Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), New York

[Girlfriend1]

well FIT is generally a bad school, esp. if you are not trying your extra best. most teachers are mediocre, you are only lucky if you get a teacher that really makes an impression. no, i am not joking. i was there for 2 years, and I only had 4 good teachers that I remember. one for art, one for computer, one for patternmaking........and....... oh, yes, one for english. really try your best, there are a lot of activities and opportunities there, with a great location.

[lemonadensnickrs]

If so, were did you get your AAS degree? I am in Los Angeles and was thinking of getting my AAS in fashion design from a community college to save money and then get my BFA from FIT. However, on the website it says that whatever program I do has to be precisely equivalent to FIT's AAS program. I've been looking at community college programs here and they all seem to have different classes, or vague class descriptions so I can't tell if they are the same or not. I was just wondering if anyone had gotten into the fashion design BFA program successfully without previously having attended FIT?

[lemonadensnickrs]

I have another question about FIT...is it worth it to get the BFA if you don't want to specialize in children's wear, intimate apparel, special occasion, knitwear, or sports/active wear? I'm not really interested in making any of those types of clothing so if I go there, should I just go for the AAS or would it still be beneficial for me to get the BFA?

[educo]

^^^ FIT is a very specific technical school. It's best to know what you want to do before you go, because they will teach you in that arena from gate.

[lemonadensnickrs]

^^but what if my interests do not fall into one of those five categories? Should I still go for the BFA? I mean, I would like to make dresses, but not super fancy dresses like evening gowns and wedding dresses. I don't think that would fall under special occassion would it? Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, I appreciate it!

[educo]

Just do sportswear.

[lemonadensnickrs]

thanks!

[exdesigner]

Hello !

I am an alumni / graduate of F.I.T. and I majored in and graduated with an Associates Degree in Apparel Design. Although it has been MANY years since I graduated, I can tell you a bit about the school and industry. It is very difficult and competitive to be admitted to the school's full time program. It is also expensive. Because of this, I worked part time and obtained my degree in their Continuing Education program. Meaning, I went to FIT at night and worked during the day. I took classes from 6:00pm until 9 or 10:00pm and did my homework and projects in my spare time. I only took 2 to 3 classes a semester and let me tell you it was A HUGE amount of work & those 2 to 3 classes at that time were over $200 each. This was a lot of money for my parents at the time and I was not an only child. FIT is not like a regular college where you can just throw your text books in a backpack and study at a local Barnes & Noble. At the time, my parents bought me a drafting table for Christmas so I was able to do my homework sketches on them. I could not afford a dress-form for my draping homework so I would have to shlep all my stuff to an open classroom to work. I also did not have my own sewing machine so then I would also have to shlep my stuff to a friend's house to borrow her sewing machine or again use FIT's open classroom time to do my homework. These are just a few of the sacrifices you make if you can't afford to buy all the equipment to have in your house. It doesn't sound like a big deal but working part time and going to classes at night and then finding time in what little spare time you have to do your homework with limited facilities IS a big sacrifice and one I was willing to make because I desperately wanted to be a designer. It's hard work, and NOT the glamorous chi-chi life you see in movies or on TV. Starting pay at that time was minimal and you start off being an assistant designer to someone you hope is easy to get along with and not one of those temperamental *artists* and is willing to mentor you without feeling threatened by your skills. One of the professors I had at FIT at the time was giving me advice and she told me that when I graduate, the best thing I could do was to get a job right away to gain experience. I asked her for advice because I was wondering if I should continue my education and get a BFA degree. She told me that whether I had an Associates degree or a BFA degree, I would still earn the same amount of money at my first job. She was right. Perhaps FIT has changed since then but at that time the BFA program offered wasn't much different than the Associates. If you majored in sportwear, you would then try knitwear or menswear. You weren't learning any garment construction tricks or secrets in the BFA program that you didn't already learn in the Associates. But, if you have the money and want to go for it, by all means. I was glad because I was eager to get my feet wet and get some on the job experience right away.

I'm giving this advice and information to anyone that is interested in becoming a designer. If it is what you truly want, do your homework and research it as much as you can because it consumes your whole free time, if you want to succeed. It's not about dressing up and going shopping and having coffee with other designers & looking at pretty clothes. As a novice, I did not travel to France, Italy or Spain to see the seasonal shows. A lot of people think that's what you automatically get to do. It all depends on what firm you work for and what price range and the budget of the company. It's competitive, very hard work, stressful, and you often work with backbiting people. It is also very rewarding to see your finished product hanging in the stores and hearing that it's selling very well.

Again, the program at FIT might have changed since I have been there but this was my experience. I think it's a fantastic school and even though I worked my butt off and lost a lot of sleep, studying at FIT was the best years of my life & if you can believe it, I enjoyed it more than my actual on-the-job experience.

F.I.T. is fantastic !

[goldlion]

i'm looking at FIT next week. i wanted to go to parson's but probably won't because of the price.

[e-v-elina]

is anyone applying for fall 09? i'm gonna apply to the textile/surface design program.. anyone had any experience with that program? good, bad?

[ablazex]

im applying for fall 09, and am sure i want to go into fashion design. one thing i like about this school is that you get right into what you want to do- no foundation year right? but is the program really not good? i went to their summer live program, and it was quite good. i have uvenio- ever heard of him?

[birth.of.mode]

i'm applyin for fall 09..for their fine arts or illustration course...
although i wish they had a fashion communication course..coz thats what i really wanna do.. and no school in new york has that course!!

[~LovelyDay~]

i'm applying for fashion design for fall 09.

@ablazex i don't think its bad. compare to most fashion school FIT is pretty good. Some people don't like it b/c it focuses too much on the technical aspect of it, rather than creativity, art, etc.

did you take portfolio class lvl 2? in summer live?

[ablazex]

no i had to take fashion art 1, because i didn't have the prerequisites. learned a lot more than the previous classes i took at ccad. i don't like the sound of them limiting creativity- i guess this is not the case with parsons?

[goldlion]

i visited FIT and parsons a couple weeks ago and i was really really disappointed with FIT.