Title

Richard Streiter interview, 1995 May 9

Contributor Names

Poll, Carol (Interviewer)

Streiter, Richard

Date

1995-05-08

Date Digitized

2020

Description

Richard Streiter wore many hats at FIT, but at the time of this interview he was the executive director of the Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries. Streiter joined FIT from Pratt Institute as Dean of Students in 1973. He discusses his recruitment by Marvin Feldman and his immediate push for the creation of a comprehensive primary care health service at the school. Streiter fondly remembers the raucous four-year stint of Mardi Gras costume balls held in concert with other art schools as well as FIT's own talent show. He performed a surprising jazz trumpet set his first year and ended up in the 1976 yearbook for "streaking" at that year's show. Streiter explains the legislative struggles involved in getting the upper divisions established and commends Feldman for championing FIT's two-year program. He then talks about how the globalization of the fashion industry is reflected in FIT's vibrant student body. Streiter discusses the development of Polimoda in Italy and his own move to New Delhi to help establish the National Institute of Fashion Technology. It was a struggle, but Streiter had support from an advisory group in New York and fought for the school's survival. Upon his return, Streiter held a series of leadership roles at FIT and ultimately became acting director of both the Educational Foundation and the Shirley Goodman Resource Center. He mentions early FIT exhibitions such as the retrospective on Charles James. He then discusses the structure and evolution of the Educational Foundation. Streiter ends the interview with a depiction of an FIT tour through China which he led.

Type

Moving Image

Oral histories

Subject

Streiter, Richard

Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries

Feldman, Marvin

Brandriss, Marion K.

Cattrall, Martha

Leslie, Kate

Goodman, Shirley, 1915-1991

Fishman, Alan

Grossman, Nancy

Jones, Mary

Fashion

Education

China

Costume

Drag balls

Student activities

India

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_000840

SPARC reference code: US.NNFIT.SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.4.29