FIT Grad Update: Madeline Thompson on Textile Science & Staying Curious
For many students, college coursework is the first step toward building a career in their chosen field. Exemplifying this, a number of graduates from the Fashion Institute of Technology’s denim class have gone on to work in the industry. Carved in Blue is catching up with students from the course to see where their post-graduate lives have taken them.
Madeline Thompson graduated from FIT in 2013 with an Associate degree in Fashion Merchandising Management, and then graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Textile Development and Marketing in 2015. Here, she tells Carved in Blue about why science drew her to textiles and why computer skills pay off.
Carved in Blue: What attracted you most to a career in denim and textiles?
Madeline: The ability to mix science and fashion together caught my interest in the world of textile development. I’ve always been interested in pursuing a career in science, and to my surprise, that path was available in the world of fashion. Denim specifically caught my attention because of the history revolved around the fabric. Just like denim’s rich heritage, it’s usage to create, renew and evolve are endless.
Carved in Blue: Since graduating from FIT, what has been your career path?
Madeline: Aside from multiple internships throughout college, I graduated and accepted a full-time position in the textile division at Loro Piana. After three years in the luxurious world of textiles, I pursued a fabric development position at Levi’s on the women’s bottoms team. My knowledge in the world of denim skyrocketed from understanding the components of denim, processing raw material on a global scale, and contributing to the world of the denim sustainably via FLX. My interest in the outdoors recruited me as a fabric developer at Mountain Hardware, but my love for Levi’s and new interest in data management brought me back to Levi’s as a raw material planner. Throughout my short, yet significant, time in the textile industry, I am most proud of my curiosity to accept new opportunities and continuously learn new skills. Just because I graduated doesn’t mean I’m done learning!
Carved in Blue: Reflecting on your time at FIT, what has been the most useful lesson (from in or outside the classroom) that you’ve been able to apply to your work?
Madeline: Diversity, independence, curiosity and motivation are lessons I’ve taken from my time at FIT and applied throughout my career. FIT is an institution that truly encourages their students to challenge answers and continuously test new ideas.
Carved in Blue: If you could give your collegiate self one piece of advice, what would it be? What do you wish you knew when you were a student?
Madeline: Mix college courses that are related and unrelated to your degree. The variation will allow you to discover if the intended path is the right fit for you. Always include computer courses, regardless of your major. The more computer knowledge you know, the more diverse opportunities are available.
Carved in Blue: What would you like to see more of in the denim industry?
Madeline: The pandemic provided suppliers the opportunity to create a virtual fabric world. Maintaining focus on developing a sophisticated virtual fabric library for their clients provides faster decision making, targets specific discussions for in-person presentations and eliminates unnecessary fabric waste.
Note: This is a series of articles covering the graduates of the FIT Denim Capstone Class run by Professor Jeffrey Silberman and sponsored over many years by Andrew Olah/ Olah Inc, Cotton Inc, Supima, Cone Denim, The Lycra Company, and TENCEL(TM) Denim.