Submitted by Mikayla Dubreuil on the 2018 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Fashion…
My last week on the Italy Fashion Study Abroad program was perfectly completed by taking a once in a lifetime excursion to the VF Corporation International Headquarters. It was inspirational to experience and learn from such a large fashion conglomerate that owns multiple brands like The North Face, Vans, Timberland and Lee. Upon entering the sleek, chrome building our group was immediately greeted by the manager of sustainability who took us on a tour of the fun, eco-friendly building that recycles water, utilizes sustainable energy and constantly reminds employees to take care of the Earth through amusing memes and encouraging posters. However, the true inspiration came from the employees’ admirable hospitality—treating us like professionals—along with the informative presentations by senior associates in every department. To name a few, some of the presentations were Sourcing, Costing, Factory Compliance, and Direct to Consumer Merchandising. However, undoubtedly, my favorite presentation was on Brand Management and Marketing. The speaker taught us the true objectives of brand marketing and completely astounded me about how successful brand positioning could change the consumer’s impression of the brand and increase sales. Additionally, he shocked me with information that was different than what I had learned in school. Traditionally, I had been told to remain authentic to who you are as a brand. However, he revealed to me that in order to keep growing as a brand and in sales, one should remain 20% authentic and the other 80% should be dedicated to constant change. This has changed my design philosophy and is something I will implement in my future creations as a designer and in my career. Undoubtedly, visiting the VF Corporation was the perfect end to a nearly perfect study abroad experience.