New York, NY – March 11, 2010 – GUESS, the lifestyle brand famous for its trendsetting styles and unforgettable campaigns, and FIDM / Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, are thrilled to announce the GUESS Design Challenge launching during the Annual FIDM Debut Fashion Show to benefit the FIDM Scholarship Foundation.
Every year, ten top students are selected for an advanced third year fashion design program, to present their first-ever fashion collections, each consisting of ten to twelve looks. An audience, of over 10,000 people, sees the FIDM Debut Show. This annual event is being held at the Barker Hangar, in Santa Monica, California in March, 2010. The partnership between GUESS and FIDM adds an exciting real world experience to each designer’s education. In addition, to creating their individual collections, each of the Advanced Fashion Design students will also design and present one GUESS look to the executives at GUESS, Inc. As in true GUESS form, the look will be denim focused, using washes previously chosen by the GUESS? Inc. design team and FIDM designers, ranging from clean to medium and vintage washes.
Mary Stephens, FIDM Director of Fashion Design relates: “This wonderful design challenge typifies the commitment of GUESS?, Inc. to create opportunities for young people. Our organizations, GUESS? Inc. and FIDM, have deep roots of parallel growth, both having been founded in Los Angeles. We enjoy a vibrant relationship that supports young people and changes lives. We’re so fortunate to call them our friends…they have fostered scholarships and jobs for countless FIDM students.”
One lucky winner’s design will be selected by Maurice Marciano, Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder of GUESS, Inc. The winning student will be offered the position of Design Assistant with the GUESS?, Inc. design department, as well as the opportunity to be involved in each step of the production process of their winning design, which will be incorporated into an upcoming season.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising for the annual Debut Fashion Show and are excited to expand on our long standing relationship with the college,” said Maurice Marciano, Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder of GUESS, Inc. “One of our strengths at GUESS is keeping our brand relevant to the ever-evolving consumer and in order to do so, we must find young and innovative talent, such as the highly gifted students we are partnering with at FIDM.
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About GUESS?, Inc.
Established in 1981, GUESS began as a jeans company and has since successfully grown into a global lifestyle brand. Today, GUESS designs, markets and distributes full collections of women’s, men’s and children’s apparel as well as accessories. Throughout the years, the GUESS image has been portrayed in unforgettable, innovative campaigns that have made the brand a household name. GUESS is distributed throughout the United States and Canada in fine department stores, its retail specialty and factory stores, and domestically on its online stores. GUESS has licensees and distributors in South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. In addition to shopping online, you can find more information on GUESS at www.guess.com.
About FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
FIDM/ Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising is a private college for specialized professional education, accredited by WASC and NASAD, granting Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Business Management degrees. Over the last 40 years, FIDM has graduated more than 40,000 students, preparing them for careers in Fashion, Graphics, Interior Design and Entertainment. The college is headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, with other campus locations in Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco; 8,000 full-time students. FIDM Museum & Galleries has one of the nation’s finest costume collections dating from the 18th century and yearly presents major exhibitions.
