Future Vibes Photo Shoot: Shot and Styled by Diego Ledezma

Hey guys! This is a photo shoot that I modeled in last week for my friend Diego who is a sophomore at Parsons New School for Design, I had a ton of fun with this shoot and I'm very impressed with how the photos turned out. Hope you like them as much as I do! Also, check out some of his other photography at www.diegoledezma.com, he's a great photographer. Enjoy!

New York Fashion Week

Hello everyone! I've been extremely busy this past month and haven't had much time to update my blog but I'm back with a lot of exciting news. Let's begin with New York Fashion Week! Us students here at the Fashion Institute of Technology are given the chance to to volunteer at a variety of shows during New York Fashion Week. The day of sign-ups was pretty insane, the line extended from the front of our school and wrapped all the way around the block! Luckily, my friends woke up super early that day and got a really close spot toward the front of the line so I joined them in line and didn't have to wait for hours. (Shhh, don't tell anyone!) The show that I chose to work at was titled ASM Fashion Week International; it was a design competition/fashion show where 15 designers from different countries participated and showed their vibrant collections inspired by their culture. The fashion show was extremely amazing and entertaining, not to mention it was the first fashion show I have ever attended! Now that you're probably wondering what role I played in the show, I helped put together the runway, ran errands for the designers, styled and dressed models, and steamed the beautiful garments before they hit the runway. After eight long hours, the show was finally on! There was a great turn out and even a few reality TV stars showed up to watch the show.

Working the ASM Fashion Week International event wasn't the only cool thing I got to experience during Fashion Week. There was a huge amount of different events going on and opportunities that students at the Fashion Institute of Technology were offered during NYFW. I received free tickets via my FIT email address to go and listen to famous fashion photographer Nigel Barker speak at a swanky venue in Brooklyn about how fashion design has influenced society over the years. It was a great experience for me especially because I have always admired him ever since he was a judge/photographer on America's Next Top Model. Unfortunately, I did not win tickets to Givenchy's first showing at New York Fashion Week, (see my last post if you don't know what I'm talking about) BUT a couple of my friends did win them including my roommate so I got to hear all about it. I also watched the live stream of the show so that was good enough for me. The only thing that I was sad about was hearing the entire novel of celebrities that my friends got to see in person and basically sit next to including Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Anna Wintour, Nicki Minaj, and the list goes on and on; I might start crying if I keep going so I'll stop now.

Another exciting yet unfortunate event that occurred was that I got a VIP bracelet to one of my favorite brand's fashion show after parties known as Hood By Air (HBA), a luxury streetwear brand worn by many celebrities including Drake, Kanye West, and A$AP Rocky but I was denied entry after standing in a huge line because I wasn't 21. I also forgot to mention that I almost got a backstage pass to the Hood By Air fashion show when I was looking for the ASM Fashion Week International event which was in the same building as the Hood By Air fashion show! I got to see tons of Hood By Air models and a few of the creative minds behind the brand in the flesh. One of the HBA models who walked in the show even initiated conversation with me and said that I was very fashionable so it was pretty good day for me if I do say so myself. Although, fashion week wasn't as great as it could have been for me, I still had a great time and I am so grateful for the opportunities I was able to take advantage of as a student at FIT. I have done a lot in the past month and have a lot more great news to share in my next few posts so keep reading. Also, Happy October! :)

My First Week at the Fashion Institute of Technology

My first week at the Fashion Institute of Technology has been nothing short of a mix of fun and a little chaos. Move-in day was pretty hectic but it went rather smoothly. I was surprisingly able to fit everything that I brought in my dorm. I met all three of my roommates on the first day and they are honestly the perfect roommates for me; their names are Joseph, Frank, and Del. They're all very outgoing and we've already had so much fun in the past week. Luckily, Del and Joseph love working out and have motivated me to begin working out again which is something I hope to continue doing on a regular basis for the duration of the school year. I mean how else am I supposed to keep my abs while living off 99 cent pizza? Although I have met a ton of new people and made lots of fun memories already, it hasn't been all fun and games. The Fashion Institute of Technology is very demanding and intimidating at times and it's very easy to forget what us students are really here for which is to learn all that we can in order to become prosperous in the fashion industry. I've been here in New York City for exactly one week and so many incredible opportunities have already been presented to me as a student at FIT. All fashion design majors including myself were sent an email on the Wednesday following move-in day inviting the first 65 students to reply to attend Givenchy's first ever showing in New York City at Fashion Week at the Lincoln Center. Sadly, I was not one of the 65 students but I sure did learn the importance of constantly checking my email from now on in case any more exciting opportunities arise, which they already have (I'll post about them at a later date!). Now that I 've gotten all of my fun out of the way this past week, I am looking forward to beginning my classes and meeting new people who share the same passion that I do which is fashion and exploring my new surroundings. Thank you for reading, I am going to try and post each week to keep everyone updated on my new life in New York! :)

Introduction as a Designer

My name is Kyle Freeze, I am eighteen years old and just recently moved to New York City from Virginia to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology. I am a fashion design major and I am attending for two years to receive my Associate's Degree and then re-applying to attend two more years and receive my bachelor's degree in Fashion Design. My ultimate goal is to develop my own clothing brand and become an independent designer. My style ranges from monochromatic streetwear to bright, electric, and fun apparel that any man or woman can feel unique and confident wearing.