Program offers fashion design opportunities
The Apparel and Textiles major at Utah State University has a lot to offer both students and the future of fashion.
About 60 students enrolled in the program are studying everything from merchandising, marketing, production and design of apparel and textiles for domestic and international marketplaces.
In the major, students get a good broad background in the apparel and textile industry, said Michelle Hartzell-Lawson, assistant professor.
The program stresses how fashions begin and are developed, the psychology behind fashion and how to market fashions to businesses, Hartzell-Lawson said.
Some of the psychology behind fashion can be recognized through colors.
If you wear black, you are either said to be depressed or an artist expressing creativity, Hartzell-Lawson said.
All students in the program are required to do an internship, Hartzell-Lawson said.
The students have also been involved in a number of fund raisers,said Janet Anderson, associate professor.
Every other week, about 50 to 60 students meet for the Fashion Association, a club run by the students.
To participate in the club, the student does not have to be a part of the Apparel and Textile major, Anderson said.
The club focuses on a variety of activities.
Speakers come from various local businesses, like Wal-Mart and the Sock Outlet, Anderson said.
Aside from the Fashion Association, the students’ greatest exposure comes in March during Family Life Week.
A yearly fashion show takes place both at 12 p.m., for all the students to attend, and in the evening, for anyone else who would like to attend, Anderson said.
Students will have fund-raising opportunities for the fashion show.
The models for the event are selected through trial. All sizes and shapes are accepted, Hartzell-Lawson said.
The Apparel and Textile program has existed in many different formats. It started out in the Home Economics department, Hartzell-Lawson said.
For graduates, the first jobs came from retail, which was one of the first major professions to come out of the program, Anderson said.
Students in the major often have a minor in marketing, which will involve taking classes like marketing research, promotion management, management research, promotion management, management and human resources.
Students in the field of fashion design and/or marketing have a wide range of career opportunities to choose from, including buyers or fashion designers.
Of the total enrollment, about 17 to 18 students graduate in the program each year, Hartzell-Lawson said.
“It leads to so many possibilities. We’ve had students as representatives for Calvin Klein jeans and Liz Claiborne,” Anderson said.
This means travel and fun for students as they organize displays the way the company wants.
Traveling has also included tours to New York City for fashion shows by designers like Ralph Lauren.
The faculty and some of the apparel students just returned yesterday from a trip to Las Vegas for the Magic 2001 apparel and trade show.
The show showcases the latest trends and can help give the students ideas to bring back to USU.
With internships, club activities and a variety of classes, the Apparel and Textiles program provides for students looking for a future in the fashion design and marketing industry.
As for fashions today, it’s lots of metallic and glitz, long coats with short skirts, reptile, leather, fur and more fur, both Anderson and Hartzell-Lawson said.