remaining fabric flower shops in New York City. The reigns of the business have been passed down through four generations since opening in 1916. This company is well-known for creating fabric flowers that can be used in apparel, weddings, accessories, millinery, and home furnishings. Some of these beautiful pieces have even been utilized in designs produced by Oscar de la Renta, Marc Jacobs, and Vera Wang. There are endless possibilities of floral designs that M&S Schmalberg can create to exceed their endless requests made by their beloved clientele.

The process M&S Schmalberg goes through to produce a fabric flower is quite simple as there are only a handful of steps. Hardening the fabric is the first procedure as it keeps the material from unraveling during the formation process. A series of different shapes and molds are attached to modern-day machinery, which assist in producing floral silhouettes and providing texture to each petal. This process is the most important part of building the foundation of the flower. From this point, each fabric flower piece is then folded in different techniques to produce the most authentic version of the desired look. The pieces are then finished by being glued all together, leaving them ready for their next adventure out into the creative world.

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Behind the Scenes of Aritzia

Canadian brand, Aritzia, is a unique and innovative fashion design house that offers beautiful pieces with exceptional service in aspirational locations. The company was founded with the primary focus to solely provide individual style with high quality materials. Playing to this original aesthetic, each store front is developed with certain characteristics that portray key elements of the surrounding area. Influences such as natural materials, custom art and furniture, and other local inspirations are eclectically displayed throughout each establishment, motivating the consumer to visit the variety of stores to discover these thought-out touches.

One element that sets Aritzia apart from competitors is their in-house labels. Aritzia offers a variety of different brand names, all of which are produced solely by Aritzia. There are different styles to each label to make them appear more diversified, however they are all separate design teams within the Aritzia brand. Within the establishment, the store is divided into sections based on their private labels, allowing an easier shopping experience for the consumer. These pieces can only be found at Aritzia locations, adding to the unique aesthetic the company portrays.

After gaining insight about the franchise from a manager at one of the locations, Aritzia is fashionably on-trend with a more attentive input on slowing fast fashion. Shoulder pads in tops and comfortable loungewear are huge craze for consumers, which are thoughtfully placed right at the entrance to the store. Aritzia has also become extremely considerate on jumping out of the fast fashion market. Most fast fashion retailers display their seasonal content for only 4-6 weeks while Aritzia provides this type of merchandise for 8-10 weeks. Being relevant to the fashion industry while remaining attentive to the environment highlights the unique and individual aesthetics that Aritzia is known for.

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The MET

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or the MET, is well-known attraction in New York City. Initially coming to fruition in Paris, France, the MET was desired to be a national institution and art gallery that would bring art education to America. This idea sparked the creation of the MET a few years later in 1870. A roman sarcophagus was the first piece to reach the museum, which was soon followed by a handful of other artifacts arriving within the next decade. On March 30, 1880 the MET officially opened to the public on 5th Avenue, and has been a growing attraction ever since.

Expansion was the major theme of the Metropolitan Museum of Art throughout the 19th century. Numerous wing additions were built onto the existing building, and the selection of historic material continued to enter the museum. This resulted in an abundance of exhibits and featured selections. One of the most notorious features of the museum is the Costume Institute. Within the last few years, Anna Wintour has been a huge influence on the exhibitions that are highlighted in this space, especially as the MET Gala utilizes this section. For the next month or so, the Costume Institute is closed as it is being curated for the upcoming Gala in September. With this forthcoming exhibition, the MET continues to be known as a continuously expanding museum, attracting millions of people into its doors to explore all that is offered.

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Advice from Kent State’s Alumni

The world of fashion is known for being a cut-throat industry. Change is a constant factor that can either make or break an individual and/or brand. Kent State’s School of Fashion alumni provided great advice on how to successfully navigate this evolving empire such as getting your name known and taking advantage of all resources. The most critical piece of guidance is to work extremely hard in everything you do while making strong connections that can be beneficial at any point in one’s fashion career.

Internships are a huge essential in the fashion world. These assist in opening potential opportunities while providing the ultimate sneak peek into what your dream career is like. Most starting jobs in fashion are not as glamourous as one imagines. The easiest and lowest tasks may be passed onto the interns or ground-level employees; however, this provides the perfect opportunity to present your work ethic and determination, which can lead to a major climb up the company ladder. Being open to any possibility is also an important factor as nothing ever goes according to plan, especially with the ever-changing fashion industry.

University resources are crucial to becoming successfully prepared for the career field. Many of these opportunities allow one to make useful relationships with those already in the desired industry. Kent State’s alumni network is a perfect example of an opportunity to make connections in a prestigious career like fashion. Presenting yourself and putting in the effort to link with those in the workforce opens endless doors that can ultimately land one in their dream job. The advice from these industry connections, such as the Kent State’s School of Fashion alumni, can guide any university student in successfully adapting to the evolving world of fashion.

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Inside the World of Mood Fabrics

Mood Fabrics is an iconic material supplier for those interested in fashion design. Located in the heart of NYC’s Garment District, Mood supplies both home fabric and fashion fabric to all creative consumers. These two fabric categories are separated by their own store front locations. Home fabrics are found in the store right along 37th street. This location has a ground floor with a loft full of material for home furnishings. Right next to the home store is the infamous fashion fabric store, which is on the third floor of a business building right next to the street view location. There are three expansive levels to the fabric store, filled with all of the material a fashion designer could dream of.

Mood Fabrics most well-known regular and dedicated client is Project Runway. One of the employees at Mood shared a few tidbits about working with the infamous TV show. Right before the filming of the Mood Fabrics clips, Project Runway calls the store a day in advance to mention the time they will be arriving. Mood then shuts down the whole location for only the members of the TV show. Swatch, the beloved staple of Project Runway, also comes into the store for the episode. He used to fully live at Mood until the global pandemic, but now is only found there during filming. However, his picture with Tim Gunn, host of Project Runway, hangs right at the entrance to Mood Fabrics as a greeting to all designers and admirers of this iconic location.

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Doneger’s Influential Forecasting

One of the most powerful and influential tools in the fashion industry is trend-forecasting services. These systems lay out the foundation of inspiration for many major fashion designers, retailers, and corporations. The Doneger Group is one of the top trend-forecasting services, and are primarily known for their website. Through their online presence Doneger provides global trend intelligence, market information, a focused merchandising direction, and an expert analysis on consumer behavior. More recently, Doneger has gone through some massive remodeling for their online website, making content much easier to obtain.

With their new website, The Doneger Group is able to include more data and segments of conversation focusing on connecting better with clientele. Vice President and Creative Director Shelda Hartwell has been tirelessly working with those at Doneger to redesign the online platform to focus more on the post-COVID consumer. The first page of Doneger highlights some great ideas for subscribers about what is happening at the moment from a consumer point of view. These sections also change almost daily to consistently provide fresh content each day.

Further into the website there are “Think Tank” topics that discuss what is going on in business, personal lives, interactions, food and beverages, and beauty and wellness. These various categories allow The Doneger Group to provide their clients with key elements that are driving business due to subjects that are influencing the consumer. There are also various tabs along the top of the main homepage of Doneger that can provide more inspiration through consumer insights, business strategies, creative direction, and merchandising. The recent overhaul of Doneger’s online platform allows subscribers to obtain the knowledge needed to remain successful in the fashion industry while continuing to place this trend-forecasting service at the top of this stylish research market.

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Tips from Loren Ojugbana of Ralph Lauren

As Vice President of the North American Channel Trading for Ralph Lauren, Loren Ojugbana has an extensive amount of advice learned from his climb to the top of this prestigious company. Ojugbana initially started his career in the fashion industry as a manager for menswear at Sears. The venture to reach his current occupation was anything but a straight path; there were plenty of ups and downs, including taking a lower job than what he did previously. This may have seemed like a set back at the time, however Ojugbana was able to make connections with others that assisted in catapulting his career. Detouring to different job levels also allowed Ojugbana to gain a wider area of expertise that further benefitted his future.

During his venture to success, Loren Ojugbana learned numerous useful tips. One of his main pieces of advice is to begin advocating for yourself early in the desired career field. Most people think their work/portfolio is enough to speak for themselves, which can hinder the potential in elevating one’s job level. Being more vocal about aspirations and future goals can provide many more benefits than waiting for the opportunity to arise. Ojugbana also insists in building great relationships with current and potential coworkers as these can also boost career potential at any point in time. Utilizing these tidbits of advice can allow anyone to be as successful as Loren Ojugbana.

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The Empire Behind the Luxury Market

Being able to afford that fancy new car, carry around a name-brand purse, and flaunt exquisite jewelry pieces are all part of the luxurious aesthetic everyone dreams of. This glamourous lifestyle is found through all forms of prestigious products, from high-end hotels and vehicles to designer apparel and accessories. Although these strongly-demanded brands appear to thrive on their own without any major competition, they previously lacked in marketing their products to attract more consumers, and building relationships among other empires. The sudden change in this deficit was credited to the Luxury Marketing Council, an organization that links together all categories of the luxury market such as hotels, vehicles, apparel, etc. to benefit both the brands and the desired customers.

Most people have never heard of the Luxury Marketing Council as having the opportunity to work/connect with them is only through invitation or member connections. The CEO of this unifying organization, Chris Olshan, highlighted the main goal of the Luxury Marketing Council: to assist these grandeur companies in coming together to increase their revenue. Through gathering collective information from globally-known prestigious brands, the Luxury Marketing Council works to consistently attract the consumer to invest in higher-end pieces, especially with the most recent shift in the luxury market.

The luxury market is relatively slow to adapt to new change as the last shift in their branding strategies was in the very early 2000s. Since the global pandemic halted normal life, these empires have recently set about changing their approach to reach desired clientele. People used to have a more consumer-level thinking when considering the benefits of investing in a high-end product. CEO Chris Olshan addressed that people are now thinking more about how the brands view the customer, rather than the other way around. This concept has started to alter how the luxury market operates, which is beginning to bring this conglomerate into a more modern environment, all with the help of the Luxury Marketing Council.

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The Glamourous 1930′s

Known as the Hollywood Glamour era, the 1930s were an influential historical time. During this period Americans were dealing with the horrors of the Great Economic Depression and the Dustbowl. Civilians began to indulge in movies as a way to escape this hard reality, which in turn rose to inspire every day fashion. New garment technologies were introduced such as zippers, elastics, acetate, and nylons. These elements assisted in bringing a much-needed dramatic change to womenswear, further motivating unique fashion trends in the following generations.

Women’s clothing took a new, innovative turn from shapeless silhouettes to sensuous figures. Open- and scoop-backs with a slim waist created by bias-cut fabric were a craze in providing elegance to a more formal attire. Sportswear also became quite popular as women were spotted in colorful sweaters and skirt sets when on golf courses or any other sporting activity. The sweater and skirt combination has been a major trend within the recent years, along with the popularity of open- and scoop-back pieces during the spring and summer months.

Elsa Schiaparelli was an overly unique designer who emerged in the 1930s. Known for her telephone handbag and shoe hat, Schiaparelli created playful pieces that were inspired by any theme based off of either contemporary events, erotic fantasy, traditions, or avant-garde art. Schiaparelli is very similar to the eclectic nature of Betsy Johnson from today’s modern era. As past fashion is often referenced in the modern industry, people can point out key elements that are still a trend today even if they were produced almost a hundred years ago in the 1930s.

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Prestigious Nordstrom

Nordstrom is a huge catalyst between top design houses and consumers. John W. Nordstrom founded the company on the belief that customers should have access to incredible service, selection, quality, and value. This confident message is one of the most noticeable elements of Nordstrom, and continues to accelerate the chain into the future at the top of the retail market.

The company’s alternative chain, Nordstrom Rack, is just as popular as the parent store as it promotes similar designer products for a cheaper price. Within the recent years, Nordstrom Rack has been growing their online presence after buying the flash event company, Hautelook. With this investment, there are constantly flash events on the Nordstrom Rack website that offer unbeatable deals on various products that are either found through Nordstrom Rack or brought over for promotion from Nordstrom. The pricing and unique selection of merchandise found at Nordstrom Rack are an admirable bonus to each consumer as everyone is able to acquire the amazing finds that are offered through this prestigious company.

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✔ Nike: The Innovative Icon

Nike is an iconic empire in the fashion industry as the company offers so many diverse products for each individual. With the main goal to bring inspiration and innovation to all athletes, meaning everyone with a body, Nike is running full speed ahead at expanding human potential and technology. As they advance towards this mission, Nike is aiming to utilize more state-of-the-art technology in their products while developing new sustainability promises to promote a more positive impact on the planet.

Nike is also committed to providing a safe and equal environment for all employees and contributors that assist in boosting this empire to its established place in the fashion world. Through inclusion surveys and their Engagement and Wellbeing (EWB) program, Nike strives to benefit each individual that comes into contact with their brand. Within the near future, Nike will be advancing this inclusivity to all their beloved “athletes” while reducing their carbon footprint on the environment.