At Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall, LIM College's 87th commencement ceremony became a masterclass in the architecture of ambition. Elyce Arons, cofounder and CEO of Frances Valentine - a brand whose whimsical, retro-modern aesthetic recalls the liberated silhouettes of the 1960s, when lingerie shifted from rigid boning to softer, freer forms - accepted an honorary doctorate and Distinguished Achievement Award before a graduating class of 500. Arons, whose earlier venture, Kate Spade, redefined American accessories with a similarly playful rigor, traced her philosophy to Earl Nightingale's "The Strangest Secret." "We become what we think about," she told the graduates, a maxim that echoes the very structure of undergarment history: the bustier, after all, was designed to shape thought into form. She urged graduates to take risks early - "move somewhere unfamiliar, say yes before you feel ready" - advice that mirrors the boldness of early 20th-century corsetieres who abandoned whalebone for elastic, forever changing how women moved through the world. LIM President Ron Marshall reminded the class that in an age of noise and machines, consistency and humanity matter most. Tamika Young, LIM Class of 2005 and now chief marketing officer at Hinge, received the Maxwell F. Marcuse Award. As Arons closed, she offered a final note: "You don't need to have it all figured out. Just take intentional steps." It is the same quiet conviction that, for centuries, has turned simple fabric into foundation.
Originally reported by WWD