Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Position, Organization: Associate Designer, Mossimo Supply Co., RTW, Target Corporation
Major/Graduation: Apparel and Textile Design, 2014
Current Role/Responsibilities: I am an associate designer in product design and development on the ready-to-wear (RTW) Mossimo Supply Co. team. As an associate designer, I concept trends and mood inspiration, create color palettes, and sketch and develop apparel ideas each season for our Target customer. I work closely with my concept design manager and each season we create our brand showroom, which displays our future trends and apparel ideas. I also work closely with the lead core apparel designer and research, develop, and sketch new ideas for core apparel each season.
Being an ATD major taught me to think really big and outside of the box.
How your major prepared you for success? Being an ATD major taught me to think really big and outside of the box. Learning how to conceptually design clothing allowed me to learn how to be creative with fashion and take risks. Having a variety of creative classes between fine arts and apparel and textile design allowed me to create a unique portfolio of work that I am proud of. Having such an artistic and conceptual ATD background really helps when I am working on trends, color, and inspiration.
Advice to Spartans interested in following your footsteps? Networking is so critical! The fashion industry can be hard to break into, but having connections with alumni, fellow students, or other connections through MSU is so helpful when looking for a job; therefore, take advantage of the resources that MSU has to offer. I got both of my internships and full-time job through the career center at MSU.
What should current students take advantage of while at MSU? Getting involved in clubs in your major is a great way to learn leadership skills, meet people, and network. As a former president of the Fashion Design Student Association (FDSA), I met so many people who I still connect with in the industry and learned many leadership skills that I currently use in my job today.
