Months before the media frenzy surrounding actress Sarah Jessica Parker's new clothing line, four alumnae from the Department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design were working diligently in a studio in Port Washington, N.Y., to build the collection from the ground up.

Tiffany Todo '06, Susan Dauber '06 and Juliana Eisner '05 work as designers, and Jessy Curro '05 is a merchandise manager at Steve & Barry's, the clothing retailer that launched the line, called BITTEN, last summer. Since then, the media, from The New York Times to Vogue magazine and the Oprah Winfrey Show, have featured their work.

Credit: Provided

Each of the alums credits their experiences at the College of Human Ecology for paving the way to success in their first jobs.

"Everything from fiber science to production and merchandising case studies has really served me well," said Curro, who is responsible for choosing all the styles and colors in the assortment, managing sales and inventory, and deciding how to display the clothing line in stores. "I'm constantly looking back to my notes, books and projects from college to make decisions."

Dauber, Eisner and Todo are responsible for sketching the designs, developing print and yard dyes, then helping to choose the fabric and trim details for the clothing.

At the outset of the BITTEN project, the three women were key members of the design team, working under a creative director and women's design director. Beginning on the ground floor of the project provided a rare experience in a first job in the fashion industry – and one that also came with some late nights at work.

"Those nights seemed eerily familiar to all of the late nights in the sewing and CAD [computer-aided design] labs in Martha Van, where we had spent so much quality time together," Eisner said. "Our time at Cornell helped us develop the discipline we needed to complete a high-profile project with an incredibly tight deadline."

The concept of BITTEN is fashion for the people. There's everything from T-shirts and denim to suits and cocktail dresses. All items retail for under $20 and are available in sizes 0-22.

That business model – providing a wide range of trendy styles at extremely affordable prices – is what first attracted Curro to Steve & Barry's. (She was hired before Sarah Jessica Parker agreed to do the clothing line.)

Dauber also liked the idea of working in the mass market because she wanted to create clothing for people she could relate to.

"It's really exciting to walk down the street and see people wearing something you designed," she said. "I'll walk past a girl, and think, 'Oh my gosh, she's wearing my stuff.'"

Following the success of BITTEN, all four women have expanded their work to other projects. There's a new clothing line by actress Amanda Bynes and an activewear collection for professional tennis star Venus Williams, which includes the clothing she wears on the court.

For all of them, working at Steve & Barry's has been as close as you could come to a fairytale experience for a first job.

"I worked very hard at Cornell, and working on these lines gives me the feeling that all of my work had paid off," Dauber said.

Sheri Hall is the assistant director of communications at the College of Human Ecology.