In today’s Alumni Update, we spoke with Ksenia Avdulova, a 2010 M.F.A. Fashion Merchandising alumna who now works in Social Media at Gilt Groupe. She centered her senior thesis on the e-commerce retailer, worked her way up, and eventually landed her dream job! She was also one of the panelists at the online student workshop in New York. Read on for Ksenia’s insights into the growing role of social media in fashion – and for some awesome NYC recommendations!

You recently started working as the Community Manager at Gilt Groupe. What does your job entail?

Being a social media manager has many different aspects to it, but if I had to break it down to three main fields that I work on daily, they would be:

1. Ensuring that Gilt Groupe’s vision and voice is consistently represented across the social media channels, mainly by creating content for Facebook and Twitter. The company has several businesses; all of them have social media presence, and I am responsible for managing and growing the largest one – the Women’s Wear Business.

2. Listening, analyzing, and implementing. I can’t stress how valuable social media is in terms of listening to customers (present and potential). It’s not just about knowing what interactions are taking place on our Facebook and Twitter pages, but much more so about using that information to cater to our followers and provide them with content that they want to engage with. A big part of that is working closely with the Social Customer Support team, which does an absolutely amazing job of answering customers’ questions and resolving their issues via our Facebook and Twitter pages.

3. Project managing social partnerships with external partners. Besides being very social, interactive, and fun, the Community Manager job involves a good amount of project management. For example, currently we’re running a Sweepstakes in partnership with Milly. It was my job to act as a liaison between various teams within Gilt, Milly, and the app developer to ensure a smooth launch and running of the campaign.

Being a community manager is a very exciting and fast-paced role, especially at a company that is known to be a trend-setter in its field. There’s never a dull moment: there’s always a new online conversation to monitor, a new trend to watch, and a new idea for a Facebook post. The most rewarding part about the job is the communication that happens with followers of the company, as well as being a part Gilt’s creative, driven and dynamic team.

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Flore Morton, one of our styling instructors, would like to introduce you to the Academy of Art University Styling Network! It is a Facebook page where you can meet other Stylists, Photographers, Fashion Designers, Make-up Artists, and Hair Stylists from the Academy of Art University and beyond. You can network, find a crew for your tests shoots, discuss your projects, talk to other artists, and most of all, stay inspired!!!

We have a discussion group in San Francisco, but if you need to travel and still want to test, we have a worldwide network as well.

Head on over to Facebook and like the Academy of Art University Styling Network page - and take advantage of this great network!

Francis Liang was inspired by the work of Jackson Pollock.

Here are some amazing window displays created by Russell Clower’s Visual Merchandising 2 students! The project asked students to create a shadowbox window display for a men’s or women’s fragrance, incorporating a particular period of art history or the style of a particular artist that matched the image of the brand and it’s fragrance. Students drew from a variety of eras and artists – and we’re seriously loving what they came up with! What artist or artistic period would be the perfect match for your signature scent? Tell us in the comments below!

Caitlyn Randrup was inspired by Hollywood director and choreographer Busby Berkeley.

Abilen Mora was inspired by Cubism.

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Here is another photoshoot from Flore Morton’s Styling 1 class – and it was inspired by the master painter Vincent Van Gogh! Each photo replicates an aspect of one of his paintings, whether it is color, light, or the subject. We love the way that they abstracted a single element from each work of art, and used that as inspiration to create something completely different. The photo shoot was styled by Anita Long and Uma Anupindi, one of our exchange students from the National Institute of Technology (NIFT) in India, and shot by BFA Photography student Bailey Harada Stone. Natasha Bacon, from City Models, brings the images to life. Enjoy!

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Inspiration for the Photo Shoot

The following is a final project from three of Flore Morton’s Styling 1 students – Jessica Mongeau, Phyllis Smith, and Alex Grant. They were inspired by 1920s boudoir images, and were able to link up with photography student Jeff Bacani, whose work also has a vintage feel. He used an old Polaroid camera that had been converted to create digital files. The images are very rustic, and the long exposures capture movement in a blur.

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Wear 2 Where is expanding rapidly and they need help! They are relaunching the website January 10, 2012 and are looking for some amazing student interns to help grow the business. This is an opportunity to gain valuable experience working with two dynamic women on a website combining travel, fashion and on line shopping. They write about where to go and what to wear for international and local destinations. Equally as important to their website is the element of humor and entertainment value!!!

Duties will include:

• Ability to market website through Social Media Facebook, Twitter, Google+
• IT Skills Sets required – Data Entry / Excel & Web Development
• Photo & Video Editing needed for Travel & Fashion videos
• Advertising /Marketing Experience to help develop marketing strategies
• Fashion Journalism – ability to write creative fashion articles
• Experience with Market Affiliates and Implementation for on line shopping
• Creative Fashion Styling Needed – Use of Photoshop for on line styling

They are looking for someone to start ASAP!!

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You’ve hopefully seen the beautiful window displays that some of our visual merchandising students created for the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, and now we have some behind the scenes action!

The students, along with their instructor Martin Zanfardino, worked on the displays for months. They made sure that every last detail was perfect, and their hard work paid off – the displays turned out beautifully. Just the other day, the InterContinental Mark Hopkins team tweeted “@aaufashion The windows looked wonderful this year- the guests are loving them!” 

Follow the jump for photos – and videos – of the works in progress! And click here to see the final product! Read more…

Name: Christine Esoldo

Where do you live? Lancaster, Pa. with plans of moving to Los Angeles sometime in the next few years

Area of study: MFA in merchandising (I have a BA in journalism)

Day job/occupation: I work in digital marketing, content strategy/copywriting, and user experience. I’m also in the process of launching a pet photography business and I volunteer at my local Humane League as a photographer.

What qualities do you most value in others?

Authenticity, reliability, and the ability to laugh at oneself even through embarrassing moments. I also appreciate a good grasp of basic grammar and knowledge of the difference between “they’re,” “their,” and “there.”

Who are some of your favorite designers, journalists, bloggers, stores, etc?

I’m sort of a jewelry junkie, especially statement jewelry. My favorite designers include DanniJo, Fenton, Fallon, and Lulu Frost. I also love J.Crew jewelry and have recently purchased way too many items from JewelMint. And of course, you can never go wrong with Tiffany.

 List a guilty pleasure:

I might be embarrassing myself here, but I love watching reruns of Ghost Whisperer and I was super disappointed when they cancelled it unexpectedly (Melinda’s clothes were amazing and I loved her antique shop!). Nothing like a relaxing evening at home curled up on the couch with my beagles, sipping on a glass of wine, reading magazines, and watching Ghost Whisperer. I’ve also been known to watch reruns of The Hills while on the treadmill. Watching a good catfight really gets the adrenaline pumping.

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On Thursday, December 15th, 2011, students from the School of Fashion unveiled their window displays at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel. Since 2005, visual merchandising students have worked with the hotel each year to create interior window displays that highlight the hotel’s rich and exciting history.

Three of the displays are located on the California level and one is located on the main level. The main level display is titled, “New Kids on the Block” and showcases new employees at the hotel. The geometric shapes create a modern display that contrasts beautifully with hotel’s vintage feel.

New Kids on the Block – By Gina Chou and Kevin Mihovich. L-R: Instructor Martin Zanfardino, Gina Chou, and Jim Cardosa

On the California level, the first display is “Greetings from the Mark”. Set against a beautiful background of the Mark Hopkins Hotel in the San Francisco skyline, vintage postcards cascade from a hand-constructed mailbox. The postcards tell stories of guests’ adventures at The Mark, dating all the way back to the 1930s. Many of the post-cards were bought online from vintage dealers, and give the display true meaning, as they are part of the hotel’s story.

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Cotton On is looking for Visual Merchandisers!

Job Type: Freelance or Temp

Major: Fashion (Any)

Job Title: Visual Field Merchandiser

Job Description: Field Visual Merchandiser – Tri-State Cotton On MegaStore, Cotton On, Cotton On Body, Rubi Shoes Cotton On Group is a young and vibrant retail giant that is rocking the local and international scene! With over 500 stores in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia and plans for massive growth, we are well on the way to achieving our mission; “To be the dominant value fashion brand globally”. We are currently seeking experienced Field Visual Merchandisers to join the Cotton On VM Team. Reporting to the Field VM Manager, you will develop and prepare the visual story that reflects the style of each season and maximizes retail sales opportunities. Combining experience, individuality and creative passion, you play the key part in contributing towards the success of your brand.

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