Tessa Saccone

“Tessa Saccone is a 28 year old native New Yorker from Long Island, who’s journey into the Fashion Industry began way before her current 6 years of professional experience. As a child, Tessa was always drawn to create art and was lucky enough to attend Saturday morning classes at the local High School. When it came time for her to attend High School for herself she was faced with the difficult choice of which art class to take, since there were many tempting options including pottery, fine art, sculpting and more. But after attending a presentation by the Fashion department she was blown away by the beauty and ingenuity of design. From that moment on, becoming a designer was all Tessa could dream of.
She spent all 4 years of her High School experience in the Fashion Art room preparing her portfolio and taking Fashion Merchandising classes. She spent her Saturday’s at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC racking up as many weekend class certificates as they would offer. After successfully completing her High School portfolio, there was only one college that Tessa applied for. She was accepted into the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Women’s Sportswear Associate Degree program and began to sharpen her skills in pattern making, draping, sketching, sewing and fabric identification.
After 2 years in the Associate Degree program, Tessa was faced with another hard decision; which area of study to choose for her Bachelor’s Degree. The answer quickly revealed itself, and she realized that Intimate Apparel was where her passion truly lied. The beautifully delicate pieces of lace that women wore most closely to their hearts evoked a feeling of responsibilty that would inspire her down a path to create solutions for women that made them feel beautiful and supported. Tessa was quickly accepted into the exclusive Intimate Apparel Bachelor’s Degree program at the Fashion Institute of Technology where she finished up her final 2 years of school.
During her final year, she took part in the rigorous Femmy Awards Competition along with 13 other Intimate Apparel students. They were given less than 3 months to create a custom, hand made work of art inspired by a midnight garden. Using the last of her savings to purchase the fabrics and trims needed to bring her vision to life, Tessa knew that her only option was to place in the top 3 in order to win enough money to complete her senior portfolio and graduate on time. But it was a gamble that paid off. After making it through the first and second elimination rounds, she finally made it into the top 6 students that were chosen to show their work at the Femmy Awards Galla, hosted at the Cipriani in Manhattan. With her heart in her hands she laced her bustier onto the mannequin and prepared for the night. After hours of interviews and exchanging business cards with some of the best in the business, Tessa was awarded 2nd place! Her victory granted her enough funds to complete her senior year at FIT and a photoshoot which granted her ensemble a full page feature in Intima magazine.
After this successful debut into the professional world of Intimate Apparel, Tessa finished up her senior year and quickly began interviewing. She was fortunate enough to be hired by Don Allen at PVH and work her first 5 years in the industry for the historic Warner’s and Olga brands. Under his careful tutelage Tessa refined her skills and developed into a professional designer with knowledge in both Technical and Creative designing. These combined skills set her apart from the pack with an ability to think both conceptually and practically. Now Tessa is looking for her next big opportunity and excited to take the next step in her career; please reach out and share your vision to see what beautiful creations collaboration can bring.”