Announcing The GUESS Scholars Program
Open to Advanced Fashion Design students
Each year, the GUESS Scholars Program grants an outstanding FIDM Student a scholarship that will cover a full academic year. The program supports not only the fashion industry’s burgeoning young talent and the future of the industry in its hometown of Los Angeles, but also provides local talent with a brighter, more promising future. This year’s scholars program is open to students in FIDM’s Advanced Fashion Design program.
We checked in with previous GUESS Scholar winners Max Tran (2020), Marina Clark (2021), and Michel Fernando (2022) to learn about the opportunities that opened up for them since winning.
GUESS Scholar Max Tran has seen his career take off as a result of winning the prestigious scholarship in 2020. He graduated from FIDM with an A.A. Degree in Fashion Design in June 2022 and was accepted into FIDM’s prestigious Advanced Fashion Design program where he showcased his futuristic, luxury streetwear collection in the 2023 DEBUT Runway Show. “After my first year of community college, I discovered the DEBUT program and that is what made me decide to transfer to FIDM. I was able to win the GUESS Scholarship which helped relieve my financial burdens. I’m grateful to the FIDM professors that helped me learn from scratch and get to where I am now.” says Max.
GUESS 2021 Scholar Marina Clark secured a fashion design internship in Guess’s denim department in June 2022 as a result of her winning the scholarship. “I had the opportunity to sit in on corporate meetings to discuss upcoming trends and really learn who the target customer is,” she said. “Every process was shown to me, from creating tech packs to fitting samples. I even got to work with raw denim and see firsthand how denim washes are developed. Paul Marciano, a founder of GUESS and the current CEO, saw a few of my designs and liked them enough to put them into production. They’ll hit store floors in Fall of 2023. I’m very grateful to my mentors at GUESS for all the knowledge they shared with me. I am still in contact with them a year later, and they have assisted me with recommendations for other jobs and programs!”
GUESS 2022 Scholar Michel Fernando moved to Los Angeles from Sri Lanka just 5 years ago, during which she has completed three degrees from FIDM: an A.A. in Fashion Design, a B.A. in Design, and an Advanced Study A.A. Degree in Menswear. “A lesson I’ve learned at FIDM is to ‘go with the flow,’” said Michel. “I’ve experienced that if we’re passionate and determined with what we do, there will always be a reward that leads to the better, so instead of worrying what the next phase in life should be, just be open for opportunity."
