Stoll

I was unaware of Stoll as a company but by the end of the tour I was so interested in the company and what they stand for. I truly learned so much during the entire tour. For example I learned the difference between full fashion, and cut and sew. As a company that produces samples for designers they had some really exquisite techniques that add such quality to a garment. Some of the techniques that they used were the knit in pockets and knit in buttonholes which can be described as instead of cutting a garment to make a buttonhole or pocket, it is knitted into the shape of the hole or garment so there is no wasting of fabric or cutting of the garment. I found it especially interesting when the tour guide started explaining each garment that was on the mannequin and how long each took. In particular I enjoyed the fringe sweater that was near the front window. The techniques that were used seemed so intricate and made me want to try and make such a piece myself, or at least watch it be made. The fringe sweater took 138 minutes to produce, and the company itself charges their customers $125 an hour and $1 a minute. I am very interested in companies that make their clothing in the US and even though stoll could not produce at such a high capacity, I think it is something worth looking into. Garment's aren't made in the US because it is too expensive, but it could be done. Another technique that I enjoyed was the tube knit and wear, even though it is the most expensive it saves the most time and fabric which is huge in the fashion industry. The tour guide was so insightful and taught some really great concepts that as a Merchandiser I am unaware of. I am now so interested in knitting and weaving and creating my own fabrics, we have classes at kent and even have our own looms, I would love to utilize that and learn as much as I can. Toward the end of our tour, we were shown the Stoll Archives, the knits were so amazing and all of the prints were so inspiring. I know the design students got a lot of great inspiration for their projects from all the crazy knits. Especially the ones that she showed us that were versatile and could change into a bag, mens sweater and a women's sweater. It was frustrating to me that they are so talented and yet they don't launch their own line, I saw so many great pieces that I could see on the streets or runway and I hope that one day the fashion industry starts using techniques that may be more expensive but more resourceful, and maybe even designers having all of their product made in the US. I thoroughly enjoyed this tour, and hope to keep learning more and discovering more places like Stoll in NYC.