Fashion Merchandising

Florence, Italy

An Immersive Fashion Merchandising Program

At Marist, Fashion Merchandising is much more than a major – it’s a hands-on, immersive learning experience. Our Fashion Merchandising students achieve high levels of success because they enter the fashion industry with years of experience under their belts even before graduation.

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Student Learning Outcomes

A Diverse Curriculum To Prepare For Your Career

The Merchandising major relies upon foundational courses such as Fashion in Culture & Commerce, Digital Software Studies and Textiles, then advances with concentration-specific offerings in Business, Product Development, or Fashion Promotion. Learn more about each of the Fashion Merchandising concentrations below:

Business Concentration

The Business concentration focuses on the planning, procurement, and marketing aspects of the fashion business and includes courses such as:

Retail Management
Merchandise Planning and Control
Fashion Buying Concepts

Product Development Minor & Concentration

The Product Development concentration explores the development of private label or branded merchandise, supply chain management, and the use of product data management techniques. It includes such courses as:

Supply Chain Management
Fabric Styling
Fashion Marketing
Advanced PDM Software
Fashion and Sustainability

Fashion Promotion Concentration

The Fashion Promotion concentration explores the relationship between brand, product and consumer behavior, and the dynamic role it plays. Students engage in course work focusing on trend, branding, creative marketing and communication, social media, e-commerce, event planning and production, and digital media creation. It includes such courses as:

Event Planning
Branding & Licensing
Fashion Communication
Visual Merchandising
Fashion Entrepreneurship

Fashion Merchandising Minor

Fashion Design majors have the opportunity to minor in Fashion Merchandising to enhance their academic experience. Combining a Fashion Design major with Fashion Merchandising minor balances the creative design curriculum with the industry knowledge of Fashion Merchandising.

Hands-on Fashion Merchandising Experience

A balanced education at Marist combines rigorous classroom experience with practical application in the desired field, and the Fashion Merchandising major is no exception. Fashion Merchandising students engage in a wide range of real-world learning opportunities, including running MPorium, our on-campus retail boutique, creating the next issue of Measure Magazine, Marist’s fashion magazine, and producing the Silver Needle Runway Fashion Show, the largest event production presented by Marist annually.

Explore the most recent volumes of the magazine below.
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Develop The Skills You Need To Succeed

Fashion Theory

Gain a foundational-level understanding of fashion trend theories; begin to effectively anticipate, understand, and utilize basic terminology used to describe fashion, garments and textiles; and explain the process of apparel production from concept.

Fashion Trend Forecasting & Analysis

Understand theory and practice components for forecasting fashion and use professional case studies to demonstrate each technique and concept. Learn the mechanics and functions of trends and responsibilities of the Fashion Forecaster.

Public Presentation

Prepare for your senior capstone project, where you will develop a research report that defines a successful product, marketing, and financial plan. You will be required to present your project to a group of faculty and industry executives.

Understanding of Textile Science

Develop a working vocabulary of terms used in the textile industry and how they affect textile performance, which enables you to make informed decisions concerning textile end use.

Retail Strategies

Analyze the retail industry by store/customer type, and store strategy. Understand different consumer behaviors and perform a trading area analysis, identify target markets, and discuss how relationship marketing is the key to success.

Digital Fashion Design

Create technical, merchandising, spec flats, and various garment details and fashion figures using Adobe Illustrator to visually develop an understanding of garment construction and details.

Career Success in the Fashion Industry

As a Fashion Merchandising student at Marist who has completed industry experience long before graduation, you’ll have a competitive edge unlike any other student entering the field. And our students have landed the jobs to prove it. Below are only a few examples of the major fashion institutions that proudly employ Marist Fashion alumni today:

Marist Named "Best Colleges That Are Shaping The Future Of Fashion" by Forbes

"Just north of NYC, the Marist campus overlooks the Hudson River providing a more serene setting to focus on your creative process. How serious is the college about its commitment to fashion? A brand-new, dedicated Digital Arts & Fashion Building opened in January 2019 with all the state-of-the-art tech at the students’ thimble-topped fingertips. You can catch the 35th anniversary Silver Needle Runway presentation of fashion graduates to experience the Marist style for yourself."

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The Value of a Marist Education

At Marist, we pride ourselves on our dedication to providing our students with a well-rounded liberal arts education that prepares them for practical experience and profound success in their field. But don't just take our word for it - the numbers speak for themselves.