Fashion gurus at large

Fierce. That’s the new buzz word heard on runways around the country; the adjective designers and models struggle to become. The cutthroat world of fashion has taken daily entertainment by storm, flooding TV sets with shows like “America’s Next Top Model” and “Project Runway,” with plenty more in the works. But these shows never focus on where the designers learned their craft.

IU alumna Bailey Redick graduated in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in apparel merchandising, fashion design and an associate’s degree in costume design. Pre-graduation preparation and a previous internship with MotionWear landed her a position with the dance-clothing company in Indianapolis.

“This job is the best job that I could have asked for out of school, point blank,” she said. “It’s very stressful and I work a lot of hours but it’s very rewarding and I get to see the results of my work. I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity.”

MotionWear designs activewear clothing for young girls in dance and gymnastics, which really appealed to Redick, who wanted to work in the women’s or children’s industry.

“I tend to lean toward designs that are youthful, fun, lots of color,” she said.
Redick first started sewing in second grade, and experimented with clothing and designs throughout her teens.

“I was the most fashionable girl in school just because I wore my own clothes,” she laughed.

IU junior Lauren Stookal is getting an early start in the fashion business. Stookal landed an internship with Christian Louboutin in New York when she came across the opportunity on Seventeen magazine’s Web site. She thinks the fashion industry is a tough place for the both the business end of fashion and the designing process.

“It’s pretty competitive, especially in New York because there are so many designers and so many companies,” Stookal said. “19,000 people saw this internship.”

Christian Louboutin specializes in luxury women’s shoes and handbags that are sold at stores like Barneys and Neiman Marcus. Stookal’s job focuses on assisting with events like market week, where buyers came to look at new products.

Although she had no trouble getting her foot in the fashion door, Redick said she knows fellow grads who didn’t find a job for over six months. She said this was because they didn’t start interviewing during school. She also thinks it’s more competitive for designers than it is for students pursuing a career in buying or planning.

“It is harder for apparel design, kind of looking at the big picture. There are all these schools pumping out all these design students, but are they all getting jobs?” Redick asked. “You kind of have to … know what you want and you have to know way before you graduate.”

While Redick is on the design side of fashion, Stookal is planning to take on a career in buying. The apparel merchandising major is a business minor, which is helpful when it comes to the buying and planning aspects of the industry. She hopes to intern at a company like Bloomingdale’s next summer.

“I got to see how the buyers and designers interact, which is really interesting,” she said about her internship.

Internships are the most prominent method of getting experience in the industry, but there are some other options available on campus. Stookal was the marketing assistant for the IU student Retail Studies Organization last year, and Redick ran the newsletter while she was in school.

She said the organization allows for a great connection on campus to the outside fashion world because of the speakers that come to IU, such as the CEO of Sears.
The organization is run by some of the professors in the Department of Apparel Merchandising & Interior Design, so fashion students in the organization can make a personal connection with them.

“If you’re really active and you’re really involved, it shows your professors that you really want to be involved and learn more and immerse yourself in educational programs that IU has to offer,” Redick said.

IU senior Jackie Daniel is a perfect example of how helpful IU networking can be. Daniel is the president of the Retail Studies Organization for the upcoming year, but received an internship through her job as the organization’s career seminar assistant. The apparel merchandising major is working with Kohl’s for the summer in the buying office.

“Currently, we are working on spring ’09 lines,” Daniel said. “Designers in New York come and when we purchase from them, we tell them exactly what we want.”

Daniel also acts as a sort of test group for the company, giving them her opinions on new lines and designs.

“I let them know my ideas, because I am their target market,” she said. “They need fresh ideas coming from someone who hasn’t looked at this line forever.”

Daniel said her education at IU is superior to the programs at other schools, and the Retail Studies Organization’s career seminar is a major help as well.

“I’m well above the mindset of all the other students that are in the same position that I’m in,” she said. “You don’t get that kind of exposure in other schools. IU focuses on that those recruiters need to be here because this is where the retail industry is going.”

Other programs are also available on a more general scale to help students make connections with national and international companies. Students in Free Enterprise is a national nonprofit organization that has groups on universities across the country, including here at IU.

“It’s up to teams to design their own projects that they do,” Bill Six with Enterprise’s national headquarters said. “When students join SIFE, they are in our network, and our network consists of students and faculty and leading businesses around the world that support our endeavors. When they’re connected to SIFE, they’re connected to these businesses.”

Students in Free Enterprise, started in the 1970s in Texas, is involved in 47 different countries and has teams on over 1,500 campuses nationwide. The total number of students involved with the program tops 38,000.

“Because of the culture at the time, they were just trying to promote how business is a good thing,” Six said about the company’s start-up. “We promote how business can do good things by doing good for others.”

With thousands of students graduating in the field of apparel design every year, Redick agrees you have to be top-notch in order to face the industry heads.

“They will really rip you apart,” she said. “Anything in your portfolio that has your name on it that doesn’t look absolutely professional will not be looked upon nicely.”

Summer fashion must-haves:
Lauren Stookal's summer must-have is a belted summer dress, because she said it's comfortable for the hot New York City weather. "I see a lot of mod prints and vintage bags in the city as well," she said. "I just bought a vintage quilted Chanel bag at one of the many vintage stores." Bright colors and Ombre-faded fabric is also big in the Big Apple, she said.

Jackie Daniel said that, for her, this summer's essentials are glittery or jewel-encrusted tanks, skirts, flip-flops, head bands and jewelry from such stores as Old Navy or Forever21. Racerback shirts, crochet tops, maxi dresses and gladiator sandals are also in style right now, she said.