The Experience

College students from around the country spent a weekend in the Big Apple for an educational and immersive fashion experience focused on building their individual brand. The newly named CLASS: The NYC Experience happens during the fall New York Fashion Week and gives students from various universities a behind-the-scenes look at interacting with industry professionals, practicing networking skills and making connections to jumpstart their careers. 

A part of this year’s cohort was Katie Watson, a sophomore in the brand management and marketing concentration of the B.S. in fashion and textile management major. The Office of Strategic Brand Management sponsors the experience for one Wilson student selected each year after a competitive process including an application and two rounds of interviews.

Watson described the theme of the weekend as “building your brand.” Students were given several opportunities to explore and showcase how they wanted to market themselves to employers through the weekend. 

 “Before the experience, I just wanted to be completely immersed in the New York fashion scene. Although I’ve traveled to New York, I can’t say that I’ve ever gotten a behind-the-scenes look at any of these professional experiences,” said Watson

Build Your Brand

Watson recalled her CLASS experience as “full of fun surprises” and “very interactive.” Each day was filled with new panelists, networking and creative opportunities to explore every avenue of the fashion industry. 

When the students arrived in New York City, the weekend began with a welcome dinner and access to the college gifting suite where Watson picked out some new NC State merchandise from CLC’s collegiate sponsors to represent the Pack through the program.

The first workshop was with Selling Sara, an enterprise sales professional and entrepreneur. Watson recalled valuable information from this session about building a successful brand on social media. She said the workshop touched on the challenges of going viral and how to create a unique brand voice within the saturation of social media platforms.

Watson also had the chance to visit G3 Apparel Group to hear from company executives while touring the showrooms for brands like Converse and Starter. 

One of several creative experiences during the weekend included a fashion photoshoot at Attic Studios. Complete with a full team of photographers, designers and stylists, Watson said it was a “simulation of a real world shoot day” where students had the chance to participate in a modeling workshop with industry professionals. Watson said this was an incredible learning opportunity to see how many people it took to execute a photoshoot from vision to final product. Experiences through the weekend like this helped Watson to realize everything she needs for her own brand, including professional headshots. 

At the studio, CLASS participants also had the chance to make visual identity boards to explore pieces of building your personal brand and individuality. Watson said the day rounded out with getting her personal colors analyzed and a rooftop photoshoot in her new NC State gear.

“Beyond clothes, they really made you think about ‘what words would you use to describe yourself’ if someone asked ‘what’s your brand?’ how are you going to articulate that?,” said Watson.

Final Moments

During the final evening of the weekend, current participating students had the chance to meet with alumni of the rebranded CLASS program to see what jobs or careers prior participants were now holding. Watson said having opportunities like this to connect with professionals in the industry who were once in the same place as her was very inspiring and allowed her to focus on her individuality. 

 “I came out of it having a much better idea of my future career path but also what I can offer and what I think my personal style is,” said Watson.

Watson shared how incredibly rewarding the experience was, and the exposure to so many connections and opportunities is something she will carry with her as she’s already returned to study at NC State. 

“It’s important to remember you’re in the room for a reason. No matter what experiences you’ve already had, it’s way more important how you present yourself, the work you do and the way you show up,” said Watson.