These six students recently graduated with a BFA degree in VPED (Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design) from Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York. Unlike a traditional Interior Design program, VPED focuses on creating experiences. The students learn rigorous hands-on skills in a fabrication studio woodshop-type lab, complete with CNC, laser cutter, table saws, planers, drill press and other tools. The program focuses on the practical side of designing – students learn about materials, sourcing and build their project full scale on or off-site as part of their coursework.
LEAH COHEN
Rlly Good Stff
Rlly Good Stff is a mobile thrift shop that pulls inspiration from the culture and people of NYC. It will create a consistent neighborhood based community focused on specific NYC parks venues. The design will speak to sustainability and will be partnered with a homeless outreach program. This concept would be applied through the buying and selling of quality second hand clothing from conscious consumers who have this desired clothing at their disposal, and to educate on what being sustainable means. The merchandise will consist of luxury sportswear, nostalgia-heavy designer pieces and vintage garments that capture some of pop culture’s biggest moments. The decor/objects will fill the space and give a more nostalgic feel to the space.
EDILEY DIAZ COLLANTE
Ippolita x Sweet Saba Pop-Up Shop
The goal of Ippolita x Sweet Saba Pop Up Shop is to build a collaboration between this luxurious jewelry brand and a confectionary designer to promote Ippolita’s Rock Candy collection. The design concept creates an immersive experience driven pop-up shop to highlight the collaboration during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy. It illustrates a partnership of bold design, color, and sophistication. Working with these iconic brands shows that luxury design can convey an affluent mindset without being too serious, providing an extraordinary and fun experience for the consumer.
CHRISTINE ESPINAL
Mas Espacio
Mas Espacio is a modular fixture system created to display and organize space. This system can be implemented in a variety of spaces and create a new way to display. I designed a showroom to create a space to educate and interact with the product. This project will explore how organic and curvilinear forms break away from the traditional grids in our daily lives.
LAUREN MICKITY
Plus Sizes Can
Beauty is a feeling, not a size. The inspiration for this project is the growing popularity of the body positivity movement and the increasing use of plus size mannequins in retail display. Plus size representation in retail helps the consumer feel welcome and accepted while shopping, making the overall experience more positive. This project promotes self-love and representation through a series of plus size mannequin displays. These displays show plus size women doing and wearing things they are often told they can’t. The goal of this project is to evoke a feeling of self-love and help normalize acceptance of all body types.
FRANCESCA MOY
The Urban Bee
The decline in bee and wild pollinator populations around the world has been on scientists’ and sustainability advocates’ radars for a long time. Along with their concerns, there have been many scientific studies, surveys of natural, agriculture, urban lands, and ways to combat the decrease of these colonies. This project will focus on how education can serve as an advocacy tool both in increasing awareness and action across a number of areas. “The Urban Bee” is a multi-purpose educational facility to introduce a bee conservation site that will not only nurture the development of honey bees but also serve as an educational and vocational center for bees. Creating “The Urban Bee’’ in an urban landscape will have a positive effect on the urban environment, the people, and bees.
ZOE SMITH
Paw in Need
A Paw in Need is a pop-up retail store aimed at addressing current issues in the animal world such as animal homelessness, abuse, and abandonment. This collaboration between a dog accessories company, Barc London, and a local animal rescue, Animal Haven, gives the public an opportunity to learn more about the struggles that dogs face as well as have the chance to give back. In order to bring my career interest of visual merchandising into the mix, the space would highlight Barc London merchandise while featuring an area for Animal Haven to host a small adoption event. The pop-up store will travel between three locations around the United States including the West Village in New York City, Charleston, S.C. and New Orleans.
Thank you to Anne Kong, Associate Professor Visual Presentation + Exhibition Design (FIT), for coordinating our coverage of this excellent student work!