We’re All Interwoven
He’s now been at FIT for 23 years, working his way up from communications specialist to chief storyteller. Over that time, he’s come to understand the complexities of the industry.
“When you buy a piece of clothing, you are connected to so many people, whether you understand those relationships or not,” says Joseph.“You’re connected to the person who designed it, the person who made it, the people who shipped it. You’re connected to the materials and the green issues that your garment raises.”
Joseph developed such an interest in fashion, he earned a master’s at FIT in fashion and textile studies, after earning a bachelor’s in English at Swarthmore and an MFA in fiction at Sarah Lawrence College.
In 2007, he became managing editor of FIT’s magazine, Hue. With Hue’s editorial team, he brought the magazine from black and white to full color, and decided to make it less text-heavy. Since the magazine relaunched with its new design, it has won awards from PRINT magazine, the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations, and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.“We got a little more leeway to do what we wanted to do,” says Joseph.
The cover of the Pride 2023 issue, on the theme of gender in fashion, features a twist on the ubiquitous male and female bathroom signs: The figure in a dress sports a handlebar mustache and the one without a dress rocks spiky red heels.
While the cover sparked backlash on social media, the stories inside celebrate gender diversity and showcased the ways FIT students are playing with gender in their everyday fashion.
“The people around the campus were really into it,” says Joseph. “The admissions department really supported us. The diversity office sent us this note saying, ‘Thank you for doing this.’ So I think it ended up being good for the college.”
Joseph’s role keeps expanding, and now includes video projects, live events, and exhibitions as well as the magazine.
“I’m very inspired by this student body,” he says. “Alumni and faculty, too. There’s never an end to what we could do. It’s just a really, very powerful, beautiful community of people.”
Joseph is currently working on a novel about the fashion industry.