Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Celebrates Historic Opening of the Joyce F. Brown Academic Building

First new academic building in nearly 50 years stands as lasting tribute to a visionary leader

NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and a global leader in creative education, today announced the opening of the Joyce F. Brown Academic Building, named by a resolution unanimously passed by the FIT Board of Trustees in honor of the president's 27 years of service and transformative leadership. Located on West 28th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, the new building will be a destination to advance creativity, innovation, and opportunity while also providing students with the resources to excel in art and design, fashion, business, and technology.

"This building was designed to bring students, faculty, and the industry together," said President Joyce F. Brown. "It is a symbol of opportunity to transform lives, and the remarkable outcome of the partnership between the City and State to invest in public higher education. My hope is that future generations of leaders will use this space to foster a creative community and to explore, innovate, and make a lasting impact on the global economy and the world."

Designed by SHoP Architects, the 10-story, 100,000-plus-square-foot building brings Dr. Brown's vision to life. A striking glass façade creates a new kind of campus destination—one where the energy of FIT is visible to the outside, reflecting the college's vital role at the heart of the city's creative community. The project was funded by New York, New York City, and a distinguished roster of individual and corporate supporters, as part of a shared commitment to strengthening public higher education and supporting the next generation of talent for the fashion and creative industries.

The building's features include 26 energy-efficient classrooms and studios, administrative offices, and the largest campus knitting lab in the U.S. The space also houses FIT's first interior space designed specifically for interpersonal connection outside the classroom—a full-floor student commons under a 20-foot-high ceiling, accessible via an express escalator. FIT's commitment to environmental stewardship is reflected in the design and construction of the building, which is projected to attain LEED Gold certification.

"FIT's new Joyce F. Brown Academic Building cements its place at the crossroads of creativity, innovation, and opportunity," Governor Kathy Hochul said. "There's no more fitting place for this milestone than the fashion capital of the world—New York City—where top-tier talent and the global fashion industry merge to set trends, spark ideas, and build the future. This space will inspire the next generation of designers, artists, and entrepreneurs shaping what's next in fashion and design."

"New York City is the fashion capital of the world, and so it is fitting that the Fashion Institute of Technology is expanding even further to widen its footprint in the five boroughs," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "We are thrilled to celebrate with FIT as this world-class institution opens up its doors to its new academic building thanks to joint investments by the City, State, and our partners. We cannot wait to see how this facility will benefit the bright, creative minds that will come from it."

The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "We are pleased to extend our congratulations to President Brown and the entire SUNY FIT community on the opening of this new academic building, the first in nearly 50 years. The building will transform SUNY FIT's campus, supporting current students with flexible learning spaces to pursue their academic goals, and giving prospective students yet another reason to choose SUNY for their higher education."

SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. said , "The Fashion Institute of Technology is a gem within the SUNY system, focused on academic excellence through its innovative, dynamic, and inspiring programs. Having a state-of-the-art environment to learn and gather is an important part of ensuring student success, and I am thrilled students at SUNY FIT will be able to utilize the new classrooms, studios, and labs to advance their education." 

"Dr. Brown truly transformed FIT," said Robin Burns-McNeill, FIT Board of Trustees chair. "This new building will be a lasting tribute to her vision, dedication, and decades of leadership that have established FIT as a global leader in creative education."

"From the outset of the project, we wanted to highlight what was happening at FIT and make it visible for the first time to the broader fashion district," said Bill Sharples, a founding principal of SHoP Architects. "We're very proud to have had a hand in presenting the creative presence of FIT to the city."

The opening of the Joyce F. Brown Academic Building marks a major milestone in FIT's history and a celebration of Dr. Brown's transformative leadership. An embodiment of her vision, the building gives students and faculty access to the tools, resources, and collaborative spaces they need to thrive, thereby helping to shape the next generation of creative leaders who will define the future of their industries.

ABOUT FIT
A part of the State University of New York (SUNY), FIT has been a leader in career education in art, design, business, and technology throughout its history. Providing approximately 9,000 students with an uncommon blend of hands-on, practical experience, theory, and a firm grounding in the liberal arts, the college offers a wide range of affordable programs that foster innovation and collaboration. Its distinctive curriculum is geared to today's rapidly growing creative economy, including fields such as computer animation, toy design, production management, film and media, and cosmetics and fragrance marketing. Internationally renowned, FIT draws on its New York City location to provide a vibrant, creative community in which to learn. The college offers nearly 50 majors and grants AAS, BFA, BS, MA, MFA, and MPS degrees, preparing students for professional success and leadership in the new creative economy. Among notable alumni in fashion are Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Norma Kamali, Reem Acra, Brian Atwood, Stephen Burrows, Dennis Basso, Francisco Costa, Nanette Lepore, Bibhu Mohapatra, Ralph Rucci, John Bartlett, Peter Do, Daniel Roseberry, and Michelle Smith. Other prominent graduates include Leslie Blodgett, creator of bareMinerals; international restaurant designer Tony Chi; and Nina García, editor-in-chief of ELLE.

ABOUT SHOP
SHoP Architects is a New York-based global design leader, with iconic projects completed or underway across more than 100 million square feet on five continents. We work with the world's most important and innovative companies in a wide range of industries to create award-winning projects of international renown. Notable SHoP projects include Brooklyn's Barclays Center arena; the Collins Arch complex in Melbourne; the National Veterans Resource Center at Syracuse University; headquarters for Uber, YouTube, Atlassian and Volvo; and multiple diplomatic facilities from Tegucigalpa to Milan. The diverse, trendsetting and enduring work of the firm has been widely celebrated with a variety of honors, among them the Smithsonian Institution's National Design Award for Architecture and, in 2025, the AIA Medal of Honor. In 2021, SHoP became a 100-percent employee-owned company—furthering a commitment to a culture of innovation and the next-generation practice of architecture.

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Press Contacts:
Megan Trivelli, Sway Effect
[email protected]

Kristin Guiter, FIT Director of Communications
[email protected], (917) 635-1805

SOURCE Fashion Institute of Technology