Mark-Evan Blackman is Chairperson of the Menswear Design Department at the Fashion Institute of Technology and has been for the past nine years. The Menswear Design program at FIT is a two-year A.A.S. degree program and is the only one of its kind in the country.
In addition to his program development and administrative responsibilities, Professor Blackman teaches Menswear Collection Development, Menswear Color and Fabrication Development, Jacket Design and Beginning to Advanced Menswear Patternmaking. For the past three years he has taken a number of students with him to Paris, Amsterdam and Antwerp to see these international trade shows.
As chairperson, Professor Blackman has developed a nationally recognized internship program for the Menswear students with the participation of more than thirty-five leading menswear companies. He regularly travels to Paris, Amsterdam and Antwerp to study menswear at international companies, designers’ showrooms and trade shows. He has also collaborated with the Italian Trade Commission on a student menswear design project where the students were challenged to be inspired by Italian fabrics to create their garments. Professor Blackman traveled to Italy to select the designer fabrics for the students’ garments which were later part of an exhibition in New York and Italy.
Blackman continues work as a design consultant both nationally and internationally in both Paris and Seoul. This past winter, he spent time in Hangzhou and Shanghai China, consulting at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University. He has been called upon to provide expert testimony regarding proprietary infringement, liability and international tariff issues.
He has been quoted in The New York Times, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Details Magazine, DNR, GQ, ID, Paper, Black Enterprise, The Kansas City Star and the Globe & Mail-Toronto as well as a number of various nationally syndicated newspapers. He has also appeared on several television programs and radio talk shows. A Google search yields more than several hundred hits citing his numerous quotes in recent publications. Check out his latest Newsweek.com piece at the following address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glCvxXZTTOM
Prior to joining FIT, Blackman was a designer for many notable lines on New York’s Seventh Avenue including Joan Vass, Lacoste, Evan Picone and Perry Ellis. For four years, he was Creative Director of his own company. His designs sold at Barney’s, Bloomingdales and Sak’s Fifth Avenue, as well as hundreds of specialty stores throughout the nation. Professor Blackman received his BA degree in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania and his A.A.S. degree in Fashion Design from FIT.
