Gamma Phi Beta Convention

We recently attended the Gamma Phi Beta convention in Orlando, FL.

We have limited inventory remaining from the convention and we have just posted it all on our website!

This is a knit ruffle top with adjustable straps. 

This is a white v-neck burnout tee.

This is a knit tiered ruffle skirt.

 

This is a knit strapless dress.

For 20% off Gamma Phi merchandise enter the code "SORORITY" at checkout. Offer code through July 9, 2010. 

Kappa Kappa Gamma Convention

A few weeks ago we also attended the Kappa Kappa Gamma Convention in Phoenix, AZ. 

We have limited inventory remaining from the convention and we have just added it to our website!

This is a knit ruffle top with adjustable straps.

This is a white v-neck burnout tee.

This is a gray/white striped crew neck tee. 

This is a knit tiered ruffle skirt.

For 20% off Kappa merchandise enter the code "SORORITY" at checkout. Offer good through July 9, 2010. 

Kappa Alpha Theta Convention

A couple of weeks ago we attended to Kappa Alpha Theta convention in Tucson, AZ. 

Here is our booth:

This is the JW Marriott Resort and Spa where the convention was held:

We produced several styles to sell at the convention and we have limited inventory left over for sale on our website:

This is a knit ruffle top with adjustable straps.

This is a white cotton v-neck burnout tee

This is a black knit tiered ruffle skirt

This is a black knit strapless dress. 

For 20% off Theta merchandise enter the code "SORORITY" at checkout. Offer good through Friday July 9, 2010. 

Preparing for Sorority Conventions

Last week we attended 3 sorority conventions. We spent the days leading up to our departure doing tons of preparations. We barely got our new woven labels with our new logo in time so in the picture below our interns are pinning and sewing them into some t-shirts. 

We shipped tons of boxes ahead of us as well as packed up several suitcases. In the picture below the girls are folding up the garments and packing everything.

Stay tuned....pictures from the conventions to come!

The Spirit Show

A few weeks ago I attended a trade show called The Spirit Show. It is a sorority apparel and gift show and this year it was held in Virginia Beach, VA. 

The picture below is our booth at the show.

This is our view from the booth. It was basically a rectangular room with booths along the walls.

And of course there is the beach! : )

Fall II Photo Shoot

Here are some pictures from our recent photo shoot of our Fall II 2010 line.

First, some behind the scenes pics:

Now the professional pics:

World's Top Fashion Schools

According to Fashionista here is a list of the World's Top 5 Fashion Schools:

School is ending, graduation season is upon us, and perhaps you’re wondering what to do with your life. Well, if fashion design–or a related career–is calling you, we’ve compiled a list of the top fashion schools in the world.

To generate our list, we spoke to students, employees at the schools, companies who hire graduates, and industry professionals. We also considered tuition costs and demographics. Then we mashed it all together to come up with five schools that are worth a look. And they are…

5. Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT):
–10,000 students (all programs)
–Tuition (not including room and board): $5,200/year if you’re a NY state resident; $12,000/year for out-of-state residents
–Famous grads: Reem Acra, Francisco Costa, Nina Garcia, Carolina Herrera, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Nanette Lepore, Ralph Rucci.

In addition to fashion design, FIT offers fashion marketing, business, textiles, visual arts, and countless other fashion-related degrees.

The campus of FIT is located in NYC in the heart of the Garment District, so the school has access to incredible resources and professionals. FIT has relationships with designers and industry professionals who critique student work and offer workshops, and the museum boasts one of the most extensive fashion archives anywhere.

Connections with organizations such as the CFDA ensure that students get a lot of real world experience. Valerie Steele, as Chief Curator of the Museum of FIT, gives this school a brainy credibility. And it’s part of the State University of NY, so it’s much cheaper than most fashion schools, which is a big concern for plenty of incoming students. The downside? It hasn’t produced a hot designer in several years.

Hodaya (28, graduated in Spring 2010 w/ BFA in accessories design and associate degree in fashion design), told us that it was invaluable having “the amazing library, museum and archives. Also being able to access forecasting and trend services. Priceless… I know I will miss that.” She also said, “[FIT provides] the right mix of business and art. FIT is open to creativity yet focuses on the technical and practical aspect of the design process.” Her one critique was, “I wish we had more updated machinery in the accessories department. It seems like the focus is more on fashion design, so the accessories design department suffers from lack of leather specialty machines.”

4. London College of Fashion:
–1,500 first year students
–Tuition (not including room and board): $18,375/year for international students
–A college of the University of the Arts London.
–Famous grads: Jimmy Choo, Alek Wek, Patrick Cox.

The College is spread out over six different sites in London, so students are surrounded by the energy of this incredible city. It has a fashion design program, but the fashion journalism program is the standout here.

Just looking at the courses of study tells you that this is no ordinary university. There are many unique programs that you won’t find anywhere else. Beauty therapy, cosmetic science (yes, the chemistry side of beauty), fashion broadcast journalism, fashion curation and criticism, fashion business, footwear and accessories, makeup and image styling. The catalog made us want to pick up and move to London.

Christopher (26, second year, fashion broadcast journalism) told us, “I adore being surrounded by so many talented people. It’s very inspirational. I believe primarily its location has a lot to do with the success of LCF. London is an incredible place for culture and opportunity.” As was a common refrain with students in all the schools, the financial burden is not insignificant: Christopher works three jobs and freelances to stay ahead of costs.

3. Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp):
–140 fashion students
–Tuition (not including room and board): $825/year for international students
–Famous grads: Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Martin Margiela, Kris Van Assche, Veronique Branquinho, Haider Ackermann, Bruno Pieters.

The Royal Academy is an elite design school. It’s known for its serious students–many drop out because they can’t handle the work load.

The Antwerp Six–Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene and Marina Yee–put the school on fashion’s map in the early 1980s. Since then, it’s continued to produce all-star designers, from the legendary Martin Margiela to current industry favorites Haider Ackermann and Bruno Pieters.

If you’re exceptionally dedicated, with an experimental, innovative, and avant garde sensibility, this may be the place for you. It’s part of one of the oldest design schools in the world, and has produced some stellar talent in the past 20 years. (Oh, and you better learn Dutch!)

2. Parsons The New School for Design:
–650 undergrad fashion design students
–Tuition (not including room and board): $41,000/year
-Famous grads: Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Narciso Rodriguez,Alexander Wang, Anna Sui, Jason Wu, Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez (Proenza Schouler), Behnaz Serafpour, Doo Ri Chung, Sophie Buhai &Lisa Mayock (Vena Cava), Flora Gill and Alexa Adams (Ohne Titel), Prabal Gurung, Steven Meisel, Thakoon Panichgul, Carmen Marc Valvo.

Much like FIT, Parsons is located in the heart of New York City’s Garment District, providing easy access to industry resources.

Parsons is a fashion design powerhouse, and they have turned out tons of marquee name talent, particularly in the last ten years. Many of their famous grads are now part of the faculty. Workshops and critiques by Donna Karan and the Proenza Schouler guys? Events like these are commonplace. Most of the faculty members work in the areas in which they teach. The students we spoke to raved about their instructors. What’s more, the school has partnered with many retailers and corporations with the aim of getting student work seen and critiqued.

Ted, a current student, (23, graduating senior, menswear) said, “They break you down and then build you up. They teach you how to be competitive in one of the most competitive industries in the world.” However, he also said, ”We need less students, not more. With 20 kids in a studio class, you’re getting a lot less attention than you need.” Michael, 19, in the Design and Management program noted that there are lots of “rich kids.” But despite a few critiques, both students were happy with their choice and wouldn’t change it.

1. Central St.Martins:
–1,200 fashion students
–A college of the University of the Arts London
–Tuition (not including room and board): $18,375 for international students
–Famous grads: Stella McCartney, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Phoebe Philo, Christopher Kane, Hussein Chalayan, Zac Posen, Hamish Bowles, Paul Smith.

Central St. Martins’ elite fashion design program was the clear winner here amongst our panel of experts. As we’ve seen in all the schools, location is critical. Being in the heart of London provides inspiration and full access to cultural and industry resources. The school is partially government-funded, which means that talented British students from all walks of life have a chance to work their way in.

What’s more, the teaching staff is legendary. Professor Louise Wilson has schooled all the greats–from McQueen toGiles Deacon–and she’s become an international fashion figure because of it.

Further evidence of its importance, and influence: It’s the only fashion school that has its runway shows archived onStyle.com.

There were some student complaints about the facility and the number of students competing for the attention of instructors and studio mentors, but most were extremely complimentary of the dedication, knowledge, and experience of the faculty.

Fashion School Honorable Mentions

While researching the world’s top fashion schools, we were excited to learn about some up-and-coming programs. And we expect to see great things out of them in the next decade. In no particular order, they are….

Pratt Institute:
–140 fashion design students
–Tuition (not including room and board): $41,000/year
Famous grads: Jeremy Scott, Betsey Johnson

What they have going for them:
–Students we spoke to loved that it has more of a “real” campus feel and that there was green space and room to spread out.
–It’s in Brooklyn, which, yes, is part of New York City. Pratt has the same access to industry professionals and top-tier designers as FIT and Parsons.
–It’s a fashion program within a much larger arts and design school, so students are exposed to a variety of arts.
–Lots of industry resources are involved in the school. Nick Steele, a stylist and journalist, was intimately involved in the recent Pratt student show. One student credited Nick and his connections with student internships and job offers.

What they need to work on:
–It’s still a very small fashion design program.
–Student comments: Financial aid doesn’t cover expenses. Some students spent $1,000/dress on final collection. (This was a common lament of fashion school students, not just Pratt).

Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD):

–526 fashion design students
–Tuition (not including room and board): $27,765/year
Famous grads: None yet, but we’re watching closely.

What they have going for them:
–Lots of resources are being put into the fashion program. It was recently split off from the larger school of design and is now called the School of Fashion. Michael Fink, former Saks Fifth Avenue’s women’s fashion director, was hired as the dean.
–They have a variety of fashion career options in which to major: design, accessories design, and marketing/management.
–They are making connections with the fashion world at-large: André Leon Talley is on the Board of Trustees. The André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award is presented every year, and brings a well-known designer to the school. This year’s recipient was Diane von Furstenberg.
–Faculty: Lots of industry professionals and marquee designers are brought in to mentor and do workshops (Simon Doonan, Badgley Mischka, Yigal Azrouël, Zac Posen, Catherine Malandrino).
–Besides Savannah, they have campuses in Atlanta, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France.

What they need to work on:
–The college has only been around since the 1970s, so they don’t have a huge endowment yet (which translates to money and resources).
–It’s off the beaten path. Right now the top fashion schools are in London and New York, which are obviously two fashion hubs. It’s much more difficult to get industry people to drop by. However, it seems they’ve committed the resources to get this done from afar.

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD):
–170 students in apparel design/textiles; 42 jewelry/metalsmithing
–Tuition (not including room and board): $39,000/year
-Famous grads: Nicole Miller, Sari Gueron, Philip Crangi,Marcia Patmos, Sarah Welsh & Madeline Davy (Octopi)

What they have going for them:
–History. The school was established in 1888.
–Part of one of the most renowned and well-respected design schools in the world.
–The jewelry/metalsmith program and textiles program are unique and very few schools have programs like them.
–Proximity to the creative and artistic minds of RISD at-large could be very inspiring. Buy how this translates to marketability and tangible outcomes is uncertain.
–The first year is devoted to a fine arts foundation.
–Ability to cross-register at Brown University.

What they need to work on:
–The fashion design school is really small.
–Same problem as SCAD–off the beaten path.
–Not a lot of big-name industry professionals involved in the program. It still seems a bit provincial in that way.

Resume Tips From Fashion Professionals

It's that time of year when a new round of students are graduating colleges across the country and applying for jobs. As the intern supervisor here at Campus & Greek Couture I receive tons of resumes from students. Sometimes I don't think students realize just how important a resume is in gaining them that next step into the company they are wishing to be a part of. I came across this article with resume tips from people in the fashion industry and I am re-posting it here in the hopes that you learn exactly what companies look for in a resume:

Last week, we received one of the best emails ever from a Fashionista reader eager to get his foot in the industry’s door:

TO: Fashionista
FROM: G.
SUBJECT: I need some resume tips!

Hello Fashionista,

My name is G. and I live in California. I’m about to apply for a summer internship with BIG TIME MODELING AGENCY in San Francisco but I’m not quite sure what to put on my resume. I’ve never worked with an agency before but have always found it very interesting. I don’t want to be a model, date a model, or party with models. I just want some great experience that could lead to an interesting career. I’m 20 years old. I like psychedelic death metal, riding my bike, french new wave, and Lara Stone. My favorite agency is COOL MODELING AGENCY in NYC but don’t tell THE OTHER ONE that. I admire Hedi Slimane, Olivier Zahm, and Larry Clark. Should I put all of this on my resume? Should I make a play list of my favorite bands? Or should I list my one time job at Starbucks when I was 16? I think that might show I can make excellent coffee runs??

What do you girls think? Thanks so much!

G., thanks for the awesome email. Three industry experts with a ton of hiring experience have answered your questions. Here’s what they had to say:

Robyn Berkley, Partner, People’s Revolution:

“Don’t spell anything wrong, and don’t put pictures on your resume. The cover letter should be strong and direct–and it should sell yourself in a way that would translate to our environment. List your positive attributes and what you would bring to the job. As for the resume, be concise. (One page or less is enough.) And make sure to include references and past job/internship experience.”

Jeffrey Monteiro, Designer, Bill Blass and Jeffrey Monteiro Labels
“I get so many resumes–for Bill Blass and and my own line–so I’m looking for someone who shows enthusiasm, and not just for fashion. Resumes that are directed to the needs and philosophy of the company, that convey what appeals to the applicant about us, catch my eye. It’s much more effective to send a very specific resume to five companies you really want to work for than 15 that you don’t really care about.
Spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes really get to me. Everyone’s gotten very lazy because of spell check. If you spell a place you’ve worked wrong or my name wrong, that’s bad.”

Christene Barberich, Editorial Director, Refinery29
“Sometimes, graduates trying to break into the industry follow rigid guidelines. For me, formal, formulaic cover letters are the ones that I put to the side. It should give me an essence–a little wink–of the applicant’s personality. If I can tell that they have the confidence to express themselves, I’ll always take the time to read through it and respond.

And I’m super old school about spelling. I have an unusually spelled first name. If someone doesn’t spell my name correctly in an email, I’ll just delete it. If they really cared about connecting with me, they would spell my name correctly. There needs to be a sense of professionalism.

If you really care–if your dream is to work at a certain place–take the time to get to know their content, employees, etc. I remember when I was first applying for editorial positions, I would read several issues of the magazine closely. That way, I could make references to specific things I liked about it.”

Via: Fashionista

Internship Positions Still Available!!

We still have a couple of intern positions to fill for this summer. If you are interested see the requirements below:

Job Description:        Campus & Greek Couture is looking for 3-4 fashion merchandising and design interns for Summer 2010.  As an intern at Campus & Greek Couture you will gain industry experience in categories such as design, product development, sales, and marketing. We believe in a very hands-on environment where interns will participate in daily activities and have legitimate responsibilities within their realm.

Start Date:                  May 2010

            The position can either be a part time or full time internship, available for class credit or for personal experience.

Requirements:          

·         Must be proficient in Microsoft Office and Adobe Suite

·         Must be a self starter and be able to take follow direction

·         Must be responsible, organized, and motivated

·         Must be in studying fashion merchandising or design

·         Must be at least a Junior in college

Recommendations:

·         Proficient working on a Mac OS

·         Training or Experience with Garment Construction, Pattern Making, and Textiles

·         Retail, Wholesale, or Sales Experience

Please email your resume to ashley@candgcouture.com and include why you would like to be an intern at Campus & Greek Couture.

Dallas Apparel Market

As promised, here are the pictures of our booth from the Dallas Apparel Market this past weekend.

We showed our Summer line which will be in stores right before school starts and our Fall line which will be in stores the end of September. We are currently licensed for 6 universities and 15 national sororities. If you are interested in something that we do not have contact us at info@candgcouture.com and we'll see what we can do for you. The order deadline for our Summer line is April 16 and the order deadline for our Fall line is June 30. If you would like to place an order contact sales@candgcouture.com. If you are a store and wish to view our linesheets go to the "Wholesale" tab on our website. 

Setting Up Our Booth

Today we arrived bright and early at the Dallas Apparel Market in order to get our booth all set-up and ready for the trade show to start tomorrow.

Here are a couple pictures of the set-up process:

We will post pictures of the final product tomorrow!!

Dallas Apparel Market

Campus & Greek Couture will be showing at the Dallas Apparel Market this weekend March 25-28. We will be on the 12th floor in booth #2400. 


This is the perfect time to view our new apparel line and place an order before football season starts! If you are attending and would like to make an appointment to see the line in person, feel free to email or call at 972.956.8161. If you can't make it to this event, but would still like to see the line, let us know and we will try to set up a time to come see you!

CAMEX

This past weekend Campus & Greek Couture had a booth at CAMEX in Orlando, FL. It was a lot of fun and we met a lot of great people.

This is what our booth looked like:

We got to speak with buyers from bookstores across the country as well as walk around the show and see all the cool things that the other vendors were selling. 

Name Change and New Website!!!!

As you can probably tell by our new logo above we have recently changed our name to Campus & Greek Couture (or C&G Couture for short) to include our Greek merchandise. 

Our website is now www.campusandgreekcouture.com. 

Our e-mail is info@candgcouture.com. 

Summer 2010 Internship

Job Description:        Campus Couture is looking for 2-3 fashion merchandising and design interns for Summer 2010.  As an intern at Campus Couture you will gain industry experience in categories such as design, product development, sales, and marketing. We believe in a very hands-on environment where interns will participate in daily activities and have legitimate responsibilities within their realm.

Start Date:                  May 2010

            The position can either be a part time or full time internship, available for class credit or for personal experience.

Requirements:          

·         Must be proficient in Microsoft Office and Adobe Suite

·         Must be a self starter and be able to take follow direction

·         Must be responsible, organized, and motivated

·         Must be in studying fashion merchandising or design

·         Must be at least a Junior in college

Recommendations:

·         Proficient working on a Mac OS

·         Training or Experience with Garment Construction, Pattern Making, and Textiles

·         Retail, Wholesale, or Sales Experience

Please email your resume to Heather@campuscouture.com and include why you would like to be an intern at Campus Couture.

Four Seasons Market

Campus Couture is a vendor at the Four Seasons Market at Firewheel Towncenter in Garland, TX this Saturday February 27 from 9am - 2pm. 


Four Seasons Markets was established to develop and manage European style markets where ranchers, farmers, specialty food producers and artisanal craftsmen can interact with customers and other vendors in a colorful, exciting, family-friendly atmosphere that mimics the village markets popular throughout Europe.

The Four Seasons Market at Firewheel Town Center is the first of what is planned to be a number of similar markets in Texas and elsewhere.

It will be held every Saturday year-round from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in The Park at Firewheel. Plans call for entertainment from local musicians, special attractions for children and sidewalk cafés featuring coffee, pastries, wine and soft drinks. The market will be held indoors in inclement weather.


We will have pieces from our university lines for sales. Check out our website at www.campuscouture.com for a sneak peek at what we will have available!!

50% Off EVERYTHING on Website

We have currently lowered our prices on EVERYTHING on our website. The merchandise is going fast so make sure you check it out before it's too late!!!