Alumni

Business Management Grad Lands Associate Designer Position at TravisMathew

Born and raised in Chicago, Marty McKenna attended Marist High School before heading to FIDM, where he completed an A.A. in Merchandise Product Development, an Advanced A.A. in International Manufacturing & Product Development, and most recently, a B.S. in Business Management. While in school, Marty participated in a number of industry collaborations. “While working with these companies, I designed for several different consumer markets and received critiques from executive teams. These experiences prepared me for my role today as I was able to walk in with prior industry experience.” 

That role is his recently-acquired position as an Associate Designer with men’s sportswear brand TravisMathew. We checked in with Marty to learn more. 

Tell us about your new position as Associate Designer at TravisMathew. What are your responsibilities? At TravisMathew, my main responsibilities are designing seasonal products for our Special Make-Up accounts and assisting with our main line collections. As of now, I have worked on product for Nordstrom, St. Andrews Links, and Scheels, in addition to designing graphics for our main line collection. 

How are you enjoying the role? Is it a good fit? I love the role and feel that it is a perfect fit. I have always had an interest in design and love using my creative skill sets on a day to day basis. TravisMathew is also a very exciting company for me to be a part of, as they have quickly become a leader in the golf/lifestyle industry. As a lifelong golfer and former developer at Adidas Golf, it is very exciting to grow with the industry in the design space. 

How did FIDM help prepare you for this position? FIDM prepared me for this position in several ways. Of course, all of the Illustrator and Photoshop skills I learned at FIDM are used every day at my job. However, I feel that FIDM prepared me most through all of the industry collaborations. FIDM allowed me to collaborate with companies such as Red Bull, Uniqlo, Guess, Herbalife Nutrition, HBO Max, etc. 

What advice do you have for FIDM students as they start their careers? My advice to FIDM students is to remind them that they are not married to their major. I began my career as an apparel and accessories developer at Adidas. As time went on, I came to realize that I wanted to create as a designer, and not just as a developer. Even though my degrees were in product development and international manufacturing and product development (IMPD), I was able to use the industry experience I had to move into design.
The apparel industry is very large, yet very small at the same time. Once you get experience, it is possible to move around if necessary. 

Anything else you’d like to share? I want to give FIDM a big thank you for all of their support! When I started my FIDM career, I did not know a soul in the apparel industry and was worried I would struggle finding a job. However, FIDM provided me with the knowledge, skill sets, experience, and industry contacts to launch my career.

Categories:  Business Management International Manufacturing & Product Development Merchandise Product Development Alumni