Tonight, the Fairfield University community was extremely fortunate to attend a lecture from Tim Gunn, reputable fashion consultant and TV personality extraordinaire. He shared with us his journey to the top of the fashion consulting industry, his low-key architectural abilities as a young boy ( by using Legos of course), and personal stories about his struggles and experiences as an educator. His lecture had the entire crowd laughing, and we could not help but be star struck by this prodigy.
Like many individuals , Gunn expressed how he never imagined himself in the place that he is today. Gunn always prided himself on his intellectual curiosity, and his thirst for knowledge that spanned most of his childhood. Though he claims to not have liked school at all as a student, he loved the aspect of learning in general, and always wanted to know more. He expressed to us that his feelings of hatred toward school stemmed from his lack of social skills, and his stutter that overshadowed his speaking. At the age of 19, after completing years of speech therapy, he finally began to love words and love speaking.
It is undeniably ironic that he hated school, as he became a TA, then a teacher, and an assistant dean at Parsons School of Design. His years at Parsons came after years of work in Washington D.C., where he was first a student.. He moved to New York and began his career at Parsons in 1982, where he had an epiphany. Previously, the program lacked many vital classes and curricula, and there was little to no technological advancement in the program whatsoever. Within only a few years at Parsons, he taught a class in 3D design, and created a course in design history.
After a few years, he was appointed the Associated Dean of Parsons, and was dubbed “Mr. Fix It” by many of the staff and students. He often referred to himself as the “Pooper Scooper,” however, as he was the one cleaning up and revamping everyone else’s messes. Things unfortunately took a turn for the worse when the department chair at Parsons fell ill, and had to be replaced. Gunn struggled to find a new individual to replace the previous chair; he was horrified by the still existing conditions of the program itself.
This is the time that his catchphrase “make it work” came into the picture. He told the students and the faculty that they had to “make it work,” despite lacking vital people and courses/technology. In 2001, the program finally took off.
In 2001 there was a new tidal wave of employees and students to finally revamp the program. Instead of under 150 garments being produced each school year, there were upwards of 700. Fashion shows finally became more selective, giving students a reason to be more proud of their work if they were chosen. Gunn states that repositioning the fashion program is what he is most proud of (career wise) in life thus far. He cares about quality, taste, style and excellence.
When 2004 came around, Gunn was a common name in the fashion industry. During this year, he was discovered by the producers of Project Runway, and was asked to co-host and co-consult. Producers loved how he was a risk taker/ change agent, and wanted the chance to work with him. After just one season of the show, it was nominated for an Emmy, and has been a success ever since.
Tim Gunn proves that just because somebody tells you no, or someone loses faith in your program or ideas doesn’t mean that you should give up on yourself. He would not be the success that he is today if he did not keep up the fashion program at Parsons, and help rebuild and restructure that needed fixing.