KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Aug. 12, 2020 \u2013 If there was ever any doubt that Rose Leger\u2019s future was in fashion, it was cleared up when she joined a friend on a college tour.<\/p>\n
As her friend interviewed with a recruiter about the school and her desire to major in social work, Leger\u2019s mind was elsewhere. \u201cI had tagged along thinking maybe that day I\u2019d realize something else, like social work would be a better fit,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen we left the info session, she and her mom asked me what I thought. All I could talk about was the pin tucks and pleating on the speaker\u2019s gray wool dress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leger, a graduate student in textile science at the 溏心vlog免费B站, recently received fresh confirmation of her career path as she took top honors in the 2020 Concept 2 Consumer Student Merchandising Competition held by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. Leger\u2019s business, marketing and design plan for the women\u2019s wear line \u201cOlivine\u201d was first in a field of 15 entries from 37 students from eight colleges and universities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinning this competition was incredibly affirming to me,\u201d says Leger, of Auburn, Massachusetts<\/strong>. \u201cI\u2019m heavily interested and invested in the fashion industry, so to have a project that tested all of my knowledge and beliefs be recognized by a prestigious professional organization felt very good.\u201d<\/p>\n Leger hatched her design ideas and business model for the competition during the fall semester in Textile Markets, a capstone class for seniors taught by Assistant Professor Ji Hye Kang that addresses sustainability, manufacturing and politics surrounding design and production of textile products.<\/p>\n The contest became part of the class\u2019s workload. With a theme of \u201cEverlasting Style,\u201d the competition required participants to develop a business model that included a marketing and merchandising plan, and designing a clothing line that was office-appropriate and emphasized sustainability, quality, and a timeless style.<\/p>\n \u201cI always challenge myself to think outside of the box, and the AATCC provided some pretty rigid guidelines with little wiggle room,\u201d Leger says.<\/p>\n Leger, who earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in fashion communication from Lasell College in 2016, came to 溏心vlog免费B站 in last fall to earn a master\u2019s degree with plans of teaching fashion at the college level. The project, she says, reintroduced her to the \u201cfashion classroom\u201d while also forcing her to expand her knowledge of merchandising.<\/p>\n Leger\u2019s inspiration for the Olivine line was the relatively new menswear brand Bode, which uses antique and vintage textiles such as quilts and tablecloths in its shirts and jackets. It also played to her interest in vintage and secondhand clothing.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing like Bode exists in the women\u2019s wear market,\u201d she says. \u201cI thought, what if the silhouettes and fabrics were more feminine? I searched through vintage stores and vintage sewing patterns for further feminine inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n Leger\u2019s designs use a palette of warm brick reds, heavy greens and blues, with bright yellow accents thrown in, and have a timeless look. \u201cI wanted it all to feel authentic to the past yet fresh and empowering to a woman who would wear it today,\u201d she says<\/p>\n Professor Kang helped Leger fine tune her poster for the contest in the months after the fall semester and the deadline for the contest in April. \u201cI know that without Dr. Kang\u2019s constant support and wisdom, the results of the contest would not have been the same,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a joyful process helping her prepare the submission, even during the pandemic,\u201d says Kang. \u201cShe is a very independent performer who has professional experience, and her own ideas and skills. Her experience and learning from academia and the industry have given her skills and her own perspectives that successfully helped her in this project.\u201d<\/p>\n From her youngest memories, Leger was clothing conscious and felt that a person\u2019s presentation influenced their behavior and other people\u2019s perceptions. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t so much that I felt I needed to be better dressed than others, more that I wanted to present differently than others,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve never been afraid to take a sartorial risk, whether that be through wide-leg jeans when everyone else was wearing skinny, or even as simple as a unique color or accessory.\u201d<\/p>\n After Lasell College, Leger worked in product development for children\u2019s clothing before a public relations internship landed her a dream opportunity in New York. For several years, Leger worked on fashion magazines SELF and Brides, part of the Cond\u00e9 Nast publishing empire that includes the premier fashion magazine, Vogue. At Brides, Leger wrote fashion and pop culture stories, attended New York Fashion Week and Bridal Fashion Week, served as stylist for photo and video shoots, and planned the wedding for \u201cGlee\u201d star Riker Lynch. She even rode the elevator a couple times with legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.<\/p>\n Despite her experience in New York, she wasn\u2019t in love with the \u201cfast-paced concrete jungle\u201d and wondered what was next, she says. She remembered her college experiences and how her professors inspired her, and decided she wanted to do the same. 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s reputation for its textile graduate program and its proximity to her family played a big part in her choice.<\/p>\n \u201cI visited 溏心vlog免费B站 and met with professors ahead of applying and left feeling very inspired,\u201d she says. \u201cEach professor highlighted a different asset of the TMD graduate program and showed me all of the opportunity that would be present if I were to enroll. That day really sealed the deal for me.\u201d<\/p>\n As a master\u2019s student in textile science, she is taking classes that are giving her a footing in both the art and science of fashion. In the spring, she took Textile Dying with Professor Martin Bide and this summer is studying organic chemistry, as she explores the importance of science to textiles and fashion. She hopes to eventually teach college students that you can be both an artist and scientist.<\/p>\n \u201cOverall, the industry is craving a lot of change and needs fresh ideas and leadership,\u201d says Leger. \u201cI believe the youth are the change and the educators are the spark. I\u2019ve seen and experienced a lot of the industry in a short time and chose to return to school to dive deeper into my own understanding of fashion and textiles, while gaining the necessary degree to be qualified for a position in higher education.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Aug. 12, 2020 \u2013 If there was ever any doubt that Rose Leger\u2019s future was in fashion, it was cleared up when she joined a friend on a college tour. As her friend interviewed with a recruiter about the school and her desire to major in social work, Leger\u2019s mind was elsewhere. 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