Class Act with Chris Wragge visits High School of Fashion Industries in Manhattan
Class Act with Chris Wragge is visiting the High School of Fashion Industries in Manhattan.
The school in Chelsea boasts 100 years of tradition, innovation and history. Students learn an abundance of skills in business, art and design, fashion design, photography, software development, and more.
Teens are being prepared for the real world with fashion classes, contributing to annual fashion shows and projects that are put in portfolios.
Fashion Industries is providing a runway for more than 1,400 students to take off from.
Students pick from six majors to focus on
Students gain real-life experiences through classes
As students described their work, they highlighted some of their responsibilities.
One photography major described the portfolios being created for the senior art show
"So we have people in the studio, we have some mixed media work going on, and yeah, overall, as a photography major, I feel like I've been open to opportunities that I never could have imagined, because initially I came to the school to major in art, and when I saw we have a dark room, we have our studio, we have out lab. That just changed my world," she said.
The school's annual trade show at the Javitz Center is coming up in April, which students work toward all year.
Teens take different roles in one class. Some are creative directors, CEOs, HR and finance personnel.
Giselle Cruz, who is the chief marketing officer of a project, described her job.
"I handle everything that comes with what's the name of our brand, what target are we marketing, you know what's our brand colors, everything of that aspect," she said. "And it's just a really great experience, like just... being able to have a student-led firm and you know really take on the role and the responsibility with not a lot of help from staff."
Faculty and students talk about impact of specialized classes
Windows full of students' designs displayed outside school
Fashion class based on specific decades
One of the classes seniors can take is honors fashion.
Students apply for it in their junior year, and are tasked with randomly choosing a decade to design head-turning fashion.
They even use classic 1940s-era sewing machines.
"Sometimes they're a little irritating, but like knowing the history behind them and like feeling that there were other people in this room sewing for like 100 years is so awesome. And like as much as sometimes they may stop working or like they have bugs, we have the minds to fix them," one studetn said.
"I'm excited for the kids to have a program like this where they can just let their creativity run wild. They're very excited, they don't expect it to be this intricate and involved until, you know, we start giving them the tasks," said alumna Brenda Rojas-Hampton.
School celebrates 100th anniversary
History is everywhere you look at the Manhattan high school.
In 1926, Central Needle Trades High School was established to teach people factory work. It was considered an "extension school" so teens were released from their jobs for part of the day to learn occupational skills, English, math, hygiene and civics.
Over the years, it became a traditional four-year high school as the garment industry wanted workers with more education.
While the school was originally housed in a factory loft on West 31st Street, it moved to West 24th Street before a new building was created.
The 10-story building opened in 1940, and the name changed to Fashion Industries in 1956. The school and its students have been a staple in the city's history during major events such as World War II, the Cold War, Civil Rights and 9/11.
Falcon pride showing their energy
CBS News New York's Chris Wragge is live Friday morning at the High School of Fashion Industries in the heart of the city, where students are up bright and early!
