Alumni
SHEIN Hires Grad After Seeing FIDM Portfolio Exhibition
Born in Missouri, Simone Rogers was part of the FIDM Fashion Club at Blue Springs High School and chose to study Merchandise Product Development to combine her love of fashion and business. She graduated in 2020 with her A.A. degree and caught the attention of popular online retailer SHEIN when they saw her work showcased in the FIDM Portfolio Exhibition. In addition to being a SHEIN x designer and creating custom clothing, Simone is in the process of pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Textiles and Clothing in Business at the University of Central Missouri, which is close to where she currently resides. We caught up with the recent graduate to learn more about her FIDM journey, designing a collection for SHEIN, and what’s next.
How did you feel when SHEIN reached out to you? When I first saw the email from SHEIN I panicked! My mind was blown that they had actually wanted to create a collection with me of all people. I didn't even have time to process the email they sent before I responded saying I'd absolutely love to have the chance to work with them.
Tell us about your SHEIN X Simone Rogers collection: I've always had a love for the 1960s and 1970s wild and vibrant patterns. I had done some trend research and had seen that big and bold prints would be in style this year, so I curated the collection around the prints I created using Photoshop. I wanted the collection to be flashy and eye-catching and to maybe help people get out of their comfort zones and wear something bright. I mainly created garments I would wear and for people who have a similar style.
How does it feel seeing your work on one of the top retailer's sites? It's mind-blowing! I was so thankful to be able to work with them and to be given the chance to have full creative freedom to create and design a collection. It's also really cool to see people wearing the clothes I've designed and getting feedback from them. A friend of mine in New York had actually seen a girl walking around in the romper I designed.
What else are you up to these days? As of right now I'm attempting to teach myself CLO3d. I'm really interested in digital clothing that's being sold as NFTs. I had first heard about it back in January in a fashion conference put on by PI Apparel. CLO3d is a difficult software to learn and the industry is so new that I want to get involved and create my own digital clothing brand as soon as possible.
What was your path to FIDM like? It was very spur of the moment. I've always enjoyed fashion but I had never thought to make it a career growing up. I had originally wanted to pursue a career as a pathologist, but while at Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, MO, I took Fashion/Sewing classes and was a part of the Fashion Club that was involved with FIDM and my teacher at the time had mentioned how much she enjoyed my fashion taste and that I was great at sewing. After she had told me that I made the quick decision to look into fashion colleges and saw FIDM and chose to apply immediately.
What drew you to Merchandise Product Development? I had called my Admissions Advisor and explained to her that I loved fashion, but I was more interested in the marketing/business side. She mentioned the Merchandise Product Development major and how it was a balanced degree in both fashion design and business and it ended up being the perfect fit.
How did FIDM help prepare you for your career? FIDM was extremely helpful in starting my career. All of the instructors I had were amazing and I learned so much from them. Some of the skills that I've utilized the most in my career so far from my classes have been Illustrator and Photoshop, tech packs, trend analysis, and textiles. If I hadn't gone to FIDM and chosen my major I think I would be completely lost in starting my career.
Learn more online at moemoecustoms.com and on Instagram @marshmallowmoe.
Categories: Merchandise Product Development Alumni
