First Year Experience

First Year Experience:
Overview of the Industry

Jefferson takes professional exposure seriously, and gives fashion merchandising and management students’ hands-on experience right away.

Our unique interdisciplinary freshman course that gives you real experience from day one. In this course, you learn all the major components throughout the fashion value chain-from design concepts, to product development and production, to merchandising and finally consumer satisfaction. First-hand experience is facilitated by a group project where you will produce a product to be sold in our student-run pop-up store, enabling you to understand the complete process, from design to consumer. This course provides you with insight to career options after graduation. Students follow the 5 steps below to produce products including accessories, beach wear, dresses and home furnishings.

Project Highlight:

Cover-Ups for the Cure

One of our most exciting projects in the Global Fashion Insights class was when a group of our students partnered with ChemoClothes, an organization that supports families who are affected by cancer. The team collaborated to design and distribute a nautical one-size-fits-all women’s beach cover up – a stylish piece that also served as protection from the sun’s harmful rays. The team completely sold out of their stock, and raised awareness about the importance of (stylish) sun safety!