Name: Ali Hoxsie Frankhouse

Where do you live? Traverse City, Michigan

What is your area of study?
I am working towards my MFA in Fashion Merchandising. I currently have my BFA in Fashion Design from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles

What is your current occupation?
Besides being a fulltime student I am a custom wedding gown designer

If you were to die and come back as [a fashion icon], who would it be?
Wow there are so many, Jane Birkin, Bianca Jagger, Joan Baez, Jackie Kennedy but ultimately I think I would have to say Debbie Harry.

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In today’s Student Spotlight, we chatted with BFA Fashion Merchandising student Olivia Muniak. Olivia has an awesome internship and a budding styling portfolio with some amazing projects. She’ll be graduating this semester, and while we’ll be sad to see her go, we can’t wait to see what she does next!

You’ve been interning with StippleIt, how did you land the internship?

I was offered the internship in August. I had moved away from San Francisco for a year and came back up to empty my storage unit, and on my last night I had dinner with two girlfriends that I had known while living here and had both attended the Academy of Art University. I said I was looking for an internship in LA and she said she needed an intern jokingly and then by the next morning she called me to have coffee and explain a little more about the position. I accepted the internship and cancelled my movers!

Can you tell us a little bit about the company and your responsibilities?

I execute tasks relating to product crediting and e-commerce by enabling web images with that information using the technology we developed. Day-to-day, I go over information sent to us by PR firms (usually celebrities wearing their product) and with that info I go onto sites that have enabled our technology and I create tags (much like a Facebook tag) – but our tags act as a quick link to an e-commerce site selling those specific products. I also work with style.com and their runway trend forecasts. They create look books of trends and I scour the Internet to find where those designer items are sold and input that information onto the style.com trend look book.

What have you learned from the internship?

What I have gained is a greater knowledge of e-commerce business and the ever-changing nature of start-ups (I’ve seen the company grow so much in eight months). I also worked for them as a rep in the August Project Convention where I was able to have a completely hands on experience with brands and communicating about our product so that was a great experience for me in learning how to effectively communicate with clients.

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Name: Kimberley Kjeldsen

Where do you live? Oslo, Norway

What is your area of study? BFA Fashion Merchandising

What is your current occupation?

Besides being a student, I work part time at Detaljer, a cute little boutique in Oslo. Nothing chic, but all very fun; I get to do some personal styling and be creative with the displays, and work with a fantastic team.

Which historical [fashion] figure do you most identify with?

Is Jane Birkin historical by now? I probably don’t identify with all things Birkin, she was a rowdy wild child after all, but she was a great style icon with her free spirit, a little quirky sixties, French chic charm.

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Earlier this year, Benefit Cosmetics approached the School of Fashion, hoping that our students could breathe new life into the brand’s store displays. Fashion Merchandising students met with Benefit’s General Manager, Aurelian J.A. Lis, in January, and were given their task: Redesign the Benefit Cosmetics displays so that they highlighted new product offerings, incorporated innovative technology, and maintained the brand identity. Students were encouraged to think outside the box and make it fun – to create something that would really entice the Benefit gal.

Three projects were chosen to be presented to the Benefit Cosmetics team. Nerissa Arviana and Dian Sari, Araceli Tostada, and Lita Teplitz visited the Benefit Headquarters and proposed their ideas for revamping the shopping experience.

Nerissa Arviana and Dian Sari’s project was chosen by the Benefit team, for its creativity, shopability, and embodiment of the Benefit DNA. They did a truly wonderful job – and we can’t wait to see how their innovative ideas are put to use!

Congratulations to all of the finalists – you did a wonderful job!

Name: Shemeka Cisco

Where do you live? Savannah, Georgia

Area of study: MFA Fashion Merchandising

Day job / occupation:

Admissions Counselor/Recruiter for Savannah State University

What qualities do you most value in others?

Honesty….”say what you mean and mean what you say”, having a passion for something, whether it is life, family, career – just be passionate about SOMETHING!

Who are three of your favorite designers?

Rachel Roy, Tracey Reese, and Thierry Mugler.

List a guilty pleasure:

The Real Housewives of….(I watch them all!), pretty much any show on BRAVO, eating mint chocolate chip ice cream out of the container, reading fiction about vampires or anything “other worldly”, lounging around the house in my pj’s all day, TMZ, Mediatakeout.com, HBO original programing, last but never least…mafia movies.

What is your present state of mind?

Thankful for where I’ve been and excited about where I am going!

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In today’s Alumni Update, we take a minute to catch up with Jeremiah Perez, who graduated from the School of Fashion in 2003 with a BFA in Fashion Merchandising. After working in the fashion journalism industry in New York, he switched gears and began his career in politics. Read on to find out what he is up to now!

You graduated from the School of Fashion in 2003 with a BFA in Fashion Merchandising, and then moved to New York and worked as a freelance editor. What was that experience like?

Working in New York was fantastic. When I moved to New York I took writing classes at MediaBistro and networked like crazy to break into magazine journalism. I worked for InTouch Weekly, Glamour, MORE magazine, and was an intern for Glenda Bailey, the editor-in-chief of Harpers’ BAZAAR. Working in the editor-in-chiefs’ office was eye-opening. I learned a lot about the magazine business and the importance of relationships.

What prompted your move to the realm of politics?

I have always volunteered for non-profits since college and been politically active. I was freelancing in New York, and started Amputees in Motion – an activities based non-profit for people with limb loss. I am a below the knee amputee so I am passionate about raising awareness and helping the disabled community. Then a job opportunity in Washington, D.C. surfaced to be a national advocacy specialist for the Amputee Coalition where I worked to make sure amputees receive proper access to health care. I have been involved in politics and management consulting for years. And in 2011, I obtained my masters in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University.

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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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Name: Katie MacDonald

Where do you live? Daly City, CA

Area of study: MFA Fashion Merchandising

What is your day job? Interning for a plus size start up.

What qualities do you most value in others?

Someone’s sense of humor is the most important, then honesty, and how easy going they are.

Name three of your favorite designers, journalists, bloggers, stores, etc:

Designers – Elie Saab and Balenciaga (love the handbags). My favorite blogger is The Curvy Model she has a really fun point of view in the style she wears.

List a guilty pleasure:

So many guilty pleasures to list, but I have recently fallen for The Big Bang Theory. I could watch that show all day long!

What is your present state of mind?

Overwhelmed, finals are starting next week which I can’t believe they’re already here.

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Paolo Iantorno is known for his beautiful shoes and fine Italian craftsmanship. His boutique on Fillmore Street is re-opening, and they are throwing a party to celebrate. Even more exciting, the boutique enlisted the help of some of our students to conceptualize and produce their advertising materials and window displays. The students in FSH-385 have been working away on this project, and we want to celebrate their hard work too! Be sure to stop by the party (or just check out the amazing window displays) this Friday, November 18th!

WHEN: Friday, November 18th from 6:00 to 9:00 PM

WHERE: Paolo Iantorno – 2000 Fillmore Street, San Francisco