Fashion Draft NYC Brings Top Talent to World Fashion Capital
Macy's Terry Lundgren, Parsons Executive Dean Joel Towers, and NYCEDC President Seth Pinsky speak with students at Fashion Draft NYC
New York City Economic Development Corporation and Parsons The New School for Design recently held the first Fashion Draft NYC, which brought 25 top graduating students from universities across the country to network and interview for management-track positions with some of New York’s leading fashion companies. The event, which took place February 16-18, is one of six initiatives the City is undertaking to support the long-term growth of its $55 billion fashion industry.
“By bringing top candidates from across the country to New York City for interviews with some of the fashion industry’s leading companies, Fashion Draft NYC is helping to ensure that the best and brightest continue to enter the industry on both the creative and management side here in New York, thereby ensuring the long-term health of this critically important industry,” said Seth Pinsky, President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Fashion Draft NYC recruited graduating students from some of the top institutions across the country, from art and design schools Parsons, Pratt Institute, and the Fashion Institute of Technology, to Princeton University, Yale University, Duke University, the University of Chicago, the University of California at Berkeley, and John Hopkins University. Students were selected based on academic record, internship experience in the fashion industry, personal statements, and recommendations. From over 360 applications, 25 students were selected for participation.
Fashion Draft NYC really opened my eyes to the range of career opportunities in the industry, and solidified my desire to start a career in the business of fashion,, said Hannah Moulden, a Writing Seminars major at Johns Hopkins University.
The event featured a networking dinner, one-on-one interviews with human resources executives, as well as the keynote by Macy’s President, Chairman and CEO Terry Lundgren. The students also visited LF USA for career advice from Paul R. Rosengard, President of the Men’s Apparel Group, and received a behind-the-scenes look at the personal offices of Diane von Furstenberg. Other participating companies included Alice + Olivia, Ann Inc., Armani Exchange, Bloomingdale’s, Club Monaco, GILT, Moda Operandi, Ralph Lauren, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Theory.
Parsons is committed to the business of design and the design of business,, said Parsons Executive Dean Joel Towers. The future of this industry relies on leaders who possess innovative thinking, a strong work ethic and the ability to solve complex problems, which is the reason we teamed up with the Economic Development Corporation and the City to launch this program.,
Fashion Draft NYC builds upon the success of Fashion Campus NYC, a career-building and networking event co-organized by NYCEDC and Parsons in July 2011, which attracted nearly 200 interns from over 90 universities and 150 companies, as well as fashion industry representatives from more than 25 New York-based companies, including Aeropostale, Calvin Klein, John Varvatos, Lord & Taylor and Warnaco. Both are part of a series of initiatives that resulted from Mayor Bloomberg’s FashionNYC2020 plan, which is designed to sustain and grow the fashion industry in New York.
“I was extremely impressed with the caliber of the Fashion Draft students,, said Peter Garneau, the Director of Talent Acquisition at Saks Fifth Avenue. I found the students to be intelligent, articulate, professional, and confident. They were also very business savvy and displayed a real passion and enthusiasm for learning the business. We recently extended our first Fashion Draft job offer and I am happy to say that the candidate will be starting with us this July.”
The fashion industry employs 165,000 people in New York City, accounting for 5.5 percent of the City’s workforce, and generating nearly $2 billion in tax revenue annually. In addition, the City is home to one of the world’s largest wholesale fashion markets, which attracts more than 500,000 visitors a year to its trade shows, showrooms and retail stores. The FashionNYC2020 initiatives address the industry’s challenges in two ways: by further positioning the City as a hub of innovation for emerging designers as well as specialty and multi-channel retail, and by attracting the next generation of design, management and merchant talent.
For more information about Fashion Draft NYC, visit www.fashiondraftnyc.com.
About NYCEDC
New York City Economic Development Corporation is the City’s primary vehicle for promoting economic growth in each of the five boroughs. NYCEDC’s mission is to stimulate growth through expansion and redevelopment programs that encourage investment, generate prosperity and strengthen the City’s competitive position. NYCEDC serves as an advocate to the business community by building relationships with companies that allow them to take advantage of New York City’s many opportunities. Find us on Facebook to learn more about NYCEDC projects and initiatives.
About Parsons The New School for Design
Parsons The New School for Design is a global leader in design education, with programs that span the disciplines of design and the fine arts. With the launch of the first fashion design program in America in 1906, Parsons is credited with the rise of Seventh Avenue, the epicenter of American fashion. Parsons offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design, Associate Degrees in Fashion Design and Fashion Marketing, and a Master of Fine Arts Program in Fashion Design and Society that was initiated through the support of Parsons alumna Donna Karan. Parsons has educated generations of leading American fashion designers, including Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Isaac Mizrahi, Tracy Reese, Narciso Rodriguez and Anna Sui; and rising talents Prabal Gurung, Derek Lam, Ohne Titel, Thakoon Panichgul, Proenza Schouler, Vena Cava, Alexander Wang, and Jason Wu. For more information, visit www.newschool.edu/parsons.