Today began with our first field trip to Tommy Hilfiger. We met with the lovely and talented alumni of the Fashion Business Merchandising program, Kristyna and Conner, and were also fortunate enough to meet with the design manager for the handbag team. After graduating from the GCC program Kristyna and Conner attended Buffalo State University, and LIM, respectively. Kristyna stumbled upon a posting on Indeed.com for Tommy Hilfiger interns, and Conner was alerted to the position via LIM. The rest, as they say, is history. The two have been with Hilfiger ever since. They primarily deal with ad campaigns, showrooms, and launches, and work to ensure the consistency of art and design messages. Leah, the design manager, graduated from Cornell’s fashion program, and then but in stints with Betsey Johnson as well as Coach before arriving at Tommy Hilfiger. She explained that her team relieves seasonal briefs detailing the aesthetic of a collection, and the work begins from there. They draw inspiration from everywhere, and seek to filter trendy elements of high fashion, down to mass appeal. All while maintaining the signature “Tommy” look.

A group shot in the fabulous lobby!

Kristyna and Conner being gifted GCC plaid accessories. This plaid, developed by a student is currently undergoing the process of being registered as an official plaid in Scotland! Incredibly exciting!

The two were kind enough to give us some advice regarding our upcoming fashion show, this show’s theme being “Fashion Is…”

*Work Well Together

*Have A Clear Vision

*Learn How To Manage Time

*Communicate Clearly

*And Be Willing To Work!!

Our next stop was to the beautiful new Buffalo David Bitton Showrooms, to meet with PR Director Diane Alexander. Her job is trying to bring widespread awareness to the Buffalo brand, primarily through ad campaigns, working with bloggers, and use of social media. She allowed us to take pictures of the gorgeous Buffalo merchandise (literally denim heaven), and educated us about the company as well. They sell to all of the major retailers, as well as Amazon, and men’s apparel comprises 60% of their business. She loves fresh ideas, and is always looking for interns!

She was of course gifted a lovely GCC plaid scarf.

A Buffalo designer hard at work…

And a student soaking it all in.

After our Buffalo trip, the last scheduled event for the day, my roommates and I decided to do lunch at Eataly. It was phenomenal!

The restaurant is just a small segment of this immense Italian market, offering everything from Italian cookbooks, to giant wheels of cheese!

I had calamari pasta, and it was everything I could have wished for, and then some.

Next we headed to Urban Outfitters, conveniently located very close to the hotel.

I always love looking at the displays in these stores, very edgy and well, “urban.”

They even carried Lime Crime cosmetics, a favorite brand of mine!

I had been dying to try their latest product, velvetines for a long time, so I happily picked one up! I’ll have to let you know how it performed, tomorrow!

Next stop was the lavish Ralph Lauren flagship store. This building is literally what dreams are made of.

The displays were simply amazing! Every room told its own story.

We took in the sights in Times Square for a while in the late evening, and then headed back to the hotel to recharge our phone batteries, and our internal ones. We then had the fun idea to do some Steampunk henna, in preparation of our exciting Steampunk event tomorrow night!

Some lovely “Henna by Jenna.”

Now it’s time to call it a night, as our trip to LIM is bright and early tomorrow! I can’t wait!