fashion chair diary

Month Two

Dear Diary [and Woodbury Friends],

I hope this second blog finds everyone well.  Despite the ups and downs in the

material world, it has been a wonderful month at Woodbury.   I was sure things could

not get more busy, but of course, I was deluded. Mid-term looms, which means

we have to think about grades.  This is especially hard in fashion, because

creativity is so personal.  We have to find means to nurture the passion of young

designers, yet still give honest feedback.

Julie Hollinger, our junior design mentor, talks to junior Michal about her collection.   Julie and I taught together for twenty-five years at Otis and we are so lucky to have her!

EXCITING NEWS

By far the most exciting thing that happened this month was the formal

creation of a $20,000 fabric fund, which will allow the fashion

seniors to shop at Mood [the most beautiful fabric store!]  instead of

Joanne’s, for their collections.  It is bound to make a phenomenal difference!

How did this happen?  Last August, Judy Tamkin, our benefactor for the

new fashion exhibit space and a member of the Woodbury Advisory Board,

invited me to lunch.  We talked for almost  three hours. Judy is a

fascinating conversationalist, because she has had such an amazing life.  She and her

late husband, Dr. Gerald Tamkin, have been involved in so many wonderful causes.  

They even donated the famous dueling dino-skeletons to the Natural History Museum!

Mrs. Judith Tamkin

Because of Judy’s intimate involvement  with Woodbury, she understands

how tight the student’s budgets are.  When I mentioned they were struggling to get

good fabrics, she offered to create the fund.  I am still pinching myself!

The students will give back by donating one outfit each from their collections

to a silent auction that will be held at the fashion show.  The proceeds will go

back into the fund for future classes.  A win-win situation!

FABULOUS COSTUMES

I must mention the fabulous costume exhibit, Il Teatro alla Moda, that my class and I

went to this past week.  Many of the great Italian designers like Missoni,

Cappucci, and Versace have created costumes for the opera and ballet, and these are

being shown in Beverly Hills through November 15.

Missoni tribal costumes and amazing compositions.

A drawing of Versace costumes and some of the enthralled students.

This exhibit is a visual feast because it has drawings as well as costumes.  The students loved it, but we did mourn the early loss of creative icons like Versace and Alexander McQueen.  No one said being a genius was easy.

EDUARDO LUCERO AND LA FASHION WEEK

Speaking of amazing designers, Eduardo Lucero opened his show for LA

Fashion Week this past Saturday.  The show, which included a number of

young designers, was done in the style of a gallery exhibit with live

models.  Eduardo talks about his inspiration in a new article on the

Apparel News Blog:

“Ocean and underwater themes are big [this season]. The reason I did it

is because I¹ve been hearing so much news about global warming, so I

created a collection where cocktail dresses and suits are made out of

underwater material. You literally can go swimming or to a cocktail party.

Models as Gallery Exhibit!  Some of Eduardo’s new collection.

FABULOUS CORSETS

I am so proud of the Advanced Technical class who designed and made the

fabulous corsets you see in the photos below.  I wish I could show you them all!  

Anna Leiker is the amazing instructor who leads this group.

The feathers are so unexpected!

Tiny bows and classic flowers.

I love the extra length on this one.

They sewed all this beautiful detail in two class periods, five hours each!  It’s great how they help each other…and I think they are very proud of themselves!

NEW DIGITAL LAB and TEXTILE ARTS

Another bit of exciting news is that we will soon have our own digital

lab in fashion.  It will be wonderful to integrate digital skills into

other classes whenever the opportunity arises.  We are also initiating a

new class on Textile Arts taught by our ambitious new Textile faculty,

Nina Dark.  The students will learn to create a myriad of treatments that

can be applied to their collections.

Digital skills are a must in the industry these days!

OTHER MCD NOTABLES

My dean, Dr. Eddie Clift, is the visionary behind the School of Media, Culture,

and Design where fashion resides.  Dr. Clift comes from a long line of creative

people.  His uncle, in fact, was Montgomery Clift, and his mother has been a

Washington correspondent for over thirty years.

This is a photo taken of Dr. Clift and me last Spring, when I attended my first Woodbury fashion show.

Eddie is constantly pointing out the different work culture our students will be

dealing with in the coming years. They not only need appropriate skills for their

profession, but also the creative problem solving skills to operate through

business models that may not even exist at this time. In fact, it’s entirely possible

our fashion students may be designing more for avatars than real human beings.

PENNY COLLINS

I am also blessed with the guidance of Penny Collins, Woodbury fashion chair for

over a decade.  Penny, who knows everything about everything, is going to go

on a well-deserved sabbatical next spring.  [What, me panic???}

Penny loves to teach technical skills to our freshmen [lucky them!] and also a fabulous class in Experimental Design.

WRAPPING IT UP

There is so much more to tell, but I will save it for the next installment.  I really

enjoy getting to share what is a wonderful experience for me and I hope for the

students.

Yours in Creativity,

Kathryn

fashionchairdiary

Dear Diary [and friends of Woodbury Fashion],

My name is Kathryn Hagen and I am the new Chair of Fashion Design at Woodbury University.  This is a very exciting adventure for me, as my thirty years of educating talented fashion students have given me many ideas for how things might be done differently or better.  This is finally my chance to put those ideas into practice.  

A LITTLE ABOUT ME

This is me looking somewhat respectable for a photo shoot for Garb, a collection of essays on fashion that I co-edited with my friend Parme Giuntini.  I love to write, which is one of the reasons I thought of doing this blog. [Rose Nielsen is the other reason - she inspired me to take the plunge!]  

This is me looking less respectable, especially next to these beautiful Cambodians in native costume.  I love to travel, observe fashion in other parts of the world, and also to run long distances on beautiful trails.  This explains the sling on my arm. Two days before our departure to Southeast Asia, I fell running downhill and fractured my shoulder. I was not about to miss this trip, but it was an adventure hiking through the jungle with one working arm!  

WOODBURY FASHION

So what is it like behind the scenes of a fashion program?  It’s incredibly exciting, and this blog is about sharing that excitement.  As you might have gleaned from shows like Project Runway, a lot happens that is dramatic and stressful, as well as wonderfully creative.  Woodbury fashion students are truly passionate about their craft, which means they wear their hearts on their sleeves. Emotions can run high. Many of them are working long hours to put themselves through school and they struggle to find time for their school work or even to sleep. We actually have a senior who drives from Camp Pendleton every day to Woodbury, almost a hundred miles each way!  That is true dedication.  Amazingly enough, they never complain.  A lot of people talk about spoiled youth who take things for granted, but they have obviously not spent time with the students at Woodbury.

Lola, Maria and Lilit working on their first project in senior studio.  They are using found garments to create new and exciting outfits.  This will hopefully get their creative juices flowing while they develop their collection designs.  

BIG CHANGES

So the first things I want to share [since I suspect many of you have been involved with the program much longer than I have] are the important changes that have taken place since last Spring. Everyone has been incredibly supportive [Dr. Clift, Sue Vesella, Penny Collins, Rachel Malkenhorst and James Morse, and of course, Dr. Ken and Mrs. Rose Nielsen] and helped me to do a great deal already, in terms of what we trust will be important long-term adjustments to the program.  

NEW DRAWING CLASSES 

Because drawing has been my teaching specialty, one of the first things I looked for in the Cabrini fashion building was a drawing studio.  Working from the figure teaches students so much about gesture, the body itself, proportion of clothing, silhouettes, and how to put their own ideas on paper. But there was no such animal.  I had a moment of panic.

Students doing shape exercises with one of our wonderful models, LaLarva, who has worked with many top designers. [Also my former student.

However, as you can see by the photos, one of the extra rooms has been transformed into a beautiful studio.  Thanks to Chris, the design guy, and Jerry Pettit and his hard-working crew, the room is now a combination figure drawing, illustration, and fitting studio.  Even better, we are going to have life-drawing classes in Foundation next semester [Thanks, Carolee!] so Freshmen will get that critical base on which to build their visual skills.  I look forward to sharing the drawings that result from this new training.

Senior Adrianna drawing shape exercises which promote careful observation and a good working relationship between the hand, the eye, and the brain.

REGULAR FITTINGS AND EDUARDO LUCERO

And that brings up another exciting addition: regular fittings for junior and senior garments! Fittings are one of the most wonderful rituals in fashion, when designers finally get to see their vision on the actual human form.  We hope some of you will come and see for yourselves how the process works.  

Even more thrilling is the news of who will help me oversee senior fittings.  The well-known designer, Eduardo Lucero, that Woodbury honored in 2001, has joined us as Senior Design Mentor.  We are so lucky to have him and he is already bringing wonderful inspiration to the students.  I will share more about Eduardo’s history and how he got started in my next blog.

Eduardo helping the seniors with their Green Projects.

Team-teaching with Eduardo is Susan Monte, one of the beloved faculty already at Woodbury when I came.  Susan is teaching construction and draping in both Junior and Senior Studio, so she has a lot on her plate.  

Susan and Carmen sharing a moment in senior studio.  

And because the dress forms at Woodbury have all seen better days, we have ordered 20 new Wolf female forms, which are the top of the line. It takes two months just to have them made, and then they have to be shipped out from the East coast.  These are very expensive items, so the government has nothing on us in terms of budget deficits. But having good tools is half the battle, so I know it will all be worth it.  

Well, perhaps that is enough for our first entry,  Next month we’ll learn about Eduardo’s background, about our new Junior Design Mentor, Julie Hollinger, and more about the fashion show theme and the junior and senior collections.  I hope you have enjoyed this first entry.  I’d love to hear any feedback you might have, as I am new to this wonderful form of communication. 

My best to all in creativity and life,

Kathryn Hagen