Case Study: Bringing New Function to Fashion
Abstract
Portland Fashion Institute was founded in 2010. Since then, more than 7,000 individuals have studied at the school, with nearly 900 students currently enrolled in their programs. Early in 2023, they reached out to Brightstone to help solve campus-wide issues with their wireless internet connection. Since then, our work has expanded to support additional operational IT needs, including building a reliable remote learning infrastructure.
We began our work by first understanding what PFI had in place, then looking for ways to optimize things in respect to the school’s goals. Once our work unfolded, we continued to address the present, while also considering future needs and opportunities.
The Story
Organizational inertia can rob time, drain resources, and stifle the ability to innovate. For Portland Fashion Institute, getting past the blockers that were keeping them stuck started with improving their on-campus wireless connection.
Having a consistent internet connections might seem ubiquitous in a place like Portland, Oregon, the city at the heart of the Silicon Rainforest. However, getting online was becoming a struggle for students, faculty, and administrators at Portland Fashion Institute, Oregon’s only accredited fashion design school.
“For some time, we had been working with a few other service providers to solve our connection needs,” says the school’s director, Sharon Blair. “One company was simply too big, and didn’t have time for us. We were lost in their queue for days at a time. Another provider was too small. Every patchwork solution created a new problem. Once we found Brightstone, we finally connected with a tech firm that could take care of us.”
“We’re a school with IT needs. Most schools have IT needs.. Until we found Brightstone, we’d been historically underwhelmed by the technology support we received.”
Sharon Blair, Director, Portland Fashion Institute
As we came to know Portland Fashion Institute, it became clear that while their story began with needing a better internet connection, there was much more to it.
Like all-things tech, the internet is a tool that builds connections, fosters collaboration, and extends reach. Having better on-campus internet is an obvious need for any school. In the case of Portland Fashion Institute, the reasons were all about giving teachers and students new opportunities.
“Not all tech companies know or understand internet technology, or the infrastructure you need to make things happen,” says Blair. “Worse than that, these companies don’t always know how to talk with people, to explain what’s happening, or to help them get a sense of what could happen.”
“Brightstone makes things so easy to understand, we started wondering why none of the other tech firms were able or interested in doing the same.”
Beyond the obvious reasons for better and more secure internet, Sharon shared some of the ways that PFI’s students were using the internet and social media in real-time, as part of their projects.
“Just think of the way the world is going in terms of digital, AI, interconnectedness, you name it,” Blair says. “Now, factor in the supply chain, overseas productions, textile imports and exports and the like. There’s a waiting game for fabric, and there’s also the carbon costs involved in shipping, receiving, and fulfillment.”
In an effort to be greener, and to receive instant feedback from followers and fans, many PFI students have adopted digital fashion design techniques from the world of gaming, specifically through the use of 3D skins.
“In gaming, skins are virtual items a player accumulates inside of the game,” Sharon says. “Some skins in a game create advantages, but most are just cosmetic ways to dress up your character.”
Many PFI students are using three-dimensional skins to create and iterate on their designs. In the process, they’re building audiences, creating personal brands, and getting people excited about their work.
“This puts them on the fast-track toward building their own direct-to-consumer businesses and experiences. Now, just imagine our students trying to do this without having a strong, reliable internet connection. We’d be leaving them behind.”
Giving on-campus students new ways to iterate and innovate has been a boon for Portland Fashion Institute. At the same time, their updated tech and internet infrastructure is also helping the school expand their campus via a growing list of virtual classes.
As with institutions throughout the world, PFI switched to remote learning during the Covid pandemic. With Covid restrictions lifted, and students back on campus, Sharon has been delighted to see that interest in remote learning opportunities continues to grow.
“More than ever, we need to consider what it means to study, learn, and work remotely,” Sharon says. “The technology needs to be in place so remote learners can have meaningful conversations and collaborations with their on-campus cohorts, and with their professors.”
“To be online and engage in real-time communication is critical. For our school, it’s shocking and delightful to see that we’re attracting students from across the state Oregon and across the nation. They’re attracted to what’s going on here, and we have to meet them where they’re at.”
To make it easier to say yes to students and faculty that want to study and work remotely, PFI has doubled down on their online infrastructure. To help fulfill this demand, and create a more seamless learning experience, Brightstone has been working with the school to update and build out an on-campus hybrid learning environment.
“Having a hybrid learning environment, with the right cameras, screens, microphones, and Zoom experience, makes it much easier to engage with remote students and faculty. There’s talent and desire everywhere. When people can’t physically come to Portland to study or contribute, we still want to say yes to them. Brightstone has given us new ways to say yes!”
For Portland Fashion Institute, the future involves stepping up and into the next evolution of their school, without worrying about the hassle and the drag of being stuck behind the technology wall.
“Brightstone has been an absolute backbone for us,” Blair says. “In my book, if your organization has a physical location, you need a few essentials: heat, lights, water, and Brightstone for all things connected. And, if your organization is decentralized, fragmented, or virtual in any way, you especially need Brightstone.”