Kayvon Karinloo
Major: Apparel Industry Management
Where did you go to school? Saddleback Junior College, and FIDM Orange County campus for 2 quarters before coming to LA
Why FIDM? I wanted the most up-to-date learning experience—classes taught by people currently in the industry.
What do you love about your major? I’ve wanted to open a business for 10 years. I plan to create an action sports industry brand and my major will help me get there.
In 2011, FIDM Alumna Carla Buchanan launched Business Brandings, a promotional apparel and products company. "I have always dreamed of owning my business, and, with the help of FIDM, I realized that I could combine my talents in art, fashion, advertising, and business," she explains. "My first career was in radio advertising. I wanted to use these skills in my business, which is why I decided on this business-to-business concept."
Carla loves getting to choose her own clients and enjoys creating art for projects, producing t-shirts and polos, and being involved in the promotional product industry. "I have a very fancy rhinestone system that allows me to 'bling' my art for apparel," she adds. "My clients love it and it makes me different from other distributors."
She adds that her time at FIDM really prepared her to own her own business. "My time at FIDM was much more enriched than anything I could have ever imagined -- it was one of the best decisions that I have made in my life," she adds.
Carla also has runs the blogs, Apparel Manufacturing Management, and Business Brandings.
Apparel Industry Management Alumna Naomy Kim is the owner of the new boutique Naomy & Adrian at Westcliff Court in Newport Beach. The shop, which stocks lines such as Ted Baker, Fresh Laundry, and Eternal Sunshine Creations, has already been featured in Greer's OC and Locale Magazine. "I see the OC fashion scene being more diverse, full of energy, and a laidback attitude towards life," says Naomy, a knitwear designer who sells her own line of sweaters and scarves.
Apparel Industry Management Grad Lori Fox (pictured, right) is the lead designer for Raven + Lily, an Austin-based company whose motto is "Empowering Women Through Design."
"I started out as a volunteer with Raven + Lily during my time at FIDM. My passions included design and humanitarian work so my purpose for going to FIDM was to see if these two things could come together," explains Lori, who recently moved back to her native Texas after a decade in L.A.
"I first learned of the issue of human trafficking while in Thailand in 2005, and was heartbroken by the issue and wanted to do whatever I could to help women get out of this situation and create jobs to keep them from being vulnerable."
Since he was a boy, Josh Lobb knew that he wanted to start an apparel company, Infinite Expression. The Just Accepted Apparel Industry Management Student's longtime dream helped him gain admission to FIDM. Here he describes his entrance project:
"I was supposed to create a fictitious apparel company and talk about what the products would look like, who it would be targeted towards, and some general profit margins, but to me the project was about much more. I based my project upon the brand that I've wanted to begin since my childhood, Infinite Expression. To my satisfaction, describing my entrance project in my admissions interview went smoothly because I knew exactly what I was talking about. For me it wasn't just a project, it was a dream."
Read the entire interview at FIDM's FashionClub.com Daily Blog.
Apparel Industry Management Major, Brilliant (Yes, that is her real name!) is on top of the Back-to-School trends in her patterned draped trousers!
FIDM Apparel Industry Management Alumna Mabel Cortez is the designer and owner of Mabella Chic, a women's line known for its sexy, yet comfortable fabrics. The collection has been selected to show at The Hispanic Women Conference in Phoenix, and is one of 10 emerging desginers showing at Phoenix Fashion Week in October.
"Mabella Chic has taken typical women's business attire to a whole different level by providing independent expression for every woman who supports herself and is proud to show it through fashion," says Mabel.
Just Accepted Apparel Industry Management Student Amanda Warzecha hopes to one day open a chain of women's clothing stores and can't wait to move to L.A. to start pursuing her fashion dreams at FIDM.
"When I was 16, I started taking college classes at a community college in Duluth. Under Minnesota's Post Secondary Enrollment Program (PSEO) I was able to test out of high school and go to college in eleventh and twelfth grade. I earned my two year Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and graduated with a 3.5 GPA. I am on the Phi Theta Kappa and earned two big scholarships for FIDM.
The big city environment is something I need because growing up where I did, I've never experienced much diversity. I love FIDM's creative environment and the Apparel Industry Management Program is perfect for me because I want to start a clothing franchise by myself in the future. I know FIDM has the industry connections and reputation to help me get my name out in the fashion industry."
Read the entire interview at FIDM's FashionClub.com Daily Blog.
Apparel Industry Management Alumna Ashley Anderson, a Fort Worth native and Texas Christian University Graduate, wanted to combine her two lifelong loves: couture fashion and college football. Thus, BRANDED® Clothing was born. “Branded Clothing connects the disjointed union between ‘spirit wear’ and ‘fashionable’,” says Anderson. “Every piece has been designed for the woman who recognizes and appreciates fashion as much as a great football game.”
Anderson’s Fall 2011 debut line incorporates both knit and woven separates, promoting four Texas universities: Baylor University, Texas Christian University, Texas Tech and Southern Methodist University. The collection includes pieces with flattering, form-fitting silhouettes which, combined with high quality fabrics like premium cotton broadcloth and French Terry and subtle detailing, make each piece highly wearable, fashionable, and yet spirit-driven.
Just Accepted Apparel Industry Management Student Jasmine Calice wants to one day open a boutique and start a clothing line, but first she will attend the L.A. campus in 2012, and is thrilled to be part of FIDM. The New Orleans native says,
"I am a senior at Coppell High School. God is my number one priority I love hanging out with my family and friends. Shopping is my hobby. I am very outgoing, I love making my own money, and working for it. In the future I see myself as being the next BIG thing. I am very determined and I put my heart into anything and everything that I do."
Read the entire interview on FIDM's FashionClub.com Daily Blog.
