{"id":61315,"date":"2024-05-03T10:07:44","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T14:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/?p=61315"},"modified":"2024-05-04T20:45:57","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T00:45:57","slug":"melis-hafizoglu-24-from-art2wear-to-alo-yoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/melis-hafizoglu-24-from-art2wear-to-alo-yoga\/","title":{"rendered":"Melis Hafizoglu ’24: From Art2Wear to Alo Yoga"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Landing internships with some of America\u2019s trendiest fashion brands, sending two collections down the runway, working behind the scenes of multiple New York Fashion Week shows: these are all accomplishments Melis Hafizoglu never could have predicted when she enrolled in NC State four years ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be fair, she didn\u2019t even know she\u2019d graduate from the Wilson College of Textiles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI started off my first year in the Exploratory Studies program, which is basically for undecided students. I had literally no idea what I wanted to do,\u201d Hafizoglu remembers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Behind the scenes at Platform magazine at NC State, where Hafizoglu was a stylist. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Melis with fellow show interns, all Wilson College interns, at New York Fashion Week. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

When her advisor prompted her to look through NC State\u2019s catalog and when she found out about the fashion programs, she says, there was no turning back. She immediately changed her major to fashion and textile management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hafizoglu entered the fashion development and product management<\/a> (FDPM) concentration with barely any sewing experience, and that learning curve could have intimidated many other students. Instead, long hours in the studio and the courage to chase after big opportunities have built an impressive college resume. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most recent addition to that resume? An internship with Forbes 30 Under 30 winner, and fellow FDPM alumna, Ritika Shamdasani<\/a>. Hafizoglu reached out after the co-founder of Sani, a skyrocketing apparel brand whose partnerships include Nordstrom and Rent the Runway, came to speak in one of her classes. Working with such a quickly growing startup gave her invaluable experience with everything from social media to design and merchandising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n