Representatives from luxury jewelry designer Tiffany & Company and fashion agency Harlem’s Fashion Row made a groundbreaking visit to N.C. A&T’s fashion merchandising and design program this week as part of an ongoing partnership to open opportunities for diverse students and build connections in the fashion world.
On Fri., March 31, Brittany Chang and Sasha McNair of Tiffany & Co., part of the luxury-goods conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, and Harlem’s Fashion Row founder/CEO Brandice Daniel made an inaugural trip to A&T’s campus to engage in a career panel discussion as part of the year-long “Tenacity Talks” lecture series, as well as view the fashion program’s accomplishments and body of work in a student showcase in Benbow Hall. The event marks Tiffany’s first in-person trip to N.C. A&T’s campus.
“When I walked into the campus and walked into this building specifically, I was beyond impressed,” said McNair, the DEI (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) manager for the company’s Global Talent Acquisition. “The amount of clothing the students had designed, the customer boards, the in-store experience they had created – these students are above and beyond. I can’t even imagine what they’re going to do in the future.”
Brittany Chang, right, of luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. talks with fashion merchandising and design student Yakira Chapman about her clothing designs.
During the day’s events – a panel discussion between McNair, Chang and student moderator Khursten McLean and a fashion program showcase that coincided with the visit – both floors of Benbow Hall were lined with garment displays, mannequins dressed in student-created attire, poster boards featuring highlights of the program’s 2022-23 school year and, at the center of the event, a wall collage filled with designs, photographs and fashion-centric artwork.
An Aggie alum herself, Chang, a recruiter for Tiffany’s Global Talent Acquisition team, reflected on coming back to campus to see the fashion program’s displays and accomplishments.
“I’m definitely very familiar with Benbow Hall,” said Chang, who graduated in 2019. “But coming here as a professional, I was very impressed. Just seeing the student’s work in the hallways, on the wall, and getting to hear that there had been a student (junior Yakira Chapman) who had recently showcased her work at the NBA [All-Star Game], it was great to know great things are still happening at A&T.”
Daniel said she was “impressed” by the career panel discussion between Chang, McNair and McLean, and the questions asked by the students to the panel guests.
“The fashion industry is a multibillion-dollar industry with many job opportunities,” said Daniel. “When I’m looking at the students, I feel like they understand what the opportunities are. I’ve seen the samples in the hallway and the construction of the material; they have a vision of what they want to see in this industry.”
In June 2022, Tiffany & Co. and Harlem’s Fashion Row announced a year-long collaboration with the A&T’s fashion program, part of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, for a ten-week lecture series called “Tenacity Talks,” part of the ICON360 HBCU Summit sponsored by the luxury jewelry designer. The series launched in August and continued into spring 2023, featuring Zoom lectures by key industry figures from both organizations, offering practical knowledge and experiences on topics such as jewelry design, branding, and innovation.
“The goal is: how do we remove the barrier to access?” said Daniel. “How do we create an environment and situation in which students can hear directly from the industry, what they’re looking for, what students need to best be prepared to come into it? We developed this concept two years ago and had a list of the top 10 best HBCU fashion departments on our radar to bring this program to and North Carolina A&T was absolutely one of those schools.
“It was great to see the commitment from Tiffany & Co. because they are fully committed to the students, and to see the commitment from the university and the fashion department here as well. And to see the enthusiasm from the students has been encouraging.”
As part of the collaboration, N.C. A&T fashion students participated in a tour of Tiffany & Co.’s Jewelry Design & Innovation Workshop in New York last fall, followed by a networking luncheon and career panel at Tiffany & Co. headquarters in the city.
“I wonder what would happen if the executives came here for a visit and were able to see the students in person and actually visit the classroom?” said McNair. “That is a completely different experience from what we’ve seen.”
“I think the opportunity is endless,” said Chang. “The students are great, and it’s what they bring to the table that’s going to keep the partnership going and build a strong foundation for the future.”
