From Classroom To Corporate

Couple a graduate’s need for professional validation with the cutthroat, high-stakes, revolving-door culture of the US fashion industry which attracts designers from all over the globe in search of the big salaries, and the pressure to become a success and live the dream can be overwhelming right out of the gate. Many fashion students, buoyed by praise of their senior collections, might leave school with runway dreams but end up with a cubicle reality. They can become seduced by solid starting salaries, promises of promotion, benefits and perks––all the things their peers sacrifice in order to work for the cool emerging young designer--but their creativity takes an unforeseen turn. I asked Isaiah Isaac, who graduated from an Associates Degree in Fashion in 2012 about his experience, and thank him for his candor as he describes his move from classroom to corporate...