The iconic Flatiron Building’s “triangle point” window is the scene of a delicious display with a mannequin adorned in a skirt made of white dinner plates and a bodice of white napkins. Perched on a table, she is surrounded by delicacies. This window is the inspiration of VPED students Yoo Jung Lee, Joseph Klaus, and Alexandra D’Alleva. This inaugural display may well become a new tradition.
For the third consecutive year, Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design (VPED) students have designed, made, and installed holiday windows in Harlem stores. Harlem Holiday Windows 2017 spans the corridor of Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Boulevard between 117th and 127th streets. This year’s theme depicts traditional Harlem celebrations that take place throughout the year: Three Kings Day, Christmas, Hanukkah, Loíza, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, and Harlem Week. Seven teams of two students each designed displays for seven businesses—Grandma’s Place in Harlem, Harlem Coffee Company, Harlem Haberdashery, Harlem Shake, Settepani Restaurant, Valerie Signature Salon, Whole Foods Market, Corner Social, and Chez Lucienne. The project was done in collaboration with Art Crawl Harlem and the Harlem Tourism Board, with the windows on display through January 2.
The Planning and Visual Education Partnership (PAVE) announced the winners of the 2017 PAVE Student Design Competition sponsored byChik-Fil-A. This annual competition is geared toward college-level students involved in retail planning, visual merchandising, and branding programs.
Laura Pacult, a seventh semester VPED student achieved second place in the store design category of the award winning a $3,000 prize. The student developed the project in the seventh semester Advanced Store Design class taught by Reginald Rogers.
8th Semester Graduating students developed their capstone projects into a large exhibition in May 2017. The exhibition profiled the individual capstone projects of the 28 graduates of the VPED program for that year. Graduating students developed research, a full brief, physical models, animations, and an exhibition tailored to their theme and work.
Fifth semester students learning the relationship between product presentation and store design collaborated with Ann Taylor Factory Stores as part of their VP312 curriculum this fall. Ann Taylor’s store design team asked the 40+ VPED majors to take a closer look at how millennial’s respond to an impulse shopping experience as they approach the cash wrap. Each team was asked to design a modular cash wrap solution that inspires more shopping interactivity for millennial consumers. Ann Taylor’s team mentored the students in class over an eight-week period along with the New York City fixture manufacturer Bernstein Display. The project culminated with a presentation of all 20 designs in the Robert Lagery Board Room on December 14th by all the students. The winning design by Asabea Ayres and Shona Neary featured a multi-faceted cash wrap fixture with floating shelving units. The design will be fabricated by Bernstein Display and featured at Globalshop Trade Show in Las Vegas March 2017. The project is sponsored by PAVE (Planning and Visual Education).
Over the winter break Professor Reginald Rogers continued the VPED program’s international collaboration by teaching the course: Visual Identity for the Fashion Brand geared for Fashion Merchandising students in their 7th semester at Zhejiang University of Science and Technology. This course inspired students to examine retail brands and identify strategies for successful brand communication in spaces. Students developed projects including store interiors, window displays and event spaces. Professor Rogers shared many of the tools and technologies he has developed for the new Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design BFA program, where he has been among the leading professors. The students experimented with imagery, patterns, colors and materials to design consumer touch points that visually motivate consumers. In addition Professor Rogers also taught the students to source materials and build models.
Students from FIT’s Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design (VPED) have made the holidays a little brighter through their work on window displays for eight Harlem businesses. Spanning the corridor of Frederick Douglass Boulevard between 114th and 122nd streets, the displays depict holiday scenes from the Harlem Renaissance (1910–1940). The period was defined by the artistic, literary, and political activism of Harlem’s large African- American community. The windows offer both an educational and festive holiday experience, with designs ranging from jazz and historical references to dance, fashion, and Prohibition scenes.
The following businesses’ windows feature work by these VPED students:
Land Yoga, 2116 Frederick Douglass Boulevard ― Jennifer Pickard and Kokoro Naruke
Harlem Skin and Laser Clinic, 2119 Frederick Douglass Boulevard ― Gena Gugert and Lior Gensler
Harlem Tavern, 2153 Frederick Douglass Boulevard ― Kelly Landolina and Ashley Russo
Lido, 2168 Frederick Douglass Boulevard ― Marina Shalman, Austina Xuecheng Tian, and April Ziyue Zhu
Vinateria, 2211 Frederick Douglass Boulevard ― Laura Pariot and Kira Bianca Diwa
Chocolat, 2223 Frederick Douglass Boulevard― Nadia Tai and Nicolle Centrella
Vintage Harlem NYC Wine and Spirits, 2235 Frederick Douglass Boulevard ― Alexa Giammanco and Yahelor Kanizo
Silvana, 300 West 116th Street ― Marina Shalman, Austina Xuecheng Tian, and April Ziyue Zhu
Harlem Holiday Windows is an initiative to stimulate cultural and community activity to promote tourism in Harlem during the holidays. The program is presented by Jacqueline Orange’s ArtCrawl Harlem with curator Omo Misha. It is funded by the Frederick Douglass Boulevard Alliance (FDBA) and Harlem Tourism Board (HTB) in partnership with Harlem Park-to-Park (HP2P).
The windows will be on display through January 2.
Over the winter break Professor Anne Kong taught a new course: Visual Identity for the Fashion Brand geared for Fashion Merchandising students in their 7th semester at Zhejiang University of Science and Technology. This course inspired students to examine retail brands and identify strategies for successful brand communication in spaces. Students developed a brand activation project that included a digital and 3D design module for store interiors, window displays and event spaces. Anne shared many of the tools and technologies developed for the new Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design BFA program. The students experimented with imagery, patterns, colors and materials to design consumer touch points that visually motivate consumers.
Hickey Freeman’s Madison Avenue store has unveiled its holiday windows in collaboration with creative director of W Diamond Group Tom Beebe and four Fashion Institute of Technology students.
In the store’s second year of collaboration with FIT, students Alexandra Goldstein, Annalisa Podwin, Chihiro Fujiwara and Linda Gjolaj were chosen from FIT’s newly created visual presentation and exhibition design bachelor of fine arts program to work with Beebe to develop the concept of the windows from start to finish. Since the end of August, these students have been working with Beebe to develop and create the dress featured in the window, the mood of the windows and the overall direction this holiday season.
“These students brought a modern twist to the mannequins this season, which was what I was hoping would happen,” Beebe told MR magazine. “I love working with students and helping them learn the art of visual display; it’s very rewarding.”
The project was highlighted in Mr. Magazine. At http://www.mr-mag.com/hickey-freeman-and-tom-beebe-showcase-fit-students-talent-in-new-holiday-windows/
Holiday Road Trip, the third annual pop-up shop open to the public and timed for holiday shopping, will sell designer and vintage clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, and gift items from The Society Boutique, The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s high-end thrift shop. Featured designers include Chanel, Shoshanna, Manolo Blahnik, Marc Jacobs, Tory Burch, Sonia Rykiel, Prada, Stuart Weitzman, Burberry, YSL, among many others. The shop is designed, installed, and merchandised by 21 third semester students in FIT’s Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design program.
The store was in operation from November 16-20 and made $17,000 after expenses. In all three years the shop has made over $60,000 to support Cancer Research.
The Planning and Visual Education Partnership (PAVE) announced the winners of the 2015 PAVE Student Design Competition sponsored by Kroger. This annual competition is geared toward college-level students involved in retail planning, visual merchandising, and branding programs. The announcement is at http://www.paveinfo.org/presscenter/pressreleases/pave-announces-winners-of-the-21st-annual-student-design-competition-sponsored-by-kroger.
LeaMarie Villafana, a seventh semester VPED student achieved third place in the store design category of the award winning a $1500 prize. The student developed the project in the seventh semester Advanced Store Design class taught by Reginald Rogers.
The competition’s design challenges consisted of a visual merchandising category and a store design category; it also provided an excellent opportunity for students to obtain real-life retail design experience. Prizes included grants to students and schools, and winning students may even see their designs come to life. The competition was open to undergraduate students only. Judging took place on October 28, 2015 at Kroger’s headquarters located in Cincinnati, Ohio.
