Grad Cristina Del Campo Hired at Sunrise Brands in Technical Design

Alumni

Grad Hired in Technical Design at Sunrise Brands

Santa Barbara, California native, Cristina Martin Del Campo has earned three degrees from FIDM—Fashion Design, Fashion Knitwear Design, and a Bachelor's in Creative Industry Studies. She is now an Assistant Technical Designer at Sunrise Brands, and credits FIDM with teaching her how to manage her time. "At times it felt overwhelming when it came to keeping on top of all my [FIDM] projects, but I got the hang of it and I really value the time management skills I gained," she said. "This is really helpful at work since the fashion industry is fast paced and we have to meet deadlines." We caught up with her to find out more about her career journey.

Tell us a little about yourself: I was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. It was always understood that I would go to college but I was encouraged by my parents to study what I was most interested in. My mom was the inspiration for my love of fashion and I decided that I wanted to go to school for it. My design inspiration mostly comes from the 1950s-1970s. This also shows up in my own personal style. I hand knit as well as machine knit in my free time.

Tell us about your position as an Assistant Tech Designer at Sunrise Brands: The team I work on works with a brand that sells on HSN. I really like the people I work with and I enjoy that it is fast paced and that there is always something to be done. It's also cool to get to a design from the beginning stage all the way to seeing it on TV. I have also learned a lot at this job about our industry, in addition to what I learned at FIDM.

Why did you choose FIDM? I chose FIDM because it was a good school and I really wanted to stay on the West Coast. FIDM also offered unique programs that I didn't think I could find anywhere else.

How do you feel FIDM prepared you for what you are doing now? I feel like going to FIDM really taught me how to manage my time. At times it felt overwhelming when it came to keeping on top of all my projects, but I got the hang of it and I really value the time management skills I gained. This is really helpful at work since the fashion industry is fast paced and we have to meet deadlines.

You have 3 degrees from FIDM--Fashion Design, Fashion Knitwear Design, and Bachelor's in CIS. How did you decide on this path and how did the programs complement one another? I chose Fashion Design first since I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do in the fashion industry. I would take my hand knitting to class and one of my teachers suggested that I check out the Knitwear program. So I applied and pursued my Associates in Knitwear Design. I ended up really enjoying the program and found that my creativity was better working with knit designs. I wanted to get my Bachelor's, and it worked out that I was able to get it in CIS Knitwear. They complemented each other because I felt that I learned the basics in Fashion Design, but I was able to build off of what I learned and hone my skills and develop new ones in the Knitwear program.

Looking back, which classes at FIDM were most valuable to you? One of the most valuable classes was patterning, specifically the one for cut and sew knits I took as part of my knitwear degree. It really helped me gain more of an understanding of how patterns work and also how different the fabric characteristics of knits and wovens are.

Any advice for current FIDM Students? Just believe in your talent and never be afraid to stand for your creativity and your designs. Also, take deep breaths, you got this.

What is your biggest goal right now? My biggest goal is to continue to thrive in my job and work my way up in the industry.