The AmericasMart Atlanta is a wholesale trade center that has the latest trends in apparel, jewelry and shoes available from hundreds of vendors. This year, five sophomores, five juniors and three seniors in the fashion merchandising department attended AmericasMart.
AmericasMart is a place for the store owners to come and view new fashion lines set to come out in the fall, as well as place their orders for the new season. Harding’s fashion merchandising department got to experience these events first hand, led by Rebecca Boaz, fashion and interior merchandising professor.
“Personally, I have been taking students to market since Spring 2007,” Boaz said. “AmericasMart in Atlanta invited us to participate in the 1990s, and we have been going since then.”
The students spent two days learning about the fashion industry. Boaz said they explored every floor to get a feel for everything offered.
Along with viewing the vendor’s booths, Boaz said they attended two fashion shows displaying the merchandise. The group also got the chance to meet with the fashion show producer for a Q&A session.
“Probably top on the list of the students’ favorite things about market is the cash and carry floor, where they get to buy things at market price,” Boaz said.
Although the group had fun, it was a learning experience. Junior Rachel Miller, a fashion merchandising major, has dreams of owning her own boutique and used AmericasMart as a way to see what goes on behind the scenes.
“It will give me a great deal of experience for when I own my own boutique,” Miller said. “Since I will have already gone to market in school, when I go back as an actual store buyer, I will know what to expect and not be so overwhelmed.”
Sophomore Brittany Garrett, a fashion merchandising major, said she would love to graduate and work backstage at fashion shows, and used this as a way to make contacts.
“If you can make a good impression they may want to network with you and network with Harding and could eventually get a job,” Garrett said.
Several former students of the fashion merchandising department have made contacts at AmericasMart that have turned into internships and eventually jobs.
