Alumni
Grad is Events Director at California Market Center
Moriah Robinson grew up on a tree farm in a small town in Oregon where the population was 600 people. A “90s baby,” she grew up idolizing Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and took notice when the future fashion designers toured the FIDM campus in one of their direct-to-DVD movies. “It wasn’t long before I was sketching dresses on the back of choir cards in church and branding myself an indie designer,” Moriah says. After receiving her Visual Communications degree, she spent five years at Saks Fifth Avenue as the PR and Events Coordinator and was the Special Events Manager for Madame Tussauds Hollywood. Today, she’s the Events Director at California Market Center, located in the heart of Downtown LA’s Fashion District, just steps from FIDM.
Tell us about your path to FIDM: I spent my young teens experimenting and trying to develop my craft. In high school, I realized I was much less drawn to design and much more passionate about fashion styling. I scored a job with Maurice’s, a clothing retail chain predominantly positioned in small towns across America. My absolute favorite part of my job was styling my customers. When a woman found the perfect dress, the joy that lit up her face would make my entire day. I found myself begging for extra shifts, passionate about moving up within the company and getting promoted. I wanted to learn everything about the retail business, learn the best selling techniques, understand metrics, and data tools. Within a year, I was promoted to an Assistant Manager and shortly thereafter our store surpassed two major benchmark sales goals. The corporate team took notice, and one of the executives flew out to take our team out to a celebratory dinner.
At that dinner, I asked the executive, “What piece of advice would you give someone who wants to grow within the fashion industry.” He gave me a two word answer: “Be mobile.” He elaborated that opportunity rarely knocks that doesn’t shake up or change your life in some way. His best advice was to stay mobile and agile, so when that job across the country comes up, you don’t stop to worry about the comforts of home. You take it. You take it because from change there will be growth. It was then that I knew for sure I needed to move to a big city. With that motivation, I left home a month after my high school graduation to start school at FIDM Los Angeles.
Tell us about your role as Director of Events and Marketing at CMC: I currently lead a team of marketing and event professionals who are responsible for all events and market experiences at the California Market Center. The Events Team comprises four departments: Sales, Marketing, Retail Relations, and Operations. Together, we self-produce eight trades shows every year including one of the largest Textile shows on the West Coast. In addition to the shows, we also develop programming and activations around LA Market Week, which occurs five times per year. Our focus is primarily on the buyer’s experience and driving traffic to CMC showrooms. I love working for the CMC because this is the first time I’ve been so immersed in the wholesale and manufacturing side of the fashion industry.
What do you love most about working in events? Evoking an emotion, creating an experience, and leaving a lasting memory for attendees. That is always, always, always my top-line goal. If the event I’ve produced has influenced just one person in a positive way I feel that it was a job well done.
How have things changed for you since the Covid pandemic? Like many others, we pivoted quickly into digital. I’ve seen so many events embrace virtual, which I think has positioned us for the future. However, I strongly believe that nothing can replace live events, especially trade events. We hear from retailers daily that although working remotely and virtual buying has its upsides, they are desperately missing the touch and feel of the products.
How did FIDM help prepare you for your career? One thing I love most about FIDM is that their instructors have industry experience and valuable real-time insight. There is also power in the FIDM network. Throughout my career, my most coveted asset has been my ever-expanding network. A strong network gets you behind closed doors, conveys trust, and provides a platform for potential partnerships and career connections. I came to Los Angeles with no connections. Most of my opportunities came from a network built from the ground up at FIDM.
What advice would you share with current FIDM students and recent graduates? Start early and start before you’re ready. The education and training that I experienced at FIDM made me feel prepared and confident to enter the workforce, but you still have to work for your opportunities in this business. This is why networking and growing your network is key. Once you do start working, you cannot just fall back on your degree and claim you have nothing left to learn. It’s imperative that you continue your education in the workplace and soak up as much knowledge and experience as you can. This is when the real work begins, and this is also how your entry level opportunity leads to your next opportunity, and so on. My advice in a nutshell is to work hard, meet people, work with a positive attitude, don’t be afraid to ask questions, always offer to help others, and don’t hesitate to ask for help as well. Above all, stay connected. It’s a much smaller industry than you think.
Categories: Visual Communication Alumni
