The Magazine of the Fashion Institute of Technology Hue is for alumni and friends of FIT, a college of art and design, business and technology. It is published three times a year by the Division of Communications and External Relations, 227 W. 27th St., Room B905, New York, NY 10001-5992, (212) 217-4700.
Vice President for Communications and External Relations
Loretta Lawrence Keane Assistant Vice President for Communications
Carol Leven Editor
Linda Angrilli Managing Editor
Alex Joseph MA ’15
ON THE COVER
A dazzling portfolio of animal art begins on page 18.
CONTRIBUTORS
Ever since Hue began publishing in 2007, art by talented alumni has enlivened its pages. Almost all these illustrators and artists, we noticed, have a penchant for drawing animals. And why not? These creatures, wild or domesticated, lovable or maybe not, are compelling subjects. In this issue, we’ve given these beasts eight pages to roam free. The French bulldog eyeing us from the cover was created by Bri Hermanson, MFA Illustration ’11, as part of a series of life-size scratchboard drawings of dogs. To make these illustrations, she paints black ink onto a claycoated Masonite board, then cuts in texture with knives. Turn to page 18 to find gorgeously depicted critters by Hermanson and nine other alumni.
This illustration is by Anita Rundles ’13.
April Calahan (“The Fit Flapper,” p. 14) is the curator of manuscript collections for the Department of Special Collections and College Archives at FIT’s Gladys Marcus Library. She is also the co-creator and host of the podcast Dressed: The History of Fashion, produced by HowStuff Works.
Staff Writer
Jonathan Vatner Editorial Assistant
NOW PLAYING AT news.fitnyc.edu
Laura Hatmaker Photography Coordinator
Smiljana Peros Art Direction and Design
Gary Tooth/Empire Design Studio
Robin Catalano (“The Fashionable Alpaca,” p. 16) has written for dozens of magazines, books, blogs, websites, social media channels, and marketing projects. She has edited more than 350 books for publishers including Penguin Random House, Workman, and Simon & Schuster. She lives, reads, and writes voraciously in upstate New York.
Hue online: hue.fitnyc.edu Email: hue@fitnyc.edu FIT Newsroom: news.fitnyc.edu Like the FIT Alumni page on Facebook and follow @FITAlumni on Twitter. Email the Office of Alumni Engagement and Giving at alumnirelations@fitnyc.edu and let us know what you’ve been up to.
>> WATCH: Every fall, FIT students fill more than 1,500 volunteer jobs at New York Fashion Week. Watch them at work in the new Printed by Maar Printing Service on
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Hue-produced video at news.fitnyc.edu/nyfw.
Ancient Forest Friendly Made with 100 percent post-consumer waste fiber
10 GRIDIRON GRAPHICS he NFL needed to refresh its teams’ visual T
Processed Chlorine Free Produced using biogas energy
branding. Guess who they turned to?
Environmental savings as compared R. J. Kern
to paper using 100 percent virgin fiber: 106 trees preserved 102,496 gallons of water saved 10,486 lbs of waste not generated 34,452 lbs CO 2 not generated Smiljana Peros
88 MMBTUs of energy not consumed 44 lbs nitrous oxide gas prevented Please recycle or share this magazine.
THREE DIRECTORS Insights from cinéastes Josh Koury, Kenneth Lonergan, and the legendary Frederick Wiseman
Rolland Enviro Print. This paper is:
>> READ: In “The Coolest Job in New York,” read how Tae Smith, Museum Studies: Costume and Textiles, dressed the Museum of Modern Art exhibition Items: Is Fashion Modern? Visit news.fitnyc.edu/taesmith to learn more.
Erin Peterson (“Counter Intuitive,” p. 28) is a writer based in Minneapolis. She has written for more than 50 college and alumni magazines nationwide.
Departments
Features
12 FINDING ALDUS A 15th-century Venetian mystery solved, thanks to an Interior Design professor
14 THE FIT FLAPPER Working out in the Roaring Twenties: a stylish vintage exercise manual
16 THE FASHIONABLE ALPACA Global Fashion Management grads find a sustainable source of style in … camelids
18 AN FIT BESTIARY Feathers, fur, and scales, by 10 alumni artists
26 AN AMERICAN FAMILY A student tells his gender transition story— in a cartoon
28 COUNTER INTUITIVE In a digital world, these entrepreneurs thrive in bricks and mortar
4 HUE’S NEWS 17 I CONTACT 32 ALUMNI NOTES 35 WHAT INSPIRES YOU?