Lauren Zodel is a Fashion Design Assistant Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Trained as a childrenswear designer, she spent her career in the industry designing and directing kids’ fashion collections for companies such as DKNY, Gap, and Calvin Klein.
She has operated her own business that focused on sparking creativity and teaching the design process to children. During her tenure at FIT, she has written curriculum, including an Interdisciplinary course alongside faculty from the entrepreneurship department to facilitate innovative design and business concepts.
She also has served on the strategic planning committee and worked on industry-initiated projects at FIT, including a project with Montefiore Hospital that helped save babies’ lives and resulted in Lauren becoming a named inventor on a patent. She designed a garment that protects babies from injury if their mothers fall asleep while breastfeeding them. Sharing her passion for childrenswear and her love of designing and children with the next generation of designers is extremely rewarding. In addition to being an accomplished designer, teacher, and entrepreneur, Lauren is an avid photographer and enjoys making Halloween costumes for her favorite models, her chihuahuas, Frankie and Willow.
