Exploring the Fashion Business and NYC: Stoll

Fashion Center

       I started my NYC fun at Stoll, a knitting company right in the garment district. I loved this company because it seemed to handle pretty much every aspect of the knitting business. When you walk in you see a lobby/showroom where you can see everything from the knitting machines to clothes. On your left as you walk through the door you can see some of the company’s knitting machines through a glass window, which was expected because after all Stoll’s main priority is to sell knitting machines. As you continue to walk through you are greeted by a pretty cool and pretty large knitting machine, where we are told that various types of knitting are able to be made. If you walk past the knitting machine you can see Stoll’s sample line, this line of clothing is meant to serve as an example of trends and all that you can do with knits. Each garment was very well made and very soft, and just all around beautiful; if I could of purchased something I definitely would have. On each garment there was also a tag that told you how much time it took to knit the entire garment and to my surprise the dress that I liked most because of its cool details only took nine minutes, which was the shortest time I saw on all the garments in the showroom.
After we walked through the showroom we were taken downstairs where there was a classroom, a sample library, and a production room. In the production room we got to watch a Stoll employee do a little knitting on this extremely fast machine, which was interesting to see because I have tried to use the knitting machines we have at school and it was not easy. I just remember thinking that to keep this large machine on track it must take a lot of hard work, because I know firsthand that losing a stitch while your knitting can really mess you up. After we watched the knitting demonstration our tour guide explained to us why they have a classroom; students come for a two day boot camp on how to knit, these students are either fashion students, industry professionals looking to sharpen their skills, or just people who enjoy knitting. After that we were given free rein in their sample library where we saw everything from fabric swatches to full garments. Then to end our trip we were shown a few of the pieces from Stoll’s modern nomad and unisex collections, and I loved every piece! We were shown sweaters that turned into vests and bags, as well as sweaters that could be made slender for a woman or wider for a man. All of the clothes were pretty cool and actually perfect for a college student because you could wear each item a different way and save money. As you can see Stoll is not just a knitting company but an entire manufacturing/branding machine. In one building there is an opportunity for you to learn how to knit, find out what the current trends are for knitwear, buy a knitting machine, and even have your sample garments made up for your next fashion show. I definitely know Stoll will be my first and only destination if I ever pick up knitting as a hobby.