Apparel, Textile, and Design (ATD) students took part in a design competition while learning about the retail and licensed merchandise industry during an event hosted by Top of the World, a collegiate headwear and apparel supplier.
Some of the students created DIY pieces while others sketched outfit ideas for MSU gear. For the DIY portion, Top of the World provided the students with MSU apparel as well as other materials to create their own unique pieces. Between the DIY pieces and sketches, one group from each activity was chosen as the winner and those specific groups received gift cards to Top of the World’s pop-up shop.
The event was held on October 16, the opening day of the pop-up shop, which is located in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in East Lansing.
The DIY outfits and sketches created by the students are now on display in the pop-up shop, which will be open until Sunday, November 25. The pop-up shop features a room full of MSU gear that is available for purchase.
In addition to the design competition, ATD students received a behind-the-scenes look at trend forecasting and learned about the long process for licensing and designing.
“We learned about what’s coming for us,” said Courtney Bankston, a senior at MSU. “We have to look forward into the workforce, and this helped us know what jobs are out there.”
The pop-up shop was Top of the World’s first event of this scale, and it tied in perfectly with the MSU-U of M football game taking place during the opening weekend of the pop-up shop.
We have to look forward into the workforce, and this helped us know what jobs are out there.
COURTNEY BANKSTON, SENIOR ATD MAJOR
“This is the first time we’ve ever done a pop-up shop, so we’re really excited to have it here and reach other parts of the university and bring real-world experience to the students,” said Renata Kukowski, Vice President of Marketing and Licensing for Top of the World. “We get to see what they’re creating, and they get to see the opportunity they can have.”
Top of the World explained that college sports has the largest fan base of all sports, coming in at 190 million fans, and why MSU was the ideal place to host a pop-up shop.
“MSU is one of our most important university partners,” Kukowski said. “It’s particularly important because two of our offices are close, so this is somewhat of our home base.”
