Fashionistas Rackin’ up a Storm at Nordstrom
Two seniors start new membership program to gain retail and fashion experience for the real world
By Selena Ganguly
Two seniors start new membership program to gain retail and fashion experience for the real world
By Selena Ganguly
For students looking to begin a life-long journey into fashion, a well-desired membership in Nordstrom’s Fashion Ambassador program allows them to gain experience by working in the clothing industry while also creating new trends for the future of fashion.
Seniors Athena Miranda and Alexandria Ng both applied to join the program over the spring and went through a lengthy interview process during the summer, before finally becoming fashion ambassadors for Nordstrom.
To become an ambassador, there is an application process available for both juniors and seniors around the Bay Area on Nordstrom’s Careers website. The application opens every February and ends in March. To be eligible, students must have a GPA above 2.5 to become a yearlong member. The interview process also required two teacher recommendations, in addition to the application itself.
“It was just an application that basically said your name, why you want to do it, who your favorite influencers and what you’re interested in to learn. There are a lot of aspects to it to learn in the fashion industry, it’s not just looking great. It’s also about marketing, merchandising and all of the visual appeal,” Miranda said.
Since the membership began, there are a lot of important lessons that they are each learning about the fashion world.
“The most valuable lesson so far is to listen to the customer. If you don’t listen to the customer, you are not going to get the sales you want, nor are you going to get the happiness and the customer’s valued time at the store,” Ng said. “Not am I only an ambassador at Nordstrom, but I have a job there. I’m a salesperson, so I’m on the sales floor and I get to communicate with other people. It makes it easier working at Nordstrom while doing the program.”
For Miranda, it was learning that there is more to the fashion business than just merchandising and styling.
“Before this program, I didn’t realize how much goes into the fashion industry. Of course I knew merchandising and styling, but I didn’t think about how people are brought into design sets. I just like really being in that type of environment with those people,” Miranda said.
The Nordstrom ambassador program also teaches about being in the business of keeping up with the latest trend.
“We learn how buyers buy their clothing and they use forecasting trends to see what’s going to be in this season. Then we also learn the economic side in the business and communication aspects,” Ng said. “So those are some of the things we do, we take pieces from sales floor and we create outfits.”
During one of the meetings, Nordstrom had involved their ambassadors in predicting future fall trends. They project their creativity with each outfit by incorporating past trends into new types of colors, styles and designs that emulate the fall weather.
Nordstrom presents members with different aspects of the fashion world as well as an equally diverse group of people comprised of juniors and seniors who have different views of fashion from style choices to the fashion field they want to explore.
“A lot of the girls I work with are really interested in the marketing aspect and also being a buyer. Of course, they’re all very fashionable, but there are so many different little sub-genres of fashion. Everyone has their own little style, it’s easy to tell us apart because of that,” Miranda said.
After the program is over, both girls plan to discover more about the fashion field. For Miranda, she plans to explore the social media aspects of the fashion industry. Meanwhile, Ng plans to aim for a minor in fashion design.
Expect to see these bold trendsetters change fashion for Pioneer students and the art perceived in the fashion world.
Seniors Athena Miranda and Alexandria Ng both applied to join the program over the spring and went through a lengthy interview process during the summer, before finally becoming fashion ambassadors for Nordstrom.
To become an ambassador, there is an application process available for both juniors and seniors around the Bay Area on Nordstrom’s Careers website. The application opens every February and ends in March. To be eligible, students must have a GPA above 2.5 to become a yearlong member. The interview process also required two teacher recommendations, in addition to the application itself.
“It was just an application that basically said your name, why you want to do it, who your favorite influencers and what you’re interested in to learn. There are a lot of aspects to it to learn in the fashion industry, it’s not just looking great. It’s also about marketing, merchandising and all of the visual appeal,” Miranda said.
Since the membership began, there are a lot of important lessons that they are each learning about the fashion world.
“The most valuable lesson so far is to listen to the customer. If you don’t listen to the customer, you are not going to get the sales you want, nor are you going to get the happiness and the customer’s valued time at the store,” Ng said. “Not am I only an ambassador at Nordstrom, but I have a job there. I’m a salesperson, so I’m on the sales floor and I get to communicate with other people. It makes it easier working at Nordstrom while doing the program.”
For Miranda, it was learning that there is more to the fashion business than just merchandising and styling.
“Before this program, I didn’t realize how much goes into the fashion industry. Of course I knew merchandising and styling, but I didn’t think about how people are brought into design sets. I just like really being in that type of environment with those people,” Miranda said.
The Nordstrom ambassador program also teaches about being in the business of keeping up with the latest trend.
“We learn how buyers buy their clothing and they use forecasting trends to see what’s going to be in this season. Then we also learn the economic side in the business and communication aspects,” Ng said. “So those are some of the things we do, we take pieces from sales floor and we create outfits.”
During one of the meetings, Nordstrom had involved their ambassadors in predicting future fall trends. They project their creativity with each outfit by incorporating past trends into new types of colors, styles and designs that emulate the fall weather.
Nordstrom presents members with different aspects of the fashion world as well as an equally diverse group of people comprised of juniors and seniors who have different views of fashion from style choices to the fashion field they want to explore.
“A lot of the girls I work with are really interested in the marketing aspect and also being a buyer. Of course, they’re all very fashionable, but there are so many different little sub-genres of fashion. Everyone has their own little style, it’s easy to tell us apart because of that,” Miranda said.
After the program is over, both girls plan to discover more about the fashion field. For Miranda, she plans to explore the social media aspects of the fashion industry. Meanwhile, Ng plans to aim for a minor in fashion design.
Expect to see these bold trendsetters change fashion for Pioneer students and the art perceived in the fashion world.