Meet the Team Behind Fashion Club: Art Director Harriet Grant

Over the next few weeks, we'll be rolling out some Q&As with the team behind Fashion Club. Find out what inspires them and what they love about Fashion Club!

As Fashion Club's Art Director, Harriet does it all. Not only does she oversee the look of FC and all the content, she scouts for models, and produces our photo shoots. She even designed the Fashion Club logo!

Tell us a little about yourself: Before I came to FIDM, I worked at Warner Bros. doing movie website design and brand assurance for all the Looney Tunes properties online. Before becoming a web designer I did lots of print design including designing all the materials for a 5-star hotel in Beverly Hills. That was a really fun project!

Tell us a fun fact about you that not many people know: I can play the saxophone and the ukulele.

What inspires you? Classic movies, great typography, art deco and mid-century architecture, art nouveau design, vintage fashion, color, Italy, and being on a boat!

What is your favorite thing about working on Fashion Club? I love that we do something new every month on Fashion Club. We have to stay on top of the trends and figure out creative ways to interpret those trends in our articles. That really keeps my job very interesting. My favorite thing is coming up with the concepts for our photo shoots. It's so much fun working with the FC team to make our ideas come to life!

What is your favorite FC article or section? That's such a hard question because I love them all!! If I have to choose, my favorite section is YOUR FC. I love seeing what the high school FIDM Fashion Clubs are up to in the Photo Gallery and checking out the amazing fashion sketches that people send in every month.

Share your secret fashion or beauty trick: Don't be afraid to try new things. The great thing about fashion is that you can reinvent yourself just by changing your outfit. Try something that might be a little out of your comfort zone like wearing a pair of hot pink shoes, a sassy vintage hat, or even adding a streak of color to your hair. You'll feel like a new person!

If you could be any fashion designer in history, who would it be? Edith Head, although technically she was a costume designer. She worked for Paramount and Universal Studios from the 1920s through 1981. She designed for some of the biggest stars that ever lived. Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Grace Kelly, and Elizabeth Taylor were just a few of her clients. She won eight Academy Awards for her work. What an incredible career and legacy!

Check back soon for more stories from the team behind Fashion Club!

Grace's London Fashion Report: Cath Kidston

Hi. Grace here, reporting from London.

Cath Kidston is a British designer who has changed the whole British teen look towards vintage florals and wellies. She opened her first shop in 1993 in Holland Park (east London). She started by selling vintage wallpapers and fabrics. Since then her fashion empire has grown considerably. She now has just under 30 small stores in England.

Each store has the warm countryside feel that Cath tries to get across in both the fashion merchandising and the store itself. She is best known for her bags and purses but also does a range of clothing. I love most of her bags and purses but her clothing isn’t really known very well over here.

 
I personally prefer the rucksacks and shoulder bags (book bags) over her clothing. I think that Cath Kidston is a very important company because I feel that it reflects youth in England and she has changed the way that the modern British girl wants to dress. She has started a new fashion and I think that she has influenced and inspired a lot of other people to go for their dreams.

Grace is a thirteen year-old fashionista who writes sporadic posts for FashionClub.com Daily from her home in London.

San Diego Students Take the Project FIDM Challenge

Several talented FIDM Students from the San Diego campus participated in Project FIDM. The challenge was to create a summer dress in one week using two donated fabrics and two pieces of existing clothing.

The designs were judged by a panel of industry professionals (from left to right) Qadir Hamidi, Couture Designer; Elizabeth Leffler, Owner of Christie's Boutique; Julia Beeson Polloreno, Senior Editor at San Diego Magazine; Gretchen Productions, Owner/Director of Gretchen Productions, a Fashion Show Production Company. 

The winning design was created by (from left to right) Diana Marques, Leigh King and Chelsey Peart. Each team member received a gift card to Fashion Valley and recognition in the FIDM Newsletter and the FIDM Blog. Congratulations designers!

FIDM Summer BBQ with Fashion Cafe

FIDM Student Activities held a BBQ in the park at the Los Angeles campus this week. Students enjoyed a beautiful summer day and a tasty meal provided by Fashion Cafe.

Burgers and veggie burgers were served with chips and ice cold sodas. Over 200 lunches were sold for the event with a generous portion of the proceeds to be donated to the Susan G Komen Foundation. --Harriet

Trend Analyst & Fashion Expert Tom Julian Visits FIDM

Fashion insider and author Tom Julian visited the Los Angeles campus to sign copies of his book Nordstrom Guide to Men's Style.

The event, organized by Student Activities and the FIDM Museum, was packed with FIDM students, faculty, and staff.  Julian spoke about his fashion career and his collaboration with Nordstrom on his book. --Harriet

Students Show School Spirit at FIDM Dodgers Night

FIDM Students brought their amazing school spirit to FIDM Dodgers Night at the world-famous Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Nearly 200 students attended the event organized by Student Activities. Go FIDM! FIDM Students: Follow FIDM on twitter to get news on upcoming events: twitter.com/FIDM! --Harriet