“Today was the most unique experience I have had since coming to New York. I never expected to attend a live taping of a show!” Kent State junior fashion design student Aditi Ganti, from Houston, wrote on her Tumblr blog after attending a live taping of ABC TV’s “The View” with her NYC Study Tour class.
The group of Kent State New York City Fashion students that attended the taping included Caroline Hill (bottom center) and Aditi Ganti (bottom right)
Her class was led by Suzanne Piazza, an adjunct professor at Kent State New York City Fashion. Kent State’s New York location offers students in Kent State's School of Fashion unique opportunities that they wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else in the world. Courses are taught by instructors who have worked or are currently working in the fashion industry. Students have opportunities to network directly with industry professionals who can offer their insights into the inner workings of fashion. Plus, students have opportunities to complete internships with well-known fashion or fashion-related companies that call New York City home.
‘A Holistic View of the Fashion Industry’
Piazza’s class, the NYC Study Tour, is a required class at Kent State New York City Fashion. Guided site visits are taken each week to domestic fashion markets, including design and fabric houses or showrooms, retail stores, buying offices and other areas of the fashion industry.
Ann Walter, director of Kent State NYC Fashion said, “The NYC Study Tour class provides the students with a holistic view of the fashion industry through these visits, as well as the intersection of fashion and media. The purpose is for the students to have a better understanding of not just design or merchandising, but all aspects of the fashion industry. Tours usually include museum trips to fashion or fashion-adjacent exhibitions in New York City.”
“Fashion doesn’t exist in a vacuum and intersects with a variety of different industries. Watching a live taping of ‘The View’ was not only a fun outing for the students, but it also gave them insight into the media and entertainment industry,” said Walter.
Student Caroline Hill calls this photo from the broadcast "My two seconds of fame."
Viewing ‘The View’
For many of the students, it was their first time seeing a television program being made. Caroline Hill, a junior fashion design major from Chesapeake, Virginia, was part of the group that attended the taping. “I have never been to a live taping of a tv show before, so this experience was all new,” Hill said. “I did not expect there to be so much pre-taped footage, the actual live segments only lasted about 15 minutes. I loved getting to see a snippet into the Broadway show ‘Back to the Future.’ Overall, it was really cool to get a feel for the entertainment industry and all that goes into putting on a live production.”
Here's part of "The View" episode that Kent State fashion students saw live.
The students’ immersive New York City experience also included a trip to a farmer’s market that was near the studio. Occasions like these are just some of the ways the class serves to expose Kent State’s fashion students to the flavors and possibilities found in the city.
The cast of "The View" poses with members of the Broadway cast of "Back to the Future-the Musical"
Ganti wrote on her Tumblr blog, “We got to see a live performance of one of the songs from the ‘Back to the Future’ musical which was crazy! I had no idea what we would be getting to see today, but I feel so lucky that we came on the day of a live performance. I kind of want to see the show live now!”
Kent State New York City Fashion students pose outside of the ABC studios