Alumni

FIDM Alumna Kate Donohew Disrupting Fashion Industry at Farfetch

Kate Donohew graduated from FIDM with her Merchandising & Marketing degree and is now an Account Manager in Los Angeles, working at top luxury fashion ecommerce brand Farfetch.

Tell us a little about yourself: I currently work for an amazing forward thinking ecommerce fashion platform, Farfetch.com, which enables luxury boutiques all around the world to provide the best selection of luxury product to a worldwide customer. I’m based out of one of their many offices, here in Los Angeles.

Tell us about what you do at Farfetch: I work with boutiques within North America to provide strategies on ways to build their business on Farfetch. I communicate with boutiques on a daily basis to ensure that they are up to date with Farfetch initiatives, as well as to stay current with what’s happening in the stores. My daily tasks change constantly, which has made me quick to adapt to change.

Farfetch in the news: The recent strategic partnership with Farfetch.com and Style.com! It’s exciting to be a part of a company who is not only disrupting the fashion industry, but also working with companies/brands to elevate our offering to clients who want world class luxury service and product.

How do you feel FIDM prepared you for what you are doing now? FIDM has great resources—from the faculty at FIDM, who all have backgrounds in the industry, to the internship opportunities with fashion companies. As a student, I tried to utilize all that FIDM could offer. I asked teachers and staff questions about their backgrounds and how they got started in the industry, and I took advantage of what FIDM offers to students preparing to go into the industry (i.e., class trips, internships, company office visits, networking).

Any advice for current FIDM Students? Network, network, network! Years ago, I made a personal business card that I could hand out to anyone at any time. Then, when I would come across people who had interesting backgrounds or who worked at companies that interested me. I would ask for their card and give them mine. I would make a point to connect with them on LinkedIn and reach out to them every now and then. You never know when you might meet a contact again—at a job interview or a networking event.