Kate Martin won WindowsWear’s Longchamp competition and an internship in New York for her Parisian cafe window display concept.
Two fashion design and merchandising students from Wayne State University are spending the summer as interns in New York after winning first place in the WindowsWear Mentoring Program competition.
Kate Martin won the Longchamp competition and a paid internship with Longchamp, while Maya Kasbah won the Coach competition and a paid internship with Coach.
“I am incredibly excited to have won this internship,” said Martin. “Working in fashion in New York has always been my dream and I really can’t believe it’s now my reality.”
For Kasbah, this opportunity has also been a long time coming.
“I had never been to New York City before, but I always talked about going,” he said. “I think I may have manifested it. Being able to experience the city while working with such a big brand is something out of a dream. I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to develop my career.”
Several other Wayne State students excelled in the WindowsWear mentoring program, with Joseph Johnston placing second in the Longchamp competition, Sam Abeme Nguema finishing third in the Coach competition, and Lela Neal placing third in the Kate Spade competition. . Celine Garmo and Zoë Rogula were also finalists.
Wayne State student Kate Martin won the Longchamp competition.
All of the Wayne State students who did well in the competition were from the class of Monika Sinclair, a professor of fashion design and merchandising. Sinclair requires her students to submit a proposal as their final project.
“If my students can get more than just my encouragement and my letter grade on their work, then I’m all for it,” Sinclair said. “About half the students in my class placed in this competition; some got a paid internship, which is rare these days. For me, the most important thing is that they can use this as a tool on their resume or post it on their LinkedIn.
“I was very excited when I saw the results; however, I did not want students to think that their grade depended on whether or not they won,” she continued. “I told the class, ‘I’m evaluating your projects before I get the results, and I’ll make sure your work meets industry standards before I send it in,’ but it’s exciting.”
According to WindowsWear.com CEO and co-founder Jon Harari, the company uses the competition to bring together brands affiliated with the website and college students who use the site.
“Students want to engage with brands and brands want to engage with students,” Harari said. “I give a lot of credit to Monika. She sees the value of what we are doing. Wayne State did amazing and gives their students job opportunities.”
Martin said that Longchamp asked the students to design a window display concept featuring a Parisian cafe.
“I was inspired by Emma Chamberlain, a 21-year-old influencer who created her own sustainable coffee brand, and because of that inspiration, I wanted my showcase to feature a collaboration between Longchamp and Chamberlain Coffee,” said Martin. “Longchamp said my concept was intriguing, a good display of my talents and it looked like a campaign.”
Maya Kasbah’s “Air Coach” design won the competition.
Kasbah designed a pop-up airline experience called “Air Coach”.
“I was inspired by airline hospitality and aesthetics in the 1970s and first thought of the idea because of the Coach brand name, which made me think of coach-class seats on an airplane,” Kasbah said. .
“Coach informed me that they are currently working on a concept aircraft for the brand,” he continued. “They loved the idea board references I submitted with my concept, which ended up being very similar to what they first created for their concept.”
Martin credited Wayne State and Sinclair with helping her win the competition.
“I love everything about Wayne State’s fashion design and merchandising program,” she said. “The teachers are really knowledgeable, creative and supportive. The classes are never boring and the lessons are very practical.
“I love Monika,” Martin continued. “Not only do I think she was helpful throughout the process, but I don’t think she would have had a chance at the internship without her support and guidance. She emphasized the importance of this competition and really pushed us to do our best. Her passion for fashion and her experience is very inspiring, we are very lucky to have her as our teacher and mentor”.
Maya Kasbah won a summer internship with Coach.
Kasbah agreed with Martin and credited Sinclair with inspiring her to succeed in the competition.
“Monika is incredibly encouraging. She constantly informs her students of opportunities outside of Wayne State,” Kasbah said. “If it wasn’t for her, I never would have known about the WindowsWear Mentoring Program and I wouldn’t be in the position I am now to experience this opportunity. Monika was extremely helpful in my concept development process, going over every little detail with me during individual phone calls and making sure my work was of the highest quality.”
Source: today.wayne.edu