By:Yaël Ksander
Friday, May 03, 2024
Gretchen Fehn: Dressed for a Day
Back on the show “Parks and Recreation,” one of the many businesses launched by irrepressible entrepreneur Tom Hathaway was Rent-A-Swag, the town’s first teen clothing rental shop. The 2012 episode played the idea for laughs, but graduating Merchandising student Gretchen Fehn has given the idea a second chance … and gotten some recognition for it.
One of six Eskenazi School students recognized for case studies addressing environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) priorities by the Fashion Scholarship Fund’s Class of 2024 Scholarship competition, Gretchen proposed her own version of Rent-A-Swag. Dressed for a Day (DFAD) is Fehn’s princess costume rental line for children ages two to 12 planning a trip to Disney World. Park-goers would be able to order their costume on an app, arrive at the park, pick up and change into their reserved costume and store their clothes in a DFAD storefront, where they could return the dress at the end of their day at the park.
Like its fictional counterpart, DFAD acknowledges that the sartorial needs of young people can be fleeting. That makes children’s clothing and other sectors of the industry – such as maternity clothing – the perfect place for the rental model to catch on – an idea whose time has come, Fehn insisted.
“Trend cycles are faster than they have ever been before and things go in and out of style within the week. This has caused brands to focus less on creating quality garments and more on pushing out the cheapest, trendiest pieces possible, leading to overconsumption,” said Fehn. “The way I see it, renting is the best way to solve this problem because it allows people to follow trends and wear new things all the time, but instead of throwing them away when they inevitably go out of style, they would send them back to a rental company that would keep it and either sell it to someone else or keep it until it comes back in style in ten years.”
An Eskenazi School Merchandisingmajor with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management from the Kelley School of Business, Fehn was the recipient of a $7,500 scholarship in the FSF Scholarship competition, together with a $2,500 scholarship from Kohl’s. Together with fellow scholarship winners from the Eskenazi School, Fehn spent the first weekend in April in New York networking with industry leaders, listening to panel discussions, and attending receptions, including the April 8 gala and awards ceremony, an event attended by Tracee Ellis Ross, Spike Lee, Paloma Elsesser, Vera Wang, and Shannon Abloh, among other luminaries. The weekend also included private gatherings with the editorial directors of “Women’s Wear Daily,” fashion directors from Nordstrom and Kohl’s, and designers Christian Juul Nielsen and Bach Mai.
Growing up in Carmel, Indiana, Fehn said she always knew she wanted to be involved in retail. But it wasn’t clear to her what side of the business she wanted to focus on until she was introduced to the major’s product development concentration by now-retired Senior Lecturer Rick Bomberger. “It helped me to find out what truly excites me about retail, and that is figuring out exactly what the consumer needs and making it happen,” Fehn said. “I love the process of doing research and making an existing product better and then getting to see that come to life. I just finished my final project for the concentration: a case study with Bath and Body Works to better their product assortment. It was so cool to work with real professionals about real products and I'm so grateful to [Lecturer] Deb Pearson for giving us such amazing opportunities.”
After graduation, Fehn is moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take a position as an assistant merchant at Kohl's.
Emma Robinson: Sensitive and Sustainable
Fehn’s classmate Emma Robinson drew upon her own training in product development at the Eskenazi School for the proposal that earned her a $7,500 FSF scholarship. A Merchandising major with a minor in Business at the Kelley School, Robinson captured the attention of the FSF with a product line that would not only fulfill their standards for environmental and social responsibility but fill an underserved niche in the market. Robinson’s winning case study proposed a sensory-friendly clothing line for Levi Strauss manufactured entirely of sustainable materials. Designed to minimize irritation to the skin for especially sensitive wearers, Robinson’s clothing line would utilize sustainable construction and dyeing techniques.
Jeans usually stretch these days, but the Eskenazi student didn't have to in response to the ESG prompt. “Sustainability is such a huge factor in almost all my courses in merchandising,” the Fort Wayne native said. “Sourcing products and supplies that protect the world and also human rights is so important but also overlooked. That $5 Shein shirt could be affecting the health and safety of the worker that created that cheap shirt.”
Robinson’s empathy for the worker and the wearer of commercially made garments is matched by her humility about the power she might eventually wield in the retail sphere. “There’s always been talk about discrimination and lack of inclusivity in the fashion world,” Robinson said, “and as I was listening to the speakers in New York, they all have a story of how these issues have affected them personally. As a white woman in the industry, I want to use my power and privilege to include and make the fashion world a safe space. Fashion is a form of expression, but some are being stripped of their individuality due to the lack of inclusivity in this industry.”
This summer, the Eskenazi student will be working for the product development team at Callaway Golf. “A dream of mine would be to ultimately make it into product development for the NBA and continue to combine my love for sports and fashion,” said Robinson.
Jacqueline Sweat: Deadstock, not dead in the water
In sustainable fashion circles, deadstock refers to discontinued textiles from fabric mills or fashion houses intended but not yet used to manufacture clothing. Eskenazi junior Jacqueline Sweat demonstrated her commitment to ESG to the FSF by proposing a line of swim wear made from deadstock fabric. Frankie’s Bikinis would be manufactured in a limited edition as a way of minimizing the potential for unsold merchandise and preempting waste. Sweat credits Lecturer Susan White for having been a great help in refining the concept and making it scalable.
Frankie’s Bikinis won the Merchandising major and Marketing minor (Kelley School) a $7,500 FSF Scholarship. Together with the environmental focus of her case study, the social justice aspect of this year’s prompt appealed to her. As much as she admires designers “like McQueen, Cavalli, and Gaultier, who do things outside of the box,” she’s passionate about shining a light on the less flamboyant people in fashion and addressing the inequities between the two sides. “I have great respect for the people who sew and put together these garments that we don't always see. There are so many moving parts in the industry, and I have immense respect forevery person who has a hand in creating a garment.”
When she graduates in 2025, Sweat hopes to go into the buying or marketing side of luxury fashion.
Kev Addison: The irony of beauty
Sweat’s sensitivity to the contrast between fashion’s glamorous protagonists and anonymous laborers resonates with fellow honoree Kev Addison. “Although fashion projects a landscape of beauty, it does not go without its issues. The fashion industry has a problem with overproduction, overconsumption, and ethics,” said Addison, who in addition to receiving a $7,500 FSF scholarship received the Eric Emanuel Scholarship (worth $2,500) and the Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” Scholarship, a $7,500 prize. It was Addison’s second year as an Abloh Scholar. In January, Addison was the national winner of the National Retail Federation Foundation’s Next Generation Scholarship.
“The NRF scholarship has led me to developing connections with industry professionals who have served as mentors,” Addison said. “In addition, I have also been able to speak on panels and gain more visibility within the retail space. I have been able to give back to my community both financially and physically and use my voice to help other students who are interested in pursuing a career in retail.”
Read an interview with Kev Addison and learn about his award-winning NRF case study
A marketing major at the Kelley School of Business with a minor in Fashion Design at the Eskenazi School, the senior from Gary, Indiana proposed innovative sustainability initiatives for London-based brand Wales Bonner, including the use of sustainable textiles, low impact dyes, and building regenerative circularity into their design process.
“I want to continue to ensure that high-quality clothes continue to be made well so they can be worn repeatedly and one day passed down to the next generations. This will help combat overconsumption issues. In addition, it is important for fashion to be ethical [in terms of] labor and sourcing.”
After graduating, Addison plans to work in the fashion industry in New York.
Amari Jones: standing on the shoulders of GOATs
Graduating with a Fashion Design B.A., Amari Jones was also distinguished as an Abloh Post-Modern Scholar. The award provides students with of Black, African- American or African descent with scholarship, mentorship, and career opportunities within the fashion industry.
“As I reflect on my college journey and the challenges I've faced as a first-generation student from a lower-income family, I can't help but feel grateful for the support I've received along the way,” Jones wrote on LinkedIn. “I am so grateful to everyone, especially those at FSF, who makes a difference and take it upon themselves to lift up marginalized communities as they climb upwards! I cannot wait to follow in their footsteps and stand on the shoulders of GOATs like Virgil Abloh and those who came before me. I am because we are!”
Along with the Abloh Scholarship (with a $7,500 prize), Jones received an FSF Scholarship (with a $7,500 prize) and a Weissman scholarship, worth $2,500. Jones exhibited her senior collection at the Fashion Design B.A. Show April 11 at IU’s Alumni Hall.
Graduating Merchandising student Tayler Gomez was the Eskenazi School’s sixth 2024 FSF scholarship laureate, earning $7,500.
For the 2024 competition, the FSF received 521 case study submissions from 60 FSF Member schools. 130 applicants from 49 schools were awarded FSF Scholarships, including 30 Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” Scholarships.Eskenazi School students received a total of $67,500 in prizes this year, bringing the total awarded by the FSF to students from the school to more than $650,000 over the past 20 years.
“The result was a portfolio of exceptional projects,” the FSF wrote in a press release, “focused on solving important issues at the heart of our society, through fashion and adjacent industries.”
