Brooklyn Instructors
Kathlin Argiro
Kathlin is passionate about sharing her experiences as a fashion designer and entrepreneur. A mentor to countless FIT students from all over the world, Kathlin has been selected to lead high profile projects for First Lady Michelle Obama and for the Charles James exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute. After graduating with honors from Parsons School of Design, Kathlin honed her knowledge of couture dressmaking techniques while working for top evening wear designers Arnold Scaasi and Carmen Marc Valvo. She currently consults with start up fashion brands providing design, sourcing, production, and operations support, teaches for FIT's Professional Studies and maintains her own design studio and label in Brooklyn.
Bridgett Artise
FIT Alumni Bridgett Artise, author, designer and owner of Born Again Vintage has made sustainable fashion awareness her life passion. Creating sustainable fashion programs in middle and high schools in the tri-state area and hosting upcycling workshops worldwide has made Born Again Vintage the pioneering brand of sustainable fashion. Born Again Vintage: how to recycle, reconstruct and revamp your wardrobe has been featured in over 50 publications nationwide and most recently has been featured in Forbes and authored a second book called 27 Dresses: An Inspirational Guide for Upcycling Formal Wear. Bridget teaches for FIT's Enterprise Studies and Digital Design.
MaryBeth Budd
Mary Beth has spent the past 25 years growing her business, MBA Productions / Trienawear, specializing in dancewear made in the USA for woman and children. She personally sells her line to fellow dancers as well as hires independent sales reps. Her line is in over 500 retail stores and mail-order catalogs in the USA and Japan and available on Amazon. As a former ballerina, Mary Beth saw a market opportunity and studied fashion design, marketing, and business management at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Parsons School of Design, the American Women’s Economic Development Corp, and New York University. Mary Beth is a sought-after consultant to start-up apparel companies and teaches for FIT's Enterprise Studies and Digital Design.
Terance Coffee
After graduating from Clark Atlanta University with a degree in Mass Media Arts, Terance’s first job was in programming research for CBS. His market analysis and psychographic data compilation assignments led to a career in events planning starting with Macy’s as their Regional Specialist Event Planner for all of the east coast and Puerto Rico. Later on he expanded into sales and moved over to the highly reputable advertising firm, UniWorld Group Inc. as an account executive. Currently, he is the founder of T’Coffee’s Events with a client list that includes Macy's, Lord & Taylor, and Saks Fifth Avenue. He is also an adjunct professor in Advertising and Marketing Communications and an Instructor in Professional Studies at FIT.
Arturo Veloira
Arturo is an artist and jewelry designer who’s been in the New York fashion scene for over two decades. As the creative director for Grinnell Designs—a private label design and manufacturing studio—he has worked with high profile brands like Isaac Mizrahi New York, Michael Kors, Zac Posen and Peter Som, to name a few. These days, he works as an independent consultant in jewelry design, and he’s also passionately involved with 39thand8th.com, a fashion and photography blog he created two years ago. He is also an Instructor in FIT's Professional Studies.