Visiting the Big Apple: CCHS Fashion Club takes a trip to New York City

BY EMMA HUERTA

When discussing the fashion capitals of the world, New York City is almost always among the names of the most prominent hearths of the industry.

CCHS Fashion Club students had the opportunity to visit the illustrious, fashion-forward city this past Thursday, December 6. Over the course of the trip, the students spent time in one of the most prominent places for emerging fashionistas.

“The trip overall was amazing,” junior Sarah Salamon said.

“Times Square itself is just one big, giant billboard,” Fashion Club sponsor Linda Snider said. “Just the excitement– because you’re in the fashion capital of the United States– of looking at new things and even people wearing really interesting outfits on the street could cause new ideas.”

This year, juniors in the club, as well as 10 select DECA students, were able to go on the four-day trip of both interactive learning experiences and unforgettable and fun times.

“The trip overall was amazing,” junior Sarah Salamon said. “It was so inspiring and educational listening to all the people we met tell us their stories about their lives and how they [got into] the professions they are in now.”

Besides visiting the significant fashion business areas in the city, the students also visited the famous Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).

The students had the opportunity to visit various warehouses and stores of major companies in the clothing industry. Here, they were able to learn from experts in fashion, as well as familiarize themselves with an important area for these type of businesses, including jewelry vendor Athra and outerwear company Free Country.

“[Athra’s] area actually has a ton of warehouses. Kate Spade and Michael Kors are there. Free Country is usually an outerwear company, but now they are [also] selling activewear and swimwear to complete an entire year’s line,” Snider said. “They talked to us on how to choose colors for that season, what’s trending and how to choose product styles. Every vendor [also] talked about profit markup, margin and all that stuff too– all the numbers were there.”

Besides visiting the significant fashion business areas in the city, the students also visited the famous Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). They had the chance to get a private tour of this year’s exhibit at FIT’s accompanying museum, titled “Pink, Punk and Powerful.”

Not only were the Fashion Club students able to put the lessons learned at school into perspective through these educational visits, but they also witnessed the vast impacts of the fashion world through fun activities– such as Broadway musicals and wax museums– or just walking through the streets of New York.

“The trip and class as a whole have inspired me to consider a future in marketing where I never thought I would end up,” junior Simone Goldberg said.

“We did things like Madame Tussauds, [and saw] how they choose their people: who’s trending right now, how they do their hairstyle, their clothing, their coloring, all that,” Snider said. “We [also] saw a Broadway show to see how fashion is being used. And then we shopped a lot; we looked at the window displays and the marketing. [For example], how does Macy’s pull so many shoppers?”

In its entirety, the fashion trip to the Big Apple, full of both impactful experiences and exciting new surroundings, seemed to inspire its CCHS visitors to pursue their own aspirations and someday become successful in the industry.

“The trip and class as a whole have inspired me to consider a future in marketing where I never thought I would end up,” junior Simone Goldberg said. “It taught so much about the industry and the madness behind companies and their products.”

Photo courtesy of Gabriella Johnson