Kent State University’s School of Fashion was recently featured on the front page of the Akron Beacon Journal and Record-Courier newspapers for the innovative and collaborative opportunities it has implemented for its students. While someone may think of places like New York City, Los Angeles and Paris when it comes to the fashion industry, the article notes that those in Northeast Ohio have a highly ranked fashion school right in their backyard.
The article notes the school’s distinctive rankings, including how the school recently was recognized as one of the best fashion schools in the country by Vogue.
“This is not just an academic institution, it’s a think tank of research, development and innovation,” said Hillary Stone, Kent State School of Fashion industry liaison and professor. “It’s about community and collaboration.”
The article goes on to highlight the role technology has played in the industry and how Kent State’s program is taking advantage of those opportunities and preparing students for success in today’s global workforce.
“We are the only school in the country that uses STOLL knitting machines,” Stone told the paper. “We are training our students to do programming, not just knitting.”
Mourad Krifa, Ph.D., the Margaret Clark Morgan Director of the School of Fashion at Kent State, agreed.
“One of the most important and fascinating is the idea of knowing what the consumer wants based on the data consumers leave,” Krifa told the Akron Beacon Journal. “They leave information on websites, reviews, comments on social media and company websites. We can use that data and get a better sense of what the customer wants, and what a company is providing and selling.”
The article also highlights the numerous career paths through fashion design, fashion media, and now fashion and the law available to students, in addition to a variety of education-away program options.
Read the full article (subscription required) from the Akron Beacon Journal.