Get real

STITCHED UP Project Runway Season 4 winner Christian Siriano proves solid sewing skills are essential for success.

Inspiration Project Runway
When Tim Gunn says “Make it work,” he knows what he’s talking about. The Bravo show’s fashion avatar is also an educator. He was a former chair of the Department of Fashion Design at Parsons—as well as an industry insider (he’s now the chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne). As the show makes abundantly clear, fashion is a business— and an exhausting one at that. Still, it’s never too late to make your designer dreams come true, as fashion designer Deborah McNamara did in the midst of a successful law career (she counted Bob Dylan as a client). While working, McNamara tried the field on for size with night classes at FIT. Realizing she loved it, she immersed herself in the A.A.S. in Fashion Studies program at Parson’s. “I thought it would be a walk in the park compared to my work,” she says of the program, ‘‘but it wasn’t, to say the least. Everybody there really wanted to excel. It was incredibly intense.”

For the curious Learn to Sew like a Pro I, School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)
“Fashion is more than art,” says Joan Volpe, managing coordinator of the Center for Professional Studies at FIT and a veteran of the fashion industry. “It requires a real knowledge of how to work on a human body: The engineering, the science, the sewing—those that don’t sew don’t go very far.” Volpe notes that “some students come here not even knowing you need to put a knot in the thread!” and sends themm to the class. “Sew Like a Pro is a great way to start, because you get your hands dirty,” she says. The basic sewing workshop is taught on the college’s industrial equipment in an atmosphere that’s more factory floor than fancy atelier. You’ll learn layout, cutting, construction and finishing. The course of five 3½-hour classes runs throughout the semester.
Seventh Ave at 27th St (212-217-7715, fitnyc.edu/professionalstudies)

For the career changer A.A.S. (Associate in Applied Science) Program in Fashion Studies, Parsons The New School for Design
No surprise that Project Runway has a strong Parsons presence: Four of the Bravo show’s Season 4 contestants attended a program there. Ninety percent of the students who attend the A.A.S. program have B.A.s; most are working professionals changing careers, and the average age is 26. Pamela Trought Klein, chair of the A.A.S. program and associate professor, says, “They’re incredible students. Really focused. They work in this sweatbox of a studio and learn like crazy, and do extraordinary work.” The densely packed program runs over two or three semesters and the coursework is intentionally intense “so students can be employable when they finish,” she says. Courses cover concept to production to market introduction; process, skills, and language of fashion design; fashion drawing and construction; and fashion industry, history and portfolio.
66 Fifth Av (212-229-8900, parsons.edu)