Fashion industry field trip provides students with glimpse of future careers

A group of 15 CWU Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising (ATM) students was treated to a first-hand look at the inner workings of the fashion industry this fall when they embarked on a three-day field trip to the Puget Sound area.

The annual excursion across the mountains, led by Professor Andrea Eklund, provided students with a glimpse into their future careers and introduced them to processes and personnel at nine different companies.

“This is an amazing opportunity to allow students to immerse themselves in industry settings to see the look and feel of different types and sizes of companies,” said Eklund, who first started organizing the trip in 2008 as part of her Northwest Field Experience course (ATM 425). “It also allows students to grow their professional network for future practicums and job connections post-graduation.”

The group departed Ellensburg early on the morning of October 9, stopping first at The Finest Accessories in North Bend. They continued their journey west, visiting the Eddie Bauer corporate headquarters in Bellevue; Zumiez in Lynnwood; Washington Shoe Company, Greensource Brand Apparel, and Cutter & Buck in Renton; plus three businesses in downtown Seattle: Filson, Brooks, and TomboyX.

Along the way, the students were introduced to a number of Eklund’s former students — Kalle Frye (Finest Accessories), Triona Noss (Washington Shoe Co.), Macy Berg (Zumiez), Paige Foggin and Sarah Smith (both at Greensource).

They were also joined by four other CWU alumni for a meet and greet at CWU Des Moines: Jesse Leaupepe, a merch analyst for soft accessories at Nordstrom; Madlyn Thomas, wholesale coordinator at FRANKIE4; Helen Nguyen, production operations associate at Tommy Bahama; and Abi Sparks, a volunteer and office coordinator at Dress For Success.

“As a professor, it’s amazing to have guest speakers who talk about concepts, practices, and technology that they use on the job that we teach our students about in our program,” Eklund said. “It really shows that our program is industry-relevant by teaching content they will use on a daily basis post-graduation.”

Eklund’s students walked away from the trip with an entirely new perspective after talking to professionals with CWU connections who have established themselves in the industry.

“They have all been in our shoes before and they gave us a lot of great advice,” said Isaias Escamilla, a senior transfer student from Tieton, a small agricultural town near Yakima. “They told us that we don’t have to be afraid if we don’t know exactly what we want to do right away. They recommended that we try different things and be open-minded. That helped put me at ease, knowing that my first job doesn’t have to be where I eventually end up.”

Similarly, senior Isabella Warrington came away from the alumni meeting feeling optimistic about her career prospects, but she also appreciated hearing first-hand how competitive the fashion industry can be.

“The alums told us how hard the industry is to break into, but they were also very encouraging,” said Warrington, a transfer student from Port Orchard. “Even if you don’t get the job you want at first, just keep trying and don’t give up. They also told us that we should consider going outside the fashion industry to build our skills. Many of the people we met didn’t major in fashion; they just ended up there.”

Jordan Keltto, a senior ATM major from Auburn, said it was nice to meet professionals at different stages of their careers — people they could relate to — as opposed to folks their parents’ age whose life experiences are entirely different than their own.

“Some of them were in their 30s and some were closer to our age, which made it fun,” Keltto said. “It was really cool to have the CWU connection with them and learn about how they developed their careers. A lot of them talked about how all of their jobs provided stepping stones to where they are today, and that everything they learned along the way has helped them be successful.”

CWU Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising (ATM) students meet with employees at Washington Shoe Company during their three-day field trip to the Seattle area this fall.

Inside Information

Aside from learning about the personal experiences of their predecessors at CWU, the students were also exposed to a wide variety of jobs and techniques during the three days.

Some of what they witnessed helped reinforce concepts they had already been exposed to in class, but they also learned some tricks of the trade in their individual areas of interest, such as design, innovation, supply chain management, processing, market trends, and more.

“It was so interesting to see how the industry works in general,” said Keltto, who plans to pursue a career in costume production for movies and theater. “After we learned about how the businesses operate, we got to see how they apply that information in different ways and what they choose to focus on.”

Escamilla, who plans to go into visual merchandising, believes he is on the right track as he begins to apply for internships for next summer. At the same time, he recognizes that he still has work to do.

“My perspective changed with this trip because it highlighted certain points that I didn’t know were so important — things like using Excel,” he said. “I didn’t know that the data management side applied to so many different jobs, but the people we talked to really emphasized how much they use Excel for everything.”

Escamilla also enjoyed learning how industry professionals plan so far ahead, trying to identify which styles are going to be popular the following year.

“Designers have to know what’s going to be in style next year, and they are always looking toward the future,” he said. “Everything seems to come back around at some point, and they have to be able to predict when a specific style is going to be back in the rotation.”

Warrington said she was impressed by how many of the companies the class visited were starting to adopt more sustainable business practices, such as reducing emissions and using reusable materials. She would like to open her own clothing boutique someday, and being able to see first-hand what some of the Seattle-area companies are doing was inspirational to her.

“I love that the fashion industry is slowly working toward becoming more sustainable,” Warrington said. “The level of awareness is growing, and I’m hoping it will become more ingrained in the overall culture. The fashion industry is a big contributor to carbon emissions, and it was good to see that there are companies thinking about how they can make changes.”

A Filson representative shares his expertise with CWU students at the company's downtown Seattle warehouse.

Opportunities Abound

Eklund explained that one of the benefits of the annual Northwest Field Experience is that her students get to see the wide variety of positions that are out there. No matter where their interests lie, they saw how most jobs in the industry involve both business and creative skills. This exposure helps students realize that these jobs require a balanced approach.

“Most of the time, people only think of designers or buyers as fashion professions, but we like to think of the industry like a pizza,” said Eklund, who worked in the fashion industry before joining the CWU faculty in 2008. “Those two positions are only two pieces out of a huge family size.”

Potential career opportunities for ATM students include product development, merchandising, trend forecasting, entrepreneurship, brand management, allocation specialists, quality assurance, store operations, stylists, showroom managers, store managers, visual merchandising, social media management, textile sourcing, colorist, procurement specialist, sample coordinator, consumer insight specialist, and technical design. The list goes on.

“The apparel industry offers vast opportunities for ATM alumni across the region, nation, and world,” Eklund said, adding that there are currently 77,718 fashion-related open positions across the U.S., with 1,896 of them based in Washington state.  

She also noted that the revenue in the apparel market worldwide for 2024 is estimated to reach $1.79 trillion, with market growth expected at 2.72% annually between now and 2027. The U.S. led the way this year with an estimated revenue of $359 billion.

Seattle ranks as the fourth-largest central area of apparel talent and fashion design, with 700 leading fashion companies based in the Puget Sound area. That volume rivals larger markets in New York and Los Angeles due to the robust overseas ports in Seattle and Tacoma.

Seeing that there are endless possibilities in their own backyard gives graduating seniors the confidence they need to take their careers in any direction they choose while also staying close to home.

“As a senior, it was refreshing to see what the industry is really like,” said Escamilla, who would like to begin his career in the Seattle market, if possible. “You get an idea of how things work in class and from books, but it made a huge impression to see everything up close. We’re getting close to graduation and we’re going to be doing these types of jobs soon. That’s really stood out to me.”

Warrington said she was encouraged by how close-knit the Northwest fashion industry is. Once you’re in, you’re in — or at least that’s the hope.

“It’s a very welcoming community where everyone knows one another,” she said. “Making so many network connections in just a few days made us realize that the fashion industry is a really small world. People are always willing to help you out, and that really means a lot to those of us who are just getting started.”

Keltto agreed, saying that the opportunity to build new connections was one of the highlights of the trip.

“I feel like it’s going to be easier to dive into the industry now that we’ve started making those connections,” they said. “It gives you more credibility when you know the same people they do, and I’m hoping that will help me get my foot in the door.”