On Monday, students in Mr. Weinberg and Mr. Watson's Math classes welcomed James Lin, a clothing manufacturer from New York City, for a guest session connected to their PBL project on the clothing manufacturing industry.
James introduced students to the many steps involved in developing a clothing business, including material sourcing, manufacturing costs, printing, marketing, and business models. This is drawn on his experience working with Qore, a Brooklyn-based women's clothing brand.

Students learned that a successful brand begins by identifying a problem and creating a meaningful solution. Qore was founded in response to the lack of representation for women and the limited range of basic clothing designs. Through its products and brand identity, Qore presents women as mavericks and leaders.

James also shared how brands communicate their ideas through videos, music, pop-up stores, and collaborations with celebrities. These examples helped students understand how marketing can connect a product with its audience and strengthen a brand’s message.

Students got insights from an experienced clothing manufacturer and began connecting mathematical thinking with practical business decisions. They will now apply what they learned as they develop their own clothing business models and turn their PBL ideas into practical proposals. 

上週一，Mr. Weinberg 與 Mr. Watson 的數學課迎來 guest speaker James Lin。來自紐約市的服裝製造商 James，配合學生正在進行的服裝製造產業 PBL 專題，帶大家一窺服裝品牌從構想到市場的完整歷程。
James 以自身與布魯克林女性服裝品牌 Qore 合作的經驗為例，拆解經營服裝事業需要考量的各個環節，包括材料採購、製造成本，到印刷、行銷與商業模式。

James 指出，一個成功的品牌，往往從發現問題開始，並針對問題提出真正有意義的解方。Qore 的成立初衷正是回應女性在服裝領域缺乏代表性，以及基本款服裝選擇有限的現況。從產品設計到品牌形象，Qore 將女性描繪成勇於突破框架的行動者與領導者，形塑鮮明而獨特的品牌定位。

除了產品本身，品牌又如何讓人記住自己的理念？James 分享了影片、音樂、快閃店，以及與名人合作等不同方式，說明品牌如何透過行銷與受眾建立連結，讓產品不只是商品，也成為傳遞品牌訊息與價值的媒介。
這場分享讓學生從實務工作者的經驗中認識服裝產業，也反過來思考如何與連結數學與商業決策。他們接下來要做的就是將所見所學帶回自己的 PBL 專題，發展服裝事業模型，並進一步將創意化為具體可行的提案。