The Kent State’s New York City studio provides fashion students with a study away experience in the heart of the nation’s fashion capital.

Kent State is expanding the New York City studio’s campus for the first time since it’s opening in 2006.

Professor and associate director of The Fashion School Kim Hahn said the studio is expanding to the third floor of its current building.

“Our studio is located in the fourth floor of the building and we are expanding to the third floor,” she said.

Hahn said the expansion will allow for another lecture hall, which means the studio will be able to support more courses for more students.

“We will update and expand our facilities in NYC to add another 1,500-square-foot lecture hall,” she said. “This will allow us to better support the program’s growth, including the creation of course options for senior fashion merchandising and design students in addition to our current offerings focused on the junior-year curriculum. This expansion will allow support for more students to experience New York City, which is valuable for developing fashion students to experience.”

The studio has been seeking to grow its program for years.

Director of the New York City studio Young Kim Thanos said she has been assessing and planning the expansion for a number of years.

“Expanding the New York City studio program has always been a part of The Fashion School’s strategic planning,” Thanos said. “I’ve been conducting needs assessments for several years now.”

Not only will this expansion benefit the fashion design and merchandising program, but also other programs in the College of the Arts.

Hahn said this addition to the studio will allow them to collaborate with different programs at Kent State.

“We look forward to having more collaboration with other programs in the College of the Arts, such as theater, dance and music; to be part of the Study Away New York City program with us,” Hahn said.

Thanos said along with renovating the newly acquired third floor, the school plans to renovate their current studio space as well.

“We are not only adding another classroom, but also planning a major renovation of the existing facility,” Thanos said.

While the the addition has been approved, the studio is still working out details such as price and time of completion.

Thanos said that because the renovation is still being thought out, they have yet to determine the overall cost.

“We don’t have the figures yet as we are still in the planning stages,” Thanos said.

Hahn said although there is not a set date for when the expansion will be completed, they are hoping to have new faculty members in and working by fall of this year.

“The date for the completion of the expansion has not been determined yet,” Hahn said. “The renovation will be begin as soon as possible, with the expansion being approved in the last few weeks. We are currently searching for a new non-tenure track faculty member to be based at the New York City studio beginning in fall 2018.”

Abigail Miller is the fashion reporter. Contact her at [email protected].