Alumni
Fashion Design Alumna Claire Rowland Moving To Germany for Galvan London Internship
Claire Rowland graduated with her degree in Fashion Design from the San Francisco campus in June 2018. This summer, she’ll be interning at eveningwear label Galvan London’s design headquarters in Germany. Her FIDM journey began with 3 Days of Fashion. She and her best friend Kendal started an official FIDM Fashion Club at Del Oro High School in Loomis, then headed to FIDM together to embark on their fashion careers. We caught up with her to find out more.
Why did you choose FIDM and Fashion Design? My high school had the freshmen do a lot of career soul-searching and college research, which I think very rarely proves useful for a 13-14 year olds, but in my case it did! I did all my projects around FIDM and chose Fashion Design because when I actually read a description of what fashion design is, I realized that’s what I had been doing my whole childhood.
Growing up I wasn’t the kid that said they wanted to be a ballerina or doctor; I was so content with what I was doing at the time, which happened to be sewing or something along those lines, that I never really thought of my future in terms of a profession. Once I got to an age where society asked me to choose what I was going to dedicate my life to, it just made sense to do what I had already dedicated my life to doing. My mom has always said that design, specifically fashion design, chose me, rather than the other way around.
Through my FIDM research, I found out about 3 Days of Fashion and went the summer before my sophomore year. Since I knew without a doubt that I wanted to pursue Fashion Design at that point, I applied to FIDM my junior year of high school and got in! My best friend throughout high school, Kendal, also applied for Fashion Design and got in as well. Together we started a FIDM Fashion Club at Del Oro High School during our senior year, then moved to the city and attended FIDM SF together a month after graduating!
Kendal and I have a very unique past and so many shared experiences and passions that have bonded us over the years. We met the first day of high school and quickly became friends because of our similar interests. In seven years we’ve attended an ROP fashion class together in high school, worked together at Beverly’s Fabrics, applied to college together, we both got in, started a club for said college, graduated high school, moved to San Francisco in our first apartment, attended the same college, same major, same classes (same homework), same apartment, same train rides home for the weekends, roommates for the FIDM Paris Study Tour (which was amazing!!!), were officers for Phi Theta Kappa together, collaborated on FIDM Mode editorial board, adopted a fluffy orange cat together, worked the same internship sewing for Nettle Studios, worked the same job as Design Assistants at Chubbies, graduated college together (with honors woo wooo!), still are living together, traveled Europe together for a month, and then just recently we’ve parted ways and are taking on our own individual paths in life. Kendal’s still attending FIDM SF to get her Bachelors of Arts degree while I’m moving to Germany for the Galvan London internship.
Tell us about your upcoming Galvan London internship in Germany: I learned about Galvan London through my kindergarten teacher (from Waldorf), Katherine. Her son owns a hotel resort in Positano, Italy where Anna-Christin Haas, the Design Director of Galvan, had her wedding in the summer of 2017. Katherine told me about Anna and the brand and I started following them on Instagram, instantly falling in love with their designs and aesthetic. I knew I was interested in pursuing an internship with them but that wasn’t an option while I was finishing my degree at FIDM. After graduating, working, and interning in the city for the summer, I decided to finally reach out and a couple months later I signed a contract for an internship!
What drew you to it? I love Galvan London’s approach on what evening wear can be. They embrace bold colors, textures, and details but execute them in a sophisticated and cosmopolitan way, unlike any other brand. They also have many evening wear separates which I’m a big fan of and have designed in the past.
What are you most looking forward to learning/experiencing? My past work experience is all very different but each one has helped me to understand the industry in a new way. That’s what I’m most excited for with Galvan London; I want to see their way of viewing design and how they approach and execute their creations.
Tell us a little about your background: I was born and raised in Auburn, California. I have two wonderful parents, Ann and Craig, who raised two equally wonderful kids, my older brother, Neil, and I. Growing up I attended Live Oak Waldorf School. I honestly don’t know if I would be where I am today without the things I learned there and the people I grew up around. As part of the curriculum, each grade would partake in a different type of Handwork; by the time I graduated eighth grade, I knew how to knit, crochet, cross stitch, needle point felt, dye yarn, and sew. It was a very creative environment in which I thrived and absolutely loved. I got my first sewing machine in 3rd grade and soon after started taking classes and making my own clothes and costumes. This went on for years until I started high school and had the opportunity to costume the school plays. In working on all eight plays over four years (Les Miserables, West Side Story, Wizard of Oz, Into the Woods—there were a lot), I realized just how much I loved sewing and designing. It also helped me understand that I didn’t want to go into costume design as my career, rather I wanted to create clothing for unscripted life. I took every chance to make homecoming and prom dresses for myself and friends. Looking back on my childhood and high school, it’s clear to me that I didn’t stand a chance of a career outside the creative/design fields. I’m so happy and thankful I am where I am today!
Any advice for current FIDM Students? Do your homework. Just do it. I know it’s a lot of work and some of it may seem pointless but pushing through will make all the difference. If you want to be successful in what you’ve chosen to pursue, you need to be able to complete any task given to you, regardless if it’s fun or not. And if you want to be really successful, you have to complete it to the very best of your abilities. Putting in the extra effort on class projects and finishing all of your homework will give yourself standards and a work ethic that will translate into the workplace. Aside from homework and how it can do more for you than getting a good grade, I also wish someone had told me that it’s okay to have an off day and that taking care of yourself is just as important as doing your best academically. Losing your sense of self and adopting an unhealthy lifestyle is never productive in the long run. Finding the balance between personal care and your workload is not easy but it’s what will make you be able to finish that project or complete your homework. Remembering to eat or take a power nap, and check in with yourself throughout the day to make sure you’re still present, that can make all the difference when working toward your goals. When you are your best, your work is your best, and when your work is the best, you get the job.
What is your biggest goal right now? As of right now, my immediate goal is preparing to move to Germany and getting ready for my internship. I have a lot of little things to put in order before I go but I am beyond excited to be working and doing what I love. And it’s an extra cherry on top that I get the opportunity to experience living in another country, which is something I’ve always wanted to do.
Anything else you’d like to share? I’ve already had freak out moments about what the next step in building my career would be. Not knowing can be so overwhelming and distracting and has caused me to briefly lose sight of what I do know. Everything I have learned and the skills I’ve taken the time to develop have provided me with my next step, and that’s in large part thanks to FIDM. I’ve never felt lost in a workplace or felt like I’m completely out of my league. My classes taught me what I needed to know and through doing the projects and homework I gained the knowledge and skills to be able to thrive in the industry. The investment my teachers, and even my classmates, put into seeing that I develop my skills and retain the information, has made all the difference in what my next step will be.
Categories: Fashion Design Alumni
