Tr'Eynae Riley

Kent State Fashion Merch. Blogger

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The Day at PRADA & Our Trip to TexWorld

Ahhhh my last blog of the semester… This week we were originally supposed to be going to Bergdorf Goodman, but unfortunately they didn’t open until 11am. Luckily, our Professor was resourceful, and got us an exclusive tour at the Prada flag ship on 5th ave. The person in charge of the store gave us a very detailed tour about their, the set up, details about the products and the company. He also gave us an in-site about his background in the fashion industry. He worked for Versace in the 1990’s but soon left after the death of Giovanni Versace. He preferred to work for a family operated company rather than a corporate company. I related to him when he said “ they micromanage your work and everything you do”.

The next studio trip we took was to a place called TexWorld, which is a trade show for fabrics, suppliers and manufacturers. It was interesting how they have a system set up on phones to help you find Fabric swatches better than to “freestyle” through swatches. You can only be in the industry to purchase and enter TexWorld. At TexWorld they also gave buyers and sources the option to look at finished garments and choose the ones they want to produce with their own logo, color, and quantity. Quantity is important because majority of small companies or starter up businesses order less quantity than corporate company’s. It was nice to see the textile side of the fashion industry. Overall I enjoyed the experience of a trade show here in NYC!

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Hudson Yards/ M & S Schmalberg

This week was our third week on Study Tour during the month of July and we went to Hudson Yards and M & S Schmalberg. When I arrived at the Hudson Yards around 9:50 I gotten lost for about 5 minutes. I finally found it after asking five random people directions because the place is so huge. When I finally found the right place, which I was at the entire time, they told me to go up the escalators third floor to the right then a left to reach Aritzia. Aritzia is a fashion womens brand which carries good quality brands from stores across Canada and through the United States. When browsing through the store I found really cool trendy and fashionable clothing items from multiple brands. I believe our guest tour guide for the store said they circulate 10 new clothing brands every 3 months. At Hudson Yards they have a bunch of cool stores and exclusive merchandise and stores such as the Blue Bottle they sale coffee. 

Outside of the Hudson Yards there's a Vessel which you can go up the elevators the see the view. I believe it cost $10 for entry and you have to purchase the e-tickets online with a QR scan code. They also have a set setting where you can take pictures on the rooftop, and the rooftop is a old train track station they turned into a floor fixture. Overall I would definitely come back to visit again. During our visit to the M & S Schmalberg, it was a very interesting and unexpected you would know exactly what I mean if you had a front row seat that day! It's a family owned business that has been passed down through generations, and more of them to come if not not it’ll still keep the ball rolling. It’s a manufacturing chain that has an order to follow the line. They have all different types of patterns, shapes, tools, fabrics and special trims. He showed us around the belt line and manufacturing fabric flowers from start to end. They have a special custom flower that Vera Wang assistant designer created with different presses and fabrics. He was really nice to offer us to buy fabric flowers of our choice, and how we want to use it, like if you want a brooch or a hair pin they did it under less than a minute. I picked out two flowers that were made from tweed fabrics. One of them was supposed to be like a replica of the Coco Chanel flower which was $40 and the other one was $10 but they gave them to me for $36. When I take my photos for graduation I will gladly tag them which they also suggested. Leaving there made me think what could I do that’s everlasting such as a Fabric Flower...

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July 6th & 8th: Kent Studio NYC

Kent New York City Studio has presented us with eight amazing guest speakers. They all gave helpful and useful advice on the fashion industry and in the industry.  Guest speaker Mara, gave advice on getting your feet wet would be to internship..internship..internship!! It helps to give your resume a boost and for you to gain experience. One thing I thought stood out to me was the option to be a “freelancer”. Which allows you to be flexible in managing projects. With the experience you have from previous jobs, and other roles to help all types of brands to be knowledgeable on what needs to go into their company or doesn’t. 

While, our next class trip took place 9:45 a.m. in the morning on 1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This was the first time the museum has opened in months since the coronavirus in 2020. The lines were super long, they had two lines one for people who had purchased tickets in advance, and another line who still needed to purchase tickets. I only gotten to explore the first level of the art museum, I would like to go back either before I live to go back home, I believe it is $12 with a student ID at purchase, at night time to explore every inch of the building and take more pictures of the “artifacts” also visit the rooftop for drinks! The artifacts were beautiful and definitely worth visiting while your here in New York. Only thing I would have to say is it doesnt come alive there isn't any interesting music of graphic videos to go along with the concept and information or tourist to guide you through. 

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Mood Fabrics

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First day of in person classes started July 1st!!! The first day in the studio we had our orientation for the first time in 15 months we all got to see each other and interact with one another face to face ( well some mask to mask ). After orientation Professor Piazza invited us to go to Mood fabrics, you may of heard about them from project runway. On the walk there we seen so many pretty fabrics from sequence, satin, designer fabric and much more. The first stop was Mood Furniture store, which wasn't really interesting to me as fabric wise. I wish there was more fun or classical prints for the furniture to give it character. One of the workers told us that Mood has been a family business for over a decade now and has been in the family ever since. I love the fact that they are a family business which means they been doing this longer than any of us were born. I also heard from one of my TikTik followers that they have a ‘house dog’ for the store ( which I did not see ) maybe before I leave I’ll go back to visit the dog.

When heading to the main Mood store you had to get on these elevators which, only certain people with passes can access the number panel. The door man directs you to what elevator takes you up to what store your going to. It is located on the 3rd floor, once you step out the elevator there is artwork made from chalk of different styles of dresses and fabric (of course). They have thousands of assortments from trims, furs, fabrics, designer fabrics, and buttons etc,. There were fabric price ranged from $35 a yard to $3,000 a yard, depending on what the need is for the look your going for. My favorite part of the store was the designer fabrics they had a lot of pearls and beads. I made a TikTok of my short visit there and only got what I thought would be interesting to make a video out of. It starts with me getting off the elevators then through the first floor of the store, with a part 2 on its way maybe a part 3 for all three sections of the store. I wish they accepted intern for the summer, I have a minor in textiles and one of my passions is to learn and produce my own fabric/prints. What a wonderful first trip !!!  To be there at something I grew up watching on tv, and I got to experience first hand here in New York City with Kent State University !

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Doneger Group: Shelda Hartwell

Guest speaker Shelda Hartwell, has been working with Donegers for 13 years. Originally she is from Orange County, California home of the sun. With a major in Design and a minor in merchandising. She soon found herself in retail consultant agency, were she became a buyer for offices and buying product for retailers. Hartwell glanced over into analysis and strategizing was her strong suit. She the relocated to New York City for a job as a retail consultant. The Doneger Group office is located in New York City, and has been thriving to help retailers, manufacturer, designers and the entire fashion industry navigate the research Doneger Group has provided.  

Shelda has given a nice demonstration on how to actually navigate and understand the content put into Doneger Group. One tab on the website includes a Great Idea tab. The Great Idea tab tell the reader what is happening at the moment from a consumers point of view. Which I believe is very helpful for retailers to understand their audience, and provide what the consumer need/want very insightful for buyers and wholesale retailers and vendors as well. Next, she showed us how to navigate to ‘Consumers Insight’, which speaks to the big things that are actually happening in the world ‘Culturally’. Also a very good perc to strategize how you want to reach or interact with a certain audience. Finally, she contributes a lot to the website and informs us there will only be 4 concepts at time to predict fashion forward trends that include, color, prints, designs and lifestyles then create concepts from a creative direction. 

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Lauren Ojugbana: Ralph Lauren

Lauren Ojubana, he gave a lot of insight on his education background and his passion for science and math. He attended the High School for engineering and science his first passion was to be an Engineer. Mid way through his college journey that it was not his passion, while he discovered his career path through exploring all his options of majors and minors he finally found his passion for fashion. An opportunity with Sear’s stumbled upon him for a management training program. Ojugbana, highly recommends that as a fashion student you should gain the experience of working on the floor. Which it can help to provide for students financially while in school. He then got promoted to work as a men's manager brand essential manager, which all led to him receiving a job position for a corporate assignment in Chicago for a distribution analysis. At that moment he then realized he didn’t want that role anymore and he didn't want to stay with the company or in Chicago. Making the transition to move from the west coast to the east coast is what started his launch of his career. He moved to Jersey and got a job in kids merchandise planning for about a year or year in a half which then provided a strong foundation for him to become a buyer. Someone in the company noticed his hard work and it got him enough attention that they thought of him to be one of the 11 people to apply for Ralph Lauren’s company, which he ended up getting a job with Ralph Lauren as a Luxury Sports Buyer. 

The advice that I took from his lecture is take chances rather its the job you want or not look at things from a different perspective because it might surprise you, or not. Whatever role your given you should work twice as hard and make yourself stand out in a positive way that they call on you for their next project. Be able to network with the company and also externally outside the company can also provide great benefits for your career path. Another great piece of advice I thought was reassuring for me was ‘Don’t let no one tell you what YOU should be doing’, sometimes I second guessing  myself for reassurance of others. I feel that is a bad and good thing because when your shopping as a buyer you have to think of the consumers versus when your shopping for yourself you already know what you would buy. I also like the advice he gave on the ‘Buying Role’ which is ask tons of questions and build relationships with your co-workers, superiors, and people in your department as well as other departments differ from the one you’ll work in. Looking in on his journey it might make or break you, in this industry you have to have tough skin. 

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Luxury Market Council: Chris Olshan

Our guest speaker is from The Luxury Market Council, which provide services to different business and help those business connect and network with other businesses to provide a service. Which manages with another business for example, hotels and rentals and flights all relate together in a manner you could get a bundle deal. They also help new brands build relationships and help to grow that business from the ground up. Also, with the help of their connections that they grained their trust and loyalty over the years. Chris has been apart of the company for 28 years, his first time ever starting a business was at the age 15 years old, which I thought was impressive by the way. He was a very upfront guy about the business such as, working with your family or going into business with a friend is a hit or miss and if you do expect the unexpected because the relationships are different than a stranger working with you. Chris gave away a lot of good advice, for instance I told him I want to have my own brand/company one day. He basically said ‘either you got it or you dont some people can't handle the pressure of being the boss some people are okay with being told what to do’ and I agree I believe I have what it takes.

During Covid times the Luxury market changed, because the value of things changed. People didn't leave their house to go out and get dressed up because of the lock down. The $3,000 pair of shoes and the rack of purses did not start to mean as much as it did before when you could show them off. Now the thousand of dollars you spent on a product has no value because it cannot be shown to the world out in public so they sit there collecting dust instead of moments. It led people to thinking why am I buying this and why is this luxury besides giving other people a reason to look at you. It has been a new fundamental definition of ‘what is luxury’ ? Building a luxury brand you have to have social consciousness,  ‘QUALITY IS KEY’, and the experience you leave with the customer. Since Covid luxury brands aren’t required to meet face to face, connection and handshakes it has become less of that to build  relationships. With being virtual it gives you more flexibility with working virtually and meeting virtually and connecting virtually. 

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100 Years of Fashion History: The 50′s

The fashion era I found the most intriguing and fashionable was the 50′s. During the 50′s, they had all types of different silhouettes, styles, and prints. The most common styles/silhouettes in the 50′s are the pencil skirt, poodle skirt, hot pants, halter neck dresses, bustier tops, and swimwear, including the bikinis. The 50′s inspired the ‘Pin-Up Girls’ or ‘Pin-Up Style’, Which was all about feminine sex appeal, which was the ‘sexy’ poster girls of the day which, inspired women to reveal their sex appeal. In the 1950s, there were two original dress shapes. Today the most attractive style is the full-skirted, tea-length dress, sometimes called the 50s swing dress. And the prints that took them back to the joy of their childhood, such as polka dots, pastel colors, border prints, sailor themes, gingham, and sleeveless dresses.

During the early 50s, Christian Dior wanted to express himself through fashion. He wanted women to look like flowers. His hyper-feminine style has characterized by a nipped-in waist, full skirts, and rounded shoulders attached to suites. Couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga is known as the architect in fashion. He was a tailor by trade, and he would cut, drape, and fit his custom-made muslin patterns. The hourglass shape was the focus at the time when the silhouette was fashionable. With innovations like sack and sheath have been produced by Balenciaga. In which, the fabric sits away from the body; in the late 1950s, this was known as the Baby Doll dress. The Baby Doll dress consists of a full overlay of lace which includes a tightly fitted underdress. While Dior represented hyper-femininity, Coco Chanel steered away from that idea. It was the time she debuted the Chanel classic tweed suit. The basic style evolved a while until she died in 19771. In February of 1955, the Chanel 255 was named after the date it was released. The bag had a strap long enough to wear over the shoulder, which gave the wearer ‘free hands’ to move about and quickly became emblematic of the modern women. The original handbag was produced in jersey or leather fabric and came in shades of black, navy, and brown, and was recognizable by the chain and quilted exterior. The 50s demonstrated an era that held fusing function, comfort, high styles, and accessibility.

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Nordstrom Blog

A brief history of Nordstrom luxury department store. Nordstrom was founded by, John W. Nordstrom, he was from Sweden and came to New York City at the age of 16 years old. In 1887 with only $5 and not a single word of English to his name. John was persistent, and within two years he earned $13,000 from a gold-mine stake in Alaska. Later on, he caught up with Carl Wallin, a friend from Alaska who owned a little shoe-repair shop in downtown Seattle. in 1901 they opened Wallin & Nordstrom, the humble beginning of what has become Nordstrom, Inc a small shoe store downtown Seattle. By 1963 Nordstrom explored the women’s clothing market by purchasing Seattle-based Best Apparel. In Washington, soon as business prospered a few new stores, were added; in 1966, Men’s, and children’s wear, were added to Nordstrom Best. The company has been passed down three generations and in 1971 Nordstrom went public and officially renamed Nordstrom, Inc. Two years later, the company was known for being the largest-volume fashion specialty store on the West Coast and their annual sales exceeded $100 million (companieshistory).

Our guest speaker Jamie Seiden discussed her position as Digital Merchandiser at the company Nordstrom Inc. She loved working in the shoe department, Seiden worked in the men’s shoe department in New York City. If there is an “Image Hick up” she fixes the image or problem with the photo, for instance like if the pictures glitch or out of place. Meanwhile, the pandemic, Covid-19 affected her job from working five days a week to one day a week, at home. Since Corona, the store sales have been %50 online and 50% brick-and-mortar stores. Nordstrom has a flash event for up to 24 hours. Certain designers, such as Tory Burch, will not be included in the offer in the flash sale. The site gets uploaded every seven days with 20-30 new designers. The advice she shared about seeking employment after graduating is to message people on Linkedin, stay connected with classmates, and always be willing or open to learning new or old things.

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Nike: Evan Chisholm

June 10, 2021

Our guest speaker Evan Chisholm works at Nike in the kids department, he recently were involved with the mens wear. When working for Nike you might have a hand in everything! Working together as a team is a huge factor when aligning everyone’s work ethics to go hand-in-hand. Evan expressed he once worked on his own clothing line for a little while, but it wasn’t as easy than he anticipated. He got lucky, one of his buddies were from overseas but Evan decided he didn’t want to follow that path anymore. He went back to school and attended the Fashion Institute of Technology. With making connections and learning more by thing by hands on learning and interning through the fashion world. Evan has made his mark at Nike’s company through mens wear and now kids wear. 

During the presentation a question resonated with me about working for corporate or small business. “Do you think working for corporate fulfills you when you see the product you created being claimed as their own idea”? Basically, for Evan it does fulfill him because he knows what he signed up for. And that is to share ideas and help a company of his choice with his knowledge he gained through the fashion Institute, and having his own small business. Also its beneficial to the company and you as a fashion merchandising student to think long term. If you should want to work for corporate because they have access to certain things and people, some small business wouldn’t. When analyzing what he thought about sharing ideas with the corporate and not getting recognition for the work you put in for the company. It has to be a ‘self assuring’ thing. I say that because knowing you just made this company billions of dollars and to only receive less than the bare minimum is an insult! I do want to know the basics in and out of the corporate company and a small business, just to see what is the best fit for me in the near FUTURE!