Interview of Christine Pupillo, Leonard Trattner, and Harry Greenberg of the Patternmaking Department, 1995 February 27

Special Collections and College Archives

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Title
Interview of Christine Pupillo, Leonard Trattner, and Harry Greenberg of the Patternmaking Department, 1995 February 27
Contributor Names
Poll, Carol (Interviewer)
Greenberg, Harry
Pupillo, Christine
Trattner, Leonard
Date
1995-02-26
Date Digitized
2020
Description
This is an interview with three professors of the patternmaking department at FIT: Christine Pupillo, Leonard Trattner, and Harry Greenberg. At the time of the interview, Trattner was chair of the department. Greenberg started at FIT in 1947 and describes an incident that occurred during the Board of Education's two-day exam, which was a prerequisite to patternmaking instruction. The three delve into FIT's uniquely specialized program wherein students learn to make slopers. Trattner, a 9th generation textile worker, started as an FIT student in 1964. He discusses his upbringing and life-long connection to the garment industry. They talk about what the union has done for the industry at large and innovations of their department, including classes taught in foreign languages for international students. The three discuss the department's highly successful VFI program which brings in students who have dropped out of high school or had minor encounters with law enforcement. Greenberg and Pupillo describe their experiences as first-generation immigrants, how that experience often relates to their students, and their own very early starts in the garment industry. As most faculty do, they remain involved in the industry to stay abreast of technological advancements. Greenberg talks about meeting his wife and how he came to be recruited for his initial position. The three discuss the minutiae of patternmaking and the skills their students take to the field. They then talk about changes in student demographics and their hopes for an upper division. Finally, they discuss the Irving Curtis Scholarship Fund and the Harry Greenberg Scholarship Fund, as well as the scholarship provided by Symphony Fabrics.
Type
Moving Image
Oral histories
Subject
Greenberg, Harry
Pupillo, Christine
Trattner, Leonard
Ritter, Mortimer
High School of the Fashion Industries (New York, N.Y.)
Feldman, Marvin
Fashion
Education
Patternmaking
Immigrants
Textile workers
Immigration & society
Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.)
New York (State)
New York (State)--New York
Related Materials
Finding Aid
Rights
In Copyright
This video was produced by the Fashion Institute of Technology ("FIT") and is the property of FIT. FIT expressly prohibits the copying, displaying, or uploading to a website of any portion of this video, except for the purposes of fair use as defined in the copyright laws, without express written permission from FIT. This video has been made available online by the Fashion Institute of Technology Gladys Marcus Library strictly for research and educational purposes. If you are the copyright holder for content in this video and have any objections to this work being made available online, please notify us immediately at [email protected].
Identifier
FIT Repository ID: aod_000691
SPARC reference code: US.NNFIT.SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.4.22

Collections

Special Collections and College Archives

Series

FIT 50th Anniversary oral history series, 1994-1996

Categories

FIT History

Citation

Fashion Institute of Technology. (1995, February 26). Interview of Christine Pupillo, Leonard Trattner, and Harry Greenberg of the Patternmaking Department, 1995 February 27 [Video]. Archive on Demand. https://archiveondemand.fitnyc.edu/item/136318
Fashion Institute of Technology. "Interview of Christine Pupillo, Leonard Trattner, and Harry Greenberg of the Patternmaking Department, 1995 February 27." Archive on Demand, 26 Feb. 1995, https://archiveondemand.fitnyc.edu/item/136318
Fashion Institute of Technology, "Interview of Christine Pupillo, Leonard Trattner, and Harry Greenberg of the Patternmaking Department, 1995 February 27," Archive on Demand, February 26, 1995, video, https://archiveondemand.fitnyc.edu/item/136318