Fashion Design Management (FDM)

This course introduces designers to the complexities of the design development calendar within a global corporate structure. Students will go through the entire design development timeline linking design/merchandising/prototype development and brand positioning processes within an overseas sourcing structure. The process will begin with an understanding of historical data and how it informs design choices. Overview of creative teams and understanding the interaction between design, merchandising, production, sales and marketing. Students will learn how design decisions impact time lines throughout the organization building toward industry wide product launch dates.

This course gives students an overview of how to incorporate both Social Media Metrics and Data Analytics strategically into the design development process. Student teams will research digital branded leaders who are most effectively leveraging social quantitative methods to gain data driven insight into consumer trends and in turn, product development. Overview of both Google Analytics and facebook public platforms will identify key algorithms used in the Fashion Industry. Student designers will develop strategies to grow and impact future collections through strategic analysis, thoughtful content development and focused product positioning.

This course will be a simulation of the complete research and design development cycle beginning with a specific design brief and designing into a targeted existing brand aesthetic. Designers will be introduced to the broad range of parameters influencing branded product offerings. They will be challenged to create within market constraints including; targeted channels of distribution, season, sku plan, delivery, targeted wholesale/cost of goods/margins, raw material sourcing and competitive landscape.

The critical relationship between design/merchandising/marketing will be explored in this course with a focus on benchmarking today's global fashion leaders. The course will integrate the distinct roles of the designer, the merchandiser and the marketing team, identifying how they are strategically intertwined. Students will move beyond product design and development by creating a design/merchandising strategy for the branding aspects of a collection including: brand name, logo, labelling, packaging, hangtags, signage and web home page layout. Approaching the collection in a broader sense, in the role of the Creative Director, students will focus on communicating a well-articulated, focused and cohesive branded message across all assets.

In this course, students will learn and apply the key steps in designing an industry-ready materials presentation and concept encompassing: color palette, fabric qualities, trim, hardware, surface interest, print/pattern and design concept as the starting point for a collection. Students will learn first-hand from industry experts and onsite visits the strategic design and approval processes used in color palette development, fabric and trim development and print/pattern design and development. Students will design an industry ready fabric/trim/color/hardware concept for their portfolios as the springboard to collection development. Processes covered will include Pantone palette development and analysis, trim and hardware sourcing, CAD print design, yarn dye stripe/plaid development and knit pattern design and development.

This course gives students an overview of strategic design and merchandising processes. The students will use the unique approach of "reverse merchandising" to identify the key steps in the design development process. Step One will be to dissect a recent collection from an established luxury brand. In their collection synopsis students will learn the fundamentals of creating detailed line sheets, sku plans, fabrication plans, design concepts and targeted classification plans. They will do a deep dive into brand identifiers and then identify a white space representing growth opportunities within the existing collection. From that base they will design and merchandise into the targeted white space. Students will develop the skills to design into an established brand using a highly methodical and quantitative process aimed at the international luxury market.

3D Virtual Fashion Design Essentials will enable students to understand the basic requirements needed to be successful utilizing industry-adopted 3D applications through hands on experience. Building on their pattern development knowledge and technical skills in 2D, students will learn to build an entire 3D collection from simple silhouettes to complicated designs utilizing fabric, fit, patterns, colors, and textures. Students will learn successful communication of quality assurance to vendors and manufacturing personnel worldwide.

Students in the Diversity in Design course will examine and study the market in design inclusivity. As a part of the research, students will frame the question and engage with focus groups to identify areas of need in underserved populations. Students will utilize their findings to develop a fashion design product that solves a need in the inclusivity market. During the final presentation, students will present the products to the focus groups, potential investors and industry professionals