Tanner Randall is still taking on FIT

Posted by shopgirl

Posted: October 1, 2008 - 11:17 pm

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Remember Tanner Randall? It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the homegrown designer behind Nanuq of Alaska. He moved to New York City a year ago to study in the menswear program at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Here’s an update on how Randall’s fashion education is treating him, what he’s doing with his Nanuq line, and what he thinks of Sarah Palin.

"Classes started up last Monday, and it's as if I never had a summer: the same instructors, the same classmates, the same subjects. This semester I'm taking Menswear Design III, Patternmaking III: The Coat, Couture Details: The Shirt and Trouser, Italian II, Portfolio, and Computer Fashion Design: U4ia.

This past summer was exciting; I had the opportunity to travel with a couple other members of the Menswear Club to Abercrombie & Fitch's headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, meet designers, and tour their facilities. We showed our portfolios to a whole panel, and had them critiqued by the designers themselves. Afterward, we all conducted interviews. I'm crossing my fingers that A&F offers me a job next spring once I graduate.

Otherwise, this summer I spent developing my new collection for Nanuq of Alaska, which is now available solely at Her Tern. I got my inspiration by thinking about how gray and dreary the winter can be, especially in Alaska. I wanted to contrast that with a really bright, vibrant palette. My inspiration was an image of an arctic sunrise, with bright yellows, oranges, and pinks. Then, to contrast the bright colors, I made the scarves and men's beanies out of whites and grays. I am especially excited about the scarf: I wanted something really thick and chunky, so big that it only wraps around the neck, and has to be latched closed with a big horn, giving it that wild and authentic Alaskan touch.

It was really important that I keep Nanuq alive, despite my absence in Alaska, which I miss so much. Being from Alaska has gotten me a lot of attention, even with the FIT Alumni magazine, HUE, which just released a story on me in their last issue, viewable on the website under the press section.

Living in New York has its ups and downs. Today, I was shopping for fabric and in walks Christian Siriano from Project Runway, as flamboyant as on TV!

This summer I was sitting at Starbucks, and Mr. Big from “Sex and the City”” sat down right next to me, crazy! No matter how many celebrities I see, I'm always that small town kid from Alaska who gets excited when I see them!

I heard the news about Sarah Palin and as excited as I am about how much attention this will be for Alaska, I just can't bring myself to vote for McCain, no matter how big of a Palin fan I am! As for New York, Obama is everywhere!

It was a hot summer, so I can't wait for it to start cooling down so I can start wearing my Nanuq gear again!"

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