On January 26 and 27 SU alumna Stephanie Solomon, the operating vice president for fashion direction for women's ready-to-wear at Bloomingdales will return to her alma mater to give her first talk at SU since graduating.

On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, Solomon will mentor the 22 senior fashion design students. She will review each of the senior collections and help each student edit his or her 25 piece collection to six looks that will be created and shown on campus in the spring. This will be followed by a fashion show in New York City which will feature works selected by a jury in Syracuse.

Jeffrey Mayer, program coordinator for fashion design in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) at SU says, "We are fortunate to have such a successful alumna as Stephanie return to campus to share her expertise and insights with our students.  This is an invaluable opportunity for them meet one-on-one with a leader in the retail and fashion industry and gain knowledge that they can apply in their future careers.

In addition to her individual mentoring, Solomon will be speaking to fashion, retail and journalism students about her career during a scheduled 2:00 P.M. lecture in The Warehouse Auditorium on Tuesday, January 26. The fashion design program is located on the seventh floor of The Warehouse, SU's recently renovated facility in downtown Syracuse, which is home to all design programs in VPA's School of Art and Design. The fashion design floor includes state-of-the-art design areas for all level of fashion students as well as a historic costume storage area and an exhibition area. For Solomon's visit, the display window on the street level of The Warehouse's West Fayette Street side will feature some of the season's hottest looks the fashion director presented to The New York Times in a December 6, 2009 article.

The lecture and visit by Solomon, who is responsible for finding the most exciting, fashion forward merchandise for Bloomingdale's stores nationwide, is the first in the VPA's School of Art and Design Fashion Design Lecture Series. Speakers to follow include Thai Nguyen, a current star of the Bravo reality series Launch my Line, who will be speaking and working with the students in February. Designer Mary McFadden will visit in March, while Henry Grethel and Richard Eisenberg will discuss menswear in April.

Solomon joined Bloomingdale's as a Fashion Coordinator in 1984. She started in Women's RTW, and then moved on to cover the Women's Fashion Accessories markets. She reported directly to the renowned Kalman Ruttenstein who was her mentor and tutor for 23 years. Solomon's job includes covering the twice yearly women's fashion collection showings in New York, Milan and Paris.

Focused on design and creative development, VPA's fashion design program offers an intellectually stimulating environment with a global perspective. This, coupled with practical and theoretical skills, technology and the study of the cultural context in which fashion exists, provides a broad-based education in fashion.  In addition to Solomon, notable alumni from SU and the fashion design program include Henry Grethel, Betsey Johnson, Donald Brooks, Tom and Linda Platt, Lisa Kline and Danna Weiss.

VPA is committed to the education of cultural leaders who will engage and inspire audiences through performance, visual art, design, scholarship and commentary. The college provides the tools for self-discovery and risk-taking in an environment that thrives on critical thought and action. Learn more at http://vpa.syr.edu.