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Experience
September 2008- Present
Savannah College of Art & Design (Atlanta, GA)
Professor of Design- Fashion Department
• Primary Courses: Introduction to Fashion Design, Advanced Fashion Sketching, Portfolio Design & Presentation, Senior Collection series, Introduction to Textiles, Business of Fashion, and Men’s Wear.
• Established the Style Lab Program for SCAD Atlanta. Personally tapped into my relationships with seasoned industry professionals to help build this Senior Honors Program. This program is designed to offer students the opportunity to develop capsule collections with additional design direction from leading Designers including Angel Sanchez, Raul Melgoza, Rachel Roy, Stephen Burrows, and Bryan Bradley.
• Instrumental in developing Atlanta Fashion Department Resource Library for students including fabrics, headers, trims, vintage apparel, and magazines.
• Lead and inspire seniors in the development of their final Collection of 6 complete looks from initial sketches, fabrication, muslin development, to final garment.
• Participate in the development, research, and improvement of the SCAD Fashion Program including revising of Course Syllabi, coursework, and class structure.
• SCAD Emissary- Travelled to special events in the United States as a representative and spokesperson for SCAD.
• Identified and established autonomy for SCAD Atlanta from the Savannah Campus to compete with other top design schools in CFDA Scholarship competitions.
• Mentor for special student competitions including Supima, CFDA, Joe’s Blackbook, and SAGA Furs.

September 2007- March 2008
SEAN JOHN (New York, NY)
Contract Men’s Designer Non-Denim –Design and develop apparel for the Non-denim apparel division.
• Design development, fabric research, tech packs, Illustrator, presentations, specs, fittings, trim sourcing, and yarn dye recoloring.
Director – Collection Fabric R & D – Contracted to work with design team to produce a designer level collection.
• In less than two months, I successfully sourced, purchased, and assembled fabric, trims, and hardware, across all categories to produce the Fall/ Winter Sean Combs Collection.
• Allocation to sample rooms in the USA, Italy, Asia, and India.
• Devised and implemented an internal system insuring accuracy in the processes of purchasing, tracking, allocation, and receiving of all materials.
• Other responsibilities included lab dips, color approvals, bead layouts, finishing hardware, working with European, Asian, and domestic textile Agents.

November 2004 – February 2006 GENUINE GENIUS LLC (Minneapolis, MN)
Product Designer
• Developed targeted product including set Design for Life Touch Studios Holiday Photography Sets, Graphic Design, Packaging, Advertising, Web Styling, & new product development.

May 1998 – May 2004
JASON BUNIN (New York, NY)
Creative Director
• Award-winning collection of Men’s & Women’s Designer Sportswear & Accessories.
• Manage all facets of the business including: design, development, R & D, sourcing, costing, budgeting, production, samples, specs, grading, model and production fittings, public relations, graphic design, sales, and formal presentations to sales reps, buyers, and press.
• Stores included Lane Crawford H.K., Jeffrey NY, Cassidy Japan, Rolo S.F.
• Collaborate with Italian, Asian, and domestic sample rooms and production.
• Collection hung with lines including Helmut Lang, Gucci, Versace, Burberry, and Marc Jacobs
• Develop new product, creative mergers, and sponsorships with leading industry manufacturers.
• Additional product development includes Eyewear, neckwear, footwear, swimwear, eveningwear
• Directed and produced full runway presentations annually with 7th on Sixth.
• Trade shows: The Collective (NYC), MAGIC (Las Vegas, NV), DIFF (Daegu, South Korea).

January 2001– October 2002
SAIGONISTE (New York, NY)
Home Furnishings Designer
• Developed an exclusive line of high-end home furnishings; including pillows, bed sheet sets, handbags, and printed textiles.

September 2002– November 2003 INVISTA (DuPont) (New York, NY)
Product Development & Strategic Marketing Consultant
• Develop lifestyle products targeting specific branded non- apparel companies incorporating Invista© technology (Lycra©, Aquator©, Coolmax©, etc.).
• Design cohesive, but separate, collections to increase brand recognition for target account.
• Tap into the Invista© International network of factories, mills, and distribution channels to create, produce, and deliver quality products to the consumers.

March 2003– September 2003 PAZO, Division of Chico's (Fort Meyers, FL)
Creative Consultant – Contemporary Women’s Sportswear
• Identify, research, create and present seasonal trend forecasts.
• Resource, design, merchandise, fabricate, and spec item driven groups based on short lead times.
• Communicate with domestic and overseas factories for quality assurance.
• Oversee in-house production team including 2 tech designers & 2 assistant designers.

August 2001 – July 2002
PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN (New York, NY)
Professor (Adjunct) – Portfolio, Design & Concept Development
• Course: Portfolio Design, focusing on merchandising, costing, fabrication, editing, styling, graphic design, illustration, brand development, R & D, print design, and production sourcing.

March 1995– August 1998 ISAAC MIZRAHI LTD. (New York, NY)
Director -Collection Fabric Research & Development
• Primary responsibilities include: Print design/ lab dip approvals and layouts/repeats, Place all sample & production yardage orders, Collaborate with top international textile mills to develop exclusive prints & fabrics, Research market and develop new treatments and finishes for apparel collections, Quality control, print layouts/ recoloring’s, lab dips, color approvals, stock allocations, inventory, budgeting, and systems management.
• Travel- France (P.V.) and Italy as well as print and trend shows.
• Manage fabric shipping/receiving staff of two and one R & D assistant and one intern.

December 1993 – March 1995 FINITY/JASON TYNAN LTD. (New York, NY)
Associate Designer & Product Development Manager
• Markets: Missy, Better, Contemporary, Bridge, Catalogue, Junior’s.
• Product Development Manager for two of the largest private label accounts: The Limited, Limited Express.
• Involved in all facets of Finity; a Contemporary women’s sportswear collection sold to boutique and department stores.

November 1992 – December 1993 BILL BLASS GROUP (New York, NY)
Associate Bridge Designer – Dress, Evening, Evening Sportswear, Knits

July 1991 – November 1992 JILL STUART LTD. (New York, NY)
Accessories Designer- Women’s Leather Goods & Accessories
• Oversee all phases of design- initial concept to final production.
• Liaison for design room and showroom, customer service, quality control, design research, and sales representative during markets.
• Manage domestic sample/ production room
• Shows: Accessories Coterie.
• Private label accounts: DKNY, Anna Sui, Zang Toi, Neiman Marcus, Gemma Kanhg.

Education
PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN (New York, NY)
Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1991
Fashion Design

WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY (Detroit, MI)
Attended 1986-1988, Liberal Arts Program

Awards & Honors
2012 IMPACT- 50 Years of the CFDA -Anniversary Book and Exhibition- Named as one of the Fashion Industry leaders who have left a lasting impression on the fashion Industry during the last 50 years.
2002 Daegu International Fashion Festival (South Korea)
2000 Generation 0 Designer, DNR Magazine
2000 The Rising Star Award – Best New Men’s Wear Designer, Fashion Group International
2000 OUT 100, Out Magazine
2000 Perry Ellis Award for Men’s Designer of the Year, Finalist, Council of Fashion Designers of America
1991 Perry Ellis Scholarship, Parsons School of Design
1991 Jeffrey Banks Gold Thimble Award, Parsons School of Design

Memberships
• Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)
• Fashion Group International (FGI)
• High Museum of Art (Atlanta, Georgia)

Special Projects
• Jeffrey Atlanta- Designed and installed windows for “Fashion Cares” charity event.
• Children’s HealthCare of Atlanta- Commissioned to create 5 unique fashion illustrations which were presented as awards at benefit luncheon.
• Patti Labelle- Design apparel for both personal and stage appearances.
• Cardiovascular Research Foundation- Commission to design printed tie for doctors attending TCT Medical Convention.
• John Mellancamp – Designed custom apparel for Mr. Mellancamp’s Belmont Mall Tour.
• Target Initiative Fashion Scholarship- Part of the scholarships committee made up of 6 leading designers to review and select student portfolios for $20,000.00 Target Scholarship.
• Sassafrass Jones- Commissioned by Author to develop hand illustrations of the characters used in promotion and marketing materials and product associated with the book “Sassafrass Jones and the Search For a Forever Home”.
• Make A Wish Foundation- Created and illustrated image used as logo on all stationary and promotional materials for the charity’s largest yearly fundraising event.
• Reindog Parade Judge- Honorary Judge each year for Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Christmas Dog Pageant.

Charities
• Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA)
• American Cancer Society
• Jeffrey Fashion Cares- Atlanta
• Children’s Aid Society
• For the Kid In All of Us
• GMHC: Gay Men’s Health Crisis
• Make A Wish Foundation
• CCI- Canine Companions for Independence
• Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA)
• Children’s Health Care of Atlanta (CHOA)

Skills
• Illustrator- Photoshop- Collection development across multiple categories- Production Sourcing- Textiles-Sample and Production Fittings- Graphics- Packaging Design- Bead and embroidery development- Trim and Hardware development- Team Management- Budgeting, Mood/ Inspiration/ Trend Presentations, Visual Display- Hand Illustration- Trend and Color Forecasting- Fashion Show Production