Apr 13, 2021
American fashion icon Tommy Hilfiger along with his siblings, Andy and Betsy have partnered with Elmira college to launch
the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School.
Part of the school’s bachelor’s degree in business administration, the program aims to combine business education with real-world fashion industry experience. It will kick off in fall 2021 and offer a concentration and a minor in fashion marketing and fashion merchandising, both new to the program.
Students within fashion merchandising will explore the merchandising needs of a marketplace through research, design, data collection and analysis. Fashion marketing will train students on how to research, collect and analyze data and develop marketing and communications strategies to launch brands in the marketplace.
Tommy Hilfiger and his siblings have a personal connection to Elmira, N.Y. It is where Tommy’s entrepreneurial career began with his local store, People's Place, in 1996, which eventually blossomed into ownership of one of the world's most recognizable clothing brand names.
"The partnership with Elmira College reflects much more than my personal connection to the area. The fashion industry runs on a never-ending influx of new talent, and this program will be instrumental in shaping aspiring designers and entrepreneurs through first-hand knowledge and experience in the business," said Tommy Hilfiger.
"Elmira College has a national reputation for experiential learning in and out of the classroom, and this new program will open up exciting career opportunities for students as well as boost the industry's talent pool.”
The creation of integrated programs like the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School is part of the College's strategic plan to introduce industry-level knowledge to the next generation while preserving the essence of a liberal arts education.
"Tomorrow's workforce will be more complex than ever before. Programs and partnerships, like the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School, enables us to bridge a liberal arts education with professional studies and pave a path to success for our students. We are grateful to have the support of the Hilfiger family, and look forward to welcoming our first students to the program in the fall of 2021,” added Dr. Charles Lindsay, president of Elmira College.