students in the fashion development and product management concentration<\/a> are learning about in FTM 415: Fashion Product Development. The capstone course, which brings together all the skills the students have learned, challenges students to create a line of apparel for a specific target market. Each line is made up of six individual pieces, three tops and three bottoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWorking in groups of three, the students are encouraged to choose a demographic that pushes them outside their comfort zone and challenges them to think in new ways. Together, they research their target market to determine the consumers\u2019 product needs, desires and fit. The idea is to see the world through their audience\u2019s eyes in order to create a line tailored to their wants and needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe went with menswear, but very androgynous, a feminine touch to typical menswear,\u201d explains junior Emery Castor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group researched men ages 25 to 35 with increased purchasing power. They looked into what their audience was missing, and how they could appeal to those gaps with their line. This research is what inspired them to push the boundaries of typical menswear and explore the dueling feminine and masculine sides of menswear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once they have completed their research and identified the ways they want to serve their audience, the groups are tasked with not only designing and constructing the line, but also building a thorough specification package for their designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their goal is to create a step-by-step guide which would be used by manufacturers producing the finalized pieces. These \u201cspecification packages\u201d or \u201ctech packs\u201d are an industry standard containing everything from drawings and materials to prices and detailed construction guides. Every tech pack includes detailed measurements for each size, trims, finishes, yarn types and anything else that a manufacturer needs to know when producing the garment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s our job to create that from start to finish and develop it in a way that\u2019s understandable,\u201d says Dominic Celemen, a junior enrolled in the course. \u201cIt\u2019s really giving us a lot of industry knowledge and experience before we actually do it in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The semester-long course challenges them to not just recall the concepts and ideas they\u2019ve learned, but to apply them to a large-scale industry-level project from start to finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEach of us got a taste of everything, every step of the production process and that was one of my favorite parts of this class was that we got to do everything that\u2019s done in industry,\u201d Celemen says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This includes using many of the labs and technologies the students will eventually encounter when entering the textile industry. They spend time developing the skills needed to use knitting machines, Computer-Aided Design software, 3D scanners and other tools which gives them a competitive edge as they move forward in their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with these new skills, the students also leave the course with a renewed awareness of themselves and the industry. They\u2019ve seen how each individual piece of the process comes together and been exposed to the reality of working both with a team and on a timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe design process takes a lot of time and effort; it\u2019s full of tedious tasks that require attention to detail.\u201d Celemen says. \u201cBut now I have all this exposure and all this experience and honestly, it\u2019s made me love the process more.\u201d<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fashion development and product management students spend a semester in FTM 415 building a clothing line from start to finish. See how the experience is helping them develop a new awareness of themselves and the industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":30019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"displayCategoryID\":502,\"caption\":\"\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[502,496],"tags":[2411,1875,949,1382],"class_list":["post-30014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-success","category-tatm","tag-b-s-fashion-and-textile-management","tag-department-of-textile-and-apparel-technology-and-management","tag-fashion-development-and-product-management","tag-wilson-college-of-textiles"],"displayCategory":{"term_id":502,"name":"Student Success","slug":"student-success","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":502,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":382,"filter":"raw"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"
Creative Project Challenges Students to Design Clothing Line, Builds Industry Skills - Wilson College of Textiles<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n