One of the more unique programs at Centennial College, Fashion Business and Management focuses on more than just designing the clothes we wear. This two-year program deals with all business facets of the industry behind those clothes, including production, marketing, and sales. That last component includes the digital side of things, because it’s not always about a real-world storefront. E-commerce is the inevitable wave of the future, and because there’s no better way to learn than doing something for real, Fashion Business and Management students got a chance to learn on their feet at the end of 2023, when the program partnered with the Toronto Fashion Incubator for a special project. This collaboration put the students to the test, and had them learn as they built a platform for their clients, who were real fashion designers. Here’s how it happened, and what our students gained.
The Fashion Connection.
Shawna Whish teaches the Fashion Business and Management program’s e-commerce course, and played a key role in the capstone project.
"The entire concept," Shawna says, "is that it’s an e-commerce platforms course. The skills that the students learn in this course are really, really valuable. They learn, from start to finish, an overview of e-commerce, and their final project is launching an e-commerce store. So, when we partnered with the Toronto Fashion Incubator, the entire thought was, what if they actually launched a real store?"
Susan Langdon is the Executive Director of the Toronto Fashion Incubator.
"It’s the world's first nonprofit Fashion Incubator," Susan explains, "and what we do is help creative individuals to become successful fashion entrepreneurs." As for how they connected with Centennial, it all started with an Instagram follow from the College.
"I was really impressed with the programs that were offered to students," Susan says. "So, I sent a DM, thanked them for following me, and asked if they would be interested in working together in some sort of partnership that would be mutually beneficial for their students and for our members."
"The idea we agreed upon," Susan continues, "was having the students create an e-commerce site for some of our members, and particularly members who either didn't have an e-comm site, or had one that wasn’t maximized in terms of potential. So, we put a call out to our designers, we got a number of responses, and we settled on three."
"These are new designers who are looking to get their brand off the ground," Shawna says, "And by partnering with them, we were able to offer an e-commerce-ready site for them. The designers were responsible with providing us with assets, photography, information about their brand, etc. But the students really were the ones who put it all together. And this week, they had the opportunity to present to the designers and say, here's what you gave us."
Meet the Students.
Mariella Lim, Natalia Arguelles Suarez, and Johnrhe Recaza are three of the Fashion Business and Management students who took part in the project.
"What made me decide to get into the fashion business is that it’s highly directed to my past career in the Philippines," Mariella says. "Being an international student, Centennial offered one of the best fashion programs, and I really like the subjects that were being taught and offered."
"I am from Colombia," Natalia says, "and the reason I decided to study fashion business is because it was one of my passions, and I didn't have the opportunity to study fashion back home."
"I am a business owner back in the Philippines," says Johnrhe. "Starting my own business is difficult, since I'm relying on real life experience. So, I decided to study fashion business to back up my experience with learnings and lessons from other professionals. Also, I chose Centennial College because its commitment to providing cutting-edge education and developing relevant skills to the business world." Johnrhe also hopes to launch that business in Canada, too, after he graduates.
"We were working with a designer named Kendrick Tran," Mariella says. "We worked with him for 11 weeks. I was in charge of doing all the communications with him and linking all the information that he's provided to our team, so that we'd be able to create the new Shopify site that he wanted for his brand."
"At the same time that we were working on this project, Kendrick was also working on his new collection and fashion show," Mariella continues, "So he was quite busy, and there was information that we kept chasing him for."
"It was a real-life experience for them to understand what it's like to manage a stakeholder," Shawna continues. "I told them to treat their designers as though they are working in an agency, and they're trying to make them happy."
Challenges, rewards, and a presentation.
For each of the students, the biggest challenge was learning Shopify, and then using it in a practical context.
"Speaking for me," Natalia says, "I didn't know how to work with Shopify until this semester, where it was a new experience for me. To figure out everything was very helpful."
"I really value that I've learned how to build a Shopify site from the ground up," Mariella concurs. "It was something that I'd never done before. E-commerce is something that will be important in the future, and it's already here, so how it's being done, and all the strategies around it are really essential for my future career here in Canada."
"The most rewarding part was when we presented it," Natalia says, of the three fashion designers’ response. "They were very happy with the result. For the whole semester, it's worth it at the end."
"We had three members of our Program Advisory Committee who attended," Shawna says about the final presentations. "We had Steven Kahn, our chair, and Dean Barry O'Brien, who attended as well, so, there were a lot of high-profile people in this room."
"The presentations went very well," Susan says. "The three teams of students presented to the three designers, who, I understand, didn't have a sneak peek. And it went very, very well; they did such an amazing job. I think all of the designers were quite pleased."
Helping their future.
While the designers walked away with new websites to sell their wares, the students walked away with experience, skills and contacts, something equally valuable.
"I'm so impressed at how fast they learned Shopify," Shawna says. "They definitely worked at an accelerated pace to achieve this. And additionally, the conversations that they had to have with the designers, that is a soft skill that you don't always get in traditional learning methodologies." That need for the personal touch is something Susan Langdon agrees with, too.
"I think one of the things students need, and I say this from personal experience," Susan adds, "is getting real industry contacts, and not just bumping into them at a networking event. In this case, they actually worked with the designers who are professionals in the field, got to know them, and helped them to problem-solve. They got to meet me, I got to meet them. And I think these kinds of connections are invaluable in helping them with their future careers. As it happens, one of the designers, Kendrick Tran, offered all of the students on his team an internship. He was just really impressed with the work that they did and their level of commitment."
"The purpose of this was to really make the students future-ready and to give them that skill set they need," Shawna continues. "When I think back to when I took fashion business 20 years ago, there were a lot of great things that I took with me. But there was a lot of skill sets that I feel I didn't really learn in my program. And I want to make sure that I impart those to students, especially given that no matter where they go, e-commerce is going to be something that they touch, whether they're adjacent to it, shoulder to shoulder or managing e-commerce. This is something they need to know. Centennial is really focused on making our students future-ready."
By: Anthony Geremia