Murray Hill Institute
Special Edition Newsletter
June 2005
Volume 2, Number 2

When my mother told me that I had been asked to be one of five volunteers for the Murray Hill Institute’s conference on Woman, Beauty, and Image, I was ecstatic. I gladly agreed, because ever since I was young, I’ve loved fashion. The conference sounded perfect for someone like me.

One of the many things we were asked to do is to ask a few questions to some of the conference speakers. We heard many different viewpoints, life stories, and opinions on the fashion and advertising industries. Here is a sampling of some of the interesting responses we received from them.

Interview with Elizabeth Weinstein, reporter at The Wall Street Journal Online

Interviewer (I): Why are you here speaking at a conference on women?
Elizabeth Weinstein (W): Women are increasingly working their way into the media. Their voices are getting heard. Women touch everything nowadays, like what’s in the papers. I’m looking especially at print.

I: You’ve been all over. How has travel influenced you? Does the role of women vary a lot from place to place?
W: Well, in the Czech Republic, where I worked for several years, journalism is still very male dominated. In the U.S. women are making major strides. The U.S. is different; it’s a level playing field.

I: How do you feel about the new generation, specifically young women? Are they better or more superficial?
W: I’ve read all these great statistics [about the new generation of women], but there’s also a huge communication problem. So many young people sound stupid, when they say “like” for instance. My advice is to focus on clear communication.

I: Do we [the new generation of women] focus too much on celebrities?
W: Everybody as a teen had her icons. However, the stars are certainly not helping. There’s got to be a happy medium.

Interview with Professor Jeffrey Buchman, Professor of Advertising & Marketing Communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology

I: As a professor, you have the opportunity to see the newest set of designers entering the field. Where do you think your students are heading?
B: Well, FIT is 80% women. FIT students are very motivated (they already have their majors). They come in motivated already. As they progress, they become more knowledgeable and usually take on at least two internships. They are also involved with extracurricular activities. They come out as very well-rounded individuals who are very often the people that teach the other entry-level people in their field how to do things. Teaching at FIT transforms entry-level students into professionals. Also, I teach mostly juniors and seniors, but in groups. The groups are team processes. The ability to work with four or five people is in itself a great education. I didn’t know how to do that when I was their age.

I: Where are all the average teens in advertisements today? How come we don’t see more normal people?
B: Well you do, in teen publications. But marketers don’t know how to deal with teens. They’ve forgotten what it’s like to be like you. Now there’s also “tweens” and younger teens and older teens. The answer is that marketing doesn’t know how to market to teens. They bend over backwards to do so and hire young people. They’re just realizing teens are different. You can’t use tried-and-true methods that worked with 30-year-olds. There are new methods now- taking vans to schools, etc. Magazines especially do that. Teens don’t focus as much on ads. One-on-one marketing is what’s done. Teens want to be involved. Sometimes I’ll talk to recent grads, and find out that they’ll be traveling around, from campus to campus, hitting the teen market.

I: How can young people like us influence designers?
B: Buy what you like, not what you don’t like. Write! People don’t understand the power of one letter. Try to set up workshops, create clubs, do projects. Be proactive!

Interview with Beverly Karnell, designer and founder of Karnell Designs

I: How did you get started as a designer?
K: At first I couldn’t afford what I wanted to wear. I asked a lot of questions. I made every mistake in the book about five times. There was a lot of trial and error.

I: You studied art in college. Have you always liked art?
K: I always sketched and drew clothes. I forgot about it for a while, but in college I got to pick what to study, so I did art and picked it up again.

I: Where and how do you get your clothing made?
K: I can’t sew. My first things were awful. I kept getting better and better people working for me and making my clothing. I’m still learning as I go along.

I: Did you ever want to do something different?
K: I always wanted something impractical. Always.

I: Do you have a specific team of people that you work with to create your clothes?
K: I have a factory. They do clothing for me and also for Marc Jacobs, Theory, Ralph Lauren, etc.

Interview with Justina McCaffrey, designer and founder of Justina McCaffrey Haute Couture

I: You said that models always do what they’re told, even if it means doing something that they don’t really want to do. Is it like that everywhere?
M: I think every model has to go through it. There are so many sleazebags in this industry. I’ve looked at the model’s book- there’s always that nude photo. I know some photographers. A lot of them are not nice guys. It’s so bad for the girl’s confidence.

I: Did the Pope ever get the gift you made for him?
M: Actually, I got to give it to him personally. Since then, we’ve been keeping in touch. He wrote me back. My last letter from him was about a month ago.

I: You are based in Canada, but you sell also to the United States. Are the U.S. and Canadian markets very different? Do you think that you’ll ever expand to Europe?
M: The bride in the U.S. likes glitzier dresses. Canada is simpler. 95% of my business is with the U.S., and only 5% is with Canada. I guess I’d like to expand to Europe someday, but Europe is a very different scene. There’s so much to be done in the U.S.

I: Did you always know that this was what you wanted to do?
M: No. I had no idea. But I did do a lot of sewing.

I: Do you think that the bridal gown industry is better, morality-wise, than others?
M: Yeah, because a lot of these girls are going into churches. It’s a different clientele. It’s very much of a niche market.

— Anna Vitz