Graduate Has a Leg up on his Future he Designed and Manufactured his Own Pants

ALBANY/COBLESKILL – A Cobleskill-Richmondville graduate with an eye on a fashionable future got a leg up on his plans during his final project at Capital Region BOCES.

Global Fashion program Class of 2025 graduate Bill Bittner designed, manufactured and wore a pair of pants to school as part of a final project in the program at the Career and Technical Education Center – Albany Campus.

“It feels great. It’s something I have always wanted to do,” said Bittner.

Bittner graduated from the two-year Global Fashion program on June 12 and will attend Herkimer College in the fall in pursuit of a degree in fashion merchandising.

Thanks to attending BOCES, he has already earned some college credits and is looking forward to his future.

“I think I know more than the average person starting college for fashion,” he said. “I have learned the business side of fashion, and I have learned how to sew, make patterns, how to operate a sewing machine and draw a croquet,” he said. 

Students in the two-year Global Fashion program at Capital Region BOCES study creative design and core business concepts and apply them to the world of fashion. They also learn about careers in fashion, merchandising, marketing, fashion drawing, textiles, how to use a sewing machine, foundation pattern making and sewing skills while taking part in work-based learning opportunities at area shopping malls to learn visual display and merchandising.

Bittner said the idea behind the pants he now wears was to develop a “baggy” style.

“I have always liked the look, and I like how they fit,” he said.

Asked what he would tell a student considering the Global Fashion program, Bittner was succinct.

“Do it. My class is a lot of fun, and I would definitely recommend this class to future kids trying to get into fashion,” he said.

For more on the Global Fashion program, go to https://www.capitalregionboces.org/career-technical-education/courses-programs/global-fashion-studies/