jensinemurphy-blog

[jensinemurphy-blog]

Friday May 7, 2016 was a final visit to the offices of Echo. There, we learned more about the company from who they partner with in producing apparel to what stores sell their echo products. Echo was founded in the 1920s by a man and wife, Edgar and Theresa Hyman. The name comes from the I tusks of Mr. Edgar C. Hyman. They began in NYC selling solely scarves. Today, they sell a range of accessories from scarves to bags, beachwear and home design. This visit was very interesting and they designed many wonderful accessories. I enjoyed the visit and will now be mindful of the brand.

[jensinemurphy-blog]

World Textile Sourcing Friday April 29,2016 was a visit to the offices of WTS. Here, we met with Alexis Stewart Dudley where she talked about the company. WTS is an international textile sourcing company that services many companies. They have offices and laboratories in New York, Los Angeles and Peru. Here in NYC, they specialize in knitwear and mostly provide quality cotton knit t shirts to customers like h&m. This was quite an interesting visit.

[jensinemurphy-blog]

Friday April 22,2017 was a visit to the offices of the great childrenswear company Osh Kosh B'Gosh. There, we toured through the offices and got to know about the design and print processes for both girls and boys. We were told of their design processes with buying from more upscale children’s designers and using those designs for inspiration to then create a similar look for a lot less. Osh Kosh has been a large part of children’s fashion since 1895. They were founded in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, originally designing hickory striped denim for railroad workers and farmers. It wasn’t for some time that they had become largely known for their ‘Worlds Best Overalls’ for pint sized humans. While staying true to their promise for quality, they have been able to take the children’s industry to another level with their ability to understand their market and provide exceedingly.

[jensinemurphy-blog]

Friday April 15, 2016 was a visit to the T- Project Showroom. For those unaware of this company, the T- Project has a representative showroom, located in the Garment District, where a professional consulting and sales team assist in sourcing the best materials, collaborating during a company's production and providing the latest collections of T‐Project partners. T‐Project also offers patternmaking, product development and training classes with Italy’s most famous pattern makers and expert technicians. While there, we got an exquisite view of the materials in their showroom from Italian leathers and quality accessories to recycled materials made into something new. What I enjoyed most about this visit is learning where company's source their materials, what is considered best quality as well as being able to identify the difference between authentic and faux just by the look. There is a wonderful team of people working in the showroom who will surely provide you with the best materials and give you the biggest bang for your buck.

[jensinemurphy-blog]

Friday April 1, 2016 was a meeting with Hillary Ephraim at the Solomon Page Group- Fashion and Beauty Division. Solomon Page's Fashion and Beauty division helps those looking to find a career in the fashion and beauty industries. They have been recruiting for their many clients for around 25 years and they continue to execute for their namesake as well as for the companies and individuals they work with. We met with Hillary Ephraim, of whom is also a KSU alumni, and she reviewed our résumés and gave each of us advice on how we can improve or enhance them. She also spoke with us about how to present and conduct oneself while having an interview either via phone or face to face. She was very helpful in that she made me, at least, more aware of what companies in the fashion industry are looking for as well as what I can do to attract attention and want such companies to hire me. She was very insightful and I will most definitely take all of her advice. I enjoyed meeting with her and becoming more familiar with the company as well.

[jensinemurphy-blog]

Friday April 1, 2017 was a visit to Ellery Homestyles. Ellery is a designer and supplier of branded and private label home fashion that design and sell to major retailers. Some of their brands are Eclipse, Curtainfresh, SoundAsleep, ComfortTech, Vue and Waverly. These brands sell all things home fashion from curtains, to blankets and bedding. During this visit, we were able to tour through the Ellery space and learn more about the home fashion industry. Because the home fashion industry is slightly behind in trends and they have less season than the apparel world, there is much more time to do more at Ellery like coming up with the best prints and technology to give their products the best quality. I enjoyed learning about the company and will continue to research more about them.

[jensinemurphy-blog]

March 18, 2016 was a visit to Talbots design offices. Talbots is a retail company founded in 1947 by a couple from Massachusetts. They are known for their fashion forward clothes and accessories for women between the ages of 50 and 70 as well as for their infamous red door on every storefront. You can find Talbots clothing in store, online and via catalog if you'd like! During the visit, we were able to take a brief tour through the design offices. There, we met the head of PR as well as a few KSU alumni who work at the offices as designers for the company. Overall, the visit to the NYC design office was quite interesting. Before, I hadn't given much attention to the name Talbots, let alone the brand. But, during the last few years, the company has taken on a slightly different route to grow the company into one of the leading retailers for their target market.

[jensinemurphy-blog]

March 11, 2016 was a whimsical experience at the Museum at FIT. There, we walked through the Fairy Tale Fashion exhibit where costume-like designer garments were displayed to tell the tales of stories like Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. Of all the pieces on display, I was struck HARD by the red Comme des Garçons cape made from patent leather and chiffon. What intrigued me about this piece was txt the designer took the very common, very easy to make red riding hood cape and dramatized it an infinite number of times. The oversized hood and fringes put extreme emphasis on the mystery and horror that the real fairy tale writes. With this garment alone, I was able to live through the tale from beginning to end, no book necessary. I also favored the Marchesa and Zuhair Murad gowns inspired by the tale of Sleeping Beauty. What I loved about these two garments was the use of beading and embellishments. They were made very delicately and it shows. Though the Murad gown was beaded from head to toe, it somehow still seemed very subtle and effortlessly elegant. Much alike, the Marchesa gown was made with yards upon yards of fabric. Along with the fabric, the placement of the embellishment must be very heavy. But, the way it was constructed and the proper use and placement of the embellishments and fabric, the gown made the mannequin appear as if she was floating in mid air. These two pieces are most definitely in competition for the first place favorite place in my fairy tale heart. Overall, I enjoyed the exhibit at the Museum at FIT. I was introduced to fairy tales I had not even heard of, like Furrypelts. When I saw the pieces on display for this tale, I was intrigued to know more about the entire tale. Each of these pieces stood quietly but spoke volumes the tales each was set to display.

[jensinemurphy-blog]

Friday March 4, 2016 was of the most intriguing visits thus far. We took a trip through the design offices of the Theory brand. The brand was founded in 1997 by Andrew Rosen who has invested in brands like Rag and Bone, Alice+Olivia and Proenza Schouler. While at Theory, we were introduced and given a tour by a Kent State University alumni, Jennifer Lackman, who has worked with Theory almost since the very foundation of the brand. At the Theory offices, we walked through all sorts of production rooms such as construction rooms, pattern making rooms (video) as well as garment production via tech. The Theory brand began and has continued to be known for their very flattering yet well tailored pants and sleek tops that make customers possess the designer look while paying contemporary market prices.

[jensinemurphy-blog]

Tuesday February 23, I attended a guest lecture at the studio with a company called DesigNow. Designow is an up and coming virtual studio platform that allows designers to promote their designs to the world. Each month beginning May 2016, designers and students have the chance to submit a look or several looks to the platform. The public will decide in their favorite look by voting, and by the end of each month, the winner has the opportunity to produce that look with Designow and make a profit. I think this company is very innovative in that there are not many other platform like this, if any at all, where anyone in the world can gain recognition for something designed by them alone. I enjoyed this lecture and learning about the company as well as having such an opportunity. I will definitely be sure to take advantage of this!

[jensinemurphy-blog]

Friday February 19, we visited Material ConneXion, where we we introduced to the most fascinating materials library known worldwide. Material ConneXion is a leading innovative materials manufacturing company that sell and advise to many Fortune 500 companies. They help companies produce materials of the future that consumers need today. Material ConneXion has a vast library of thousands of materials that increase 40+ per month. There were hundreds of interesting materials to view at the NYC site such as decorative polymer paper and leather made from a cows stomach. The polymer paper was very interesting to me in that it is water and UV resistant, tear resistant and can be stitched or heat welded together. Although it is currently used for packaging but I could imagine it being used for decorative purposes in home interiors. I am attracted to the effect of the polymer paper as well as how effective it is. The next material I found interesting was the leather like material that is made from the stomach of a cow. This material is used for lighting decor. I found this interesting in that they took a part that would have been discarded by the animal slaughtering meat industry and manipulated and and transformed it into a fixture. Although it may seem disheartening, they have made one mans trash one of their treasures, which I found to be very innovative.

[jensinemurphy-blog]

Friday February 12,2016 was a visit to the Jacob Ash/ Emanuel Geraldo JA/EG showroom. The company designs functional and fashionable knitwear accessories. They design and sell apparel and accessories to companies like Kohls, Hot Shot and Igloos. The company has many accessories to offer for a diverse cold weather demographic such as hunting gloves, activewear accessories and knit and fur scarves and hats. Jacob Ash Holdings was founded in 1930 and recently merged with the Emanuel Geraldo company. Both have specialized in cold weather apparel, with EG being a leading company in women's fashion accessories. At the showroom, we met with the wonderful design director, Tarzyln Coleman. She gave a brief background of herself as well as the company. Coleman has worked for knitwear and activewear companies like Dick's Sporting Goods. There, she worked for some years as a Sr. Designer for their activewear line. Later, she joined the JA/EG company and has helped to redevelop and revamp the company to be more successful today. She shared her experiences and offered wonderful advice. Tarzyln Coleman is an admirable woman and I hope to meet with her and JA/EG once again!

[jensinemurphy-blog]

Friday February 5,2016 in Study Tour we visited The Metropolitan Museum of Art. There, we walked through and observed the Jacqueline de Ribes: Ther Art of Style exhibit. In this exhibit was her wondrous wardrobe. There were garments from designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel and even Jacqueline de Ribes herself. Beautifully designed and constructed gowns clad forms through 3 different rooms. For those unfamiliar, Jacqueline de Ribes is fashion icon and was a Haute Couture muse of the 20th century. Because of her sophistication, elegance and ingenuity, fashion designers loved to create gowns suitable to her fashion style. Eventually, de Ribes began designing her own fashion in 1982. Her timeless beauty and innovative mind set her up to be the most sought after international icon this world has ever seen. All in all, the exhibition was of the most intriguing that I've seen on display. I enjoyed studying the garments and relating them to each other as well as how they all suited her in such a manner that made her stand out apart from any other fashion icon.

[jensinemurphy-blog]

Friday January 29, 2016 our Study Tour class visited two designer department stores. We began with Bergdorf Goodman then made our way to Barneys. While inside these stores, we observed designer garments as well as how each store was set up. Both stores were quite similar with their designer displays, but a few small details made both unique. Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys both had each designer set in his own section. Each designer section was accompanied by a few predominantly displayed mannequins. They both possessed a very inviting ambiance. There was just enough lighting to alien each display piece so that they may entice the customer to buy. As the two department stores were subtly similar. Some things did make one so much different from the other. In Barneys, when observing the display mannequins, they all had the same static poses. This made each designer seem to be the same as the one on either side. But at Bergdorf Goodman, with each new designer section was a uniquely posed display mannequin. These related more to each designer's specific market. For instance, one would notice the difference between the Tom Ford (bottom right) customer and the Libertine (bottom left) customer just by the way the store displays their mannequins for the designer market. With Barneys however, the mannequins are so generalized, no shopper can connect to any one designer brand. This could be an issue in that the store may not know their customer as well as Bergdorf Goodman seems to. In the end, both stores were incredibly and strategically organized to draw all passerby in and entice them to buy. I enjoyed the visit and intend to return to both stores this time to shop!

[jensinemurphy-blog]

Friday January 22, 2016 marked the first day of an insightfully exciting semester with Mr. Michael Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham, the NYC Study Tour instructor, is a Kent State University alumnus, where he obtained a degree in Fashion Design. Upon graduation, he moved to New York to pursue a career. Mr. Cunningham has been a designer/merchandiser for the Joan Vass company for about 15 years. He designs knitwear for the middle age, non working (perhaps retired) woman. She is a woman with grace, class and pure confidence. These designs are sold in high end department stores like Neiman Marcus. In this Study Tour class with Mr. Michael Cunningham, students will be experiencing the fashion industry through the inside. We will be taking tours of museums, corporate headquarters and designer showrooms as well as hearing from others working in NYC's fashion industry. I am very much looking forward to attending this class every week in that not only will I have the opportunity to get an up close look inside the industry, but I also will have the chance to experience this world before my time. I believe this class will help me as well as the other students to gain a better understanding with what to expect not just in New York's industry but the fashion industry throughout the world.