Marist Fashion's "The Brunch" celebrates sustainability in the future of fashion
 

设计师Melissa Joy Manning和Alyssa Nagel ' 19, Marist时尚活动策划学生总监

2018年12月7日——每年， 时尚项目 students in the Event Planning Class organize “The Brunch for Future Fashion Leaders,” an event that gives students a chance to hear firsthand from trailblazers in the industry and to mingle with their peers. The event takes place at the Payne Mansion, the home of Marist’s Raymond A. 里奇领导力发展研究所.  The Payne Mansion is a beautiful Beaux Arts-style palazzo overlooking the Hudson River, and it provided both a historic and fashionable backdrop for The Brunch.

在课程中, 由Juan-Manuel Olivera-Silvera教授领导, 学生们被分成四组:接待, 通信, 物流, 以及客人关系. Students in the class are also given the opportunity to plan their own smaller events throughout the semester.

While sipping coffee and eating French toast in a beautiful setting is a major perk of this event, the real benefit is getting to hear from a fashion industry professional. This year, the guest speaker was sustainable luxury jewelry designer Melissa Joy Manning.

可持续性的关注

曼宁在伯克利长大, 加州, 她对珠宝的热爱从蒙特梭利学校开始萌芽, 她从哪里开始玩珠子的. She loved going to the Berkeley flea market to find new materials for jewelry. 而她的创造力却蓬勃发展, other aspects of her life as a student did not make a clear path for a future career. Her parents—a lawyer and an athletics director—did not see a creative field as a career option for their daughter. They took Manning for many personality evaluations in which she was asked what she was good at. 她的反应?  “我会做珠宝.“剩下的就是历史了.

Manning attended college in Mexico, where she learned to be a silversmith. She also saw firsthand how natural materials were used and everything was handcrafted. 通过那段经历, she started to see her future as a jewelry designer becoming more about sustainability, 现在，她把这些自然的技巧融入到她的作品中.

“如果你是出于正确的理由制作珠宝, 哪些人不是, 你应该以一种负责任的方式去做,曼宁说。. Her jewelry is made of only recycled silver and gold from a refinery that places a great deal of emphasis on sustainability. 她所有的产品都是手工制作的, ensuring that the waste that could be created from mass-produced fashion does not affect her work. Her ethical practices go beyond just jewelry making: her physical stores are mostly made from recycled building materials, and her employees are encouraged to go green during their shifts with reusable straws and cups provided by Manning always on hand. 除了她的电子商务商店, Manning now has two brick-and-mortar stores in both Berkeley and Brooklyn. 她还把她的珠宝卖给许多百货公司, 包括哈德逊河谷莱茵贝克镇的Paper Trail.

“坚持自己的价值观”

在早午餐会上的演讲中, 曼宁强调了四个支柱:精神, 社区, 信仰, 和失败. “Finding your ethos is incredibly important in any career,曼宁说。. “坚持你的价值观.” In regards to 社区, she talked about how a strong support system can be a tremendous benefit. She noted how she would not have been able to move to New York if it were not for her group of fashion industry colleagues who have helped her along the way, 尤其是玛丽斯特教授兼时装设计师道丽·钟, whom she met while in New York and has stayed in touch with for many years. Chung also helped Manning to become involved with the Council of Fashion Designers of America. 如今，她是该组织的一名有影响力的成员.

曼宁还谈到了她的信仰. 她相信家庭是她生命中最重要的, 让他们和她一起旅行, 并且永远在他们身边. During her speech, she said that “the greatest thing that I have ever created was my son.” She also talked about her hiring process and how she hopes her employees share the same 信仰 and work ethic that she does.

Her fourth and final pillar, failure, is one that struck many students in the audience. 她提到了小时候“失败就是失败”的感觉. But as I got older, I realized failure could be seen as a huge opportunity.” She talked in her speech about how her father told her that “when you stop failing you stop learning.” She encouraged students to take risks in their creative and professional endeavors to be able to get the most out of their careers. 

“梅丽莎的演讲最打动我的是她的率真. She did not sugarcoat anything about her business or what it takes to start one,19岁的艾莉莎·内格尔说, Marist时尚活动策划学生总监. “I loved how open she was about her business's financial troubles in the past few years. It showed me that no matter where you are in life, you should never give up or get too comfortable.”

增进行业知识

“在火星时尚项目中, we have many opportunities to contribute to the sustainability movement, 包括道德时尚倡议, 时尚的可持续性课程, 校园里有很多不同的回收服装销售,21岁的学生凡妮莎·谢泼德说. “These resources help us to incorporate sustainable practices in our future careers in the industry as much as possible.” Shepherd also pointed out “events such as ‘The Brunch’ or the ‘Silver Needle Runway’ give Marist Fashion students an opportunity to enhance our resumes and our knowledge of the industry.”

 “作为一名学生, 收到梅丽莎的来信真是太好了, 谁是鼓舞人心的女企业家,内格尔说. “她对如何创业给出了极好的见解. Many students at Marist strive to own a business one day—or already have one—so her advice was invaluable.”