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Students in Apparel Technical Design Bachelor's Program Present Product Concepts for Design Thinking Class
Students in the Bachelor of Science in Apparel Technical Design program presented their product concepts this week to a panel, as their final presentation for their "Design Thinking: Implementation" class taught by FIDM Instructor Louise Wallace.
In this class (MPDV 4850), the second component of the MPDV Design Thinking sequence, students developed a complete business strategy for the product or process innovation they started in "Design Thinking: Research & Ideation" (MPDV 4600), taught by Susan Spencer.
In a conference room setting, Wonny Shin was the first to present. She calls her brand TGI Free-Hands, which stands for “Thank Goodness It’s Freehands.” Her corset top concept functions as a purse, with inside pockets that hold a phone, lipstick, credit cards, cash, and other small personal items.
As she went through her slides in her Powerpoint presentation, Wonny discussed retail price, fabrication, and colorways, along with an outline of her target customer and competition in the marketplace. She went over her social media strategy, financial projections including projected expenses, projected sales, projected COGS (cost of goods sold), net income before taxes, and net income after taxes. She covered funding and her distribution calendar.
One by one, the students presented their product concepts. Haley Schaeffer’s No Conflict provides clothing for women with a fuller bust or fuller hip who are in search of the perfect fit. Her product idea is to create a new size chart.
Jillian Flaherty created mountain biking shorts with an integrated system for holding small tools such as a tire pump, a chain tool, and a tire repair kit. She also designed a 3-D printed belt buckle that incorporated her MechShort logo.
Kylee Pray’s Coolhearted Clothing incorporates a lot of ventilation, for menopausal women who are looking for more comfort in their daywear.
Mason Segal’s designed his No*Nomad cover for homeless people to use over a tent. “This innovation not only fills a market void, but truly serves a purpose,” said FIDM Instructor Susan Spencer. Made of Temptrol reflective fabric, the cover keeps the temperature inside the tent cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Melissa Moreno’s Feel Good Clothing addresses the needs of patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Her pullover fleece has zippers at the chest and arm to allow for ease of access for treatment.
Nathan Phan’s aims to redefine maternity wear with his Maternology product.
Native Oregonian and multigenerational fisher, Nikki Rusinovich designed a waterproof fishing boot that converts to an ankle boot for dock work, with her Red Sky Industries brand.
In each presentation, the students covered business strategy details, specifications, prototypes, experimentation methods, budget and costs, sourcing strategies, production timelines, and potential business partners.
For critique and evaluation, the students presented to a panel that included FIDM Instructors Susan Spencer and Rebecca Eliason, Apparel Technical Design grads Julia Hickman and Nelly Torres, and Bachelor's of Business Management grad Ralfie Garcia.
Follow the Bachelors in Apparel Technical Design students on Instagram: Wonny Shin @gochujang_cho, Haley Schaeffer @haley3schaeffer, Jillian Flaherty @jekaclover, Kyleen Pray @kyleepray, Mason Segal @masonsegal, Melissa Moreno @withlovexmel, Nathan Pham @nathanphann, and Nikki Rusinovich @nikkilynnz.
Categories: Apparel Technical Design Student
