Buffalo State Fashion Students Place in Global Merchandising Competition

A team comprising four Buffalo State University Fashion and Textile Technology (FTT) students took home third place in the 2024 American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) Concept 2 Consumer Student Merchandising Competition, an annual contest with participants from all over the world.

"This remarkable achievement highlights our students' creativity and hard work," said Ji Young Lee, Buffalo State assistant professor and competition advisor. "I'm so proud."

The competition is open to both United States-based and international undergraduate and graduate students. This year's theme, "Vibrant Vacation-Colorful Resort Wear," tasked students with merchandising a bright, sustainable travel/resort-wear line incorporating recycled materials, sustainable manufacturing, and color quality.

All four students-Jaden Brice, Jason Dolegowski, Jacob Frothingham, and Lauren VanDusen-are majoring in fashion and textile technology with concentrations in fashion merchandising or fashion/apparel design. The students conducted research on color trends and target demographic; worked on branding, designing, and merchandising; created marketing, promotional, and retailing strategies; and developed a budget and timeline for the line launch within a digital poster format.

The team's line, "Halcyon Days," was designed for a tranquil, yet vibrant break.

"The team created a resort line based on a Mediterranean beach theme, incorporating elements of Greek nature and culture into branding and design," Lee said. "The colors and dye methods are inspired by Greek plants, such as olive and pomegranate. The line was also designed to be sustainable and functional, with features like wrap skirts that transform into beach towels and pants with detachable buttons that convert from long to short."

The students said this collaborative project allowed them to learn the step-by-step process of line development.

"It was awesome to experience real collaboration and brainstorming of ideas," VanDusen said. "We got to build a collection from the ground up."

Frothingham added, "It was eye-opening to see how much thought goes into every aspect of building a brand."

"Working with this team to create what we did was an experience I will never forget," Dolegowski said.

Entries were judged based on content, creativity, completeness, thoroughness, and presentation. The panel of judges included industry professionals. The third-place prize includes cash awards and one free year of AATCC membership. The team has been recognized as a 2024 winner on the AATCC website and will be further acknowledged through AATCC's magazine, newsletter, and social media.

"This project gave me the opportunity to work with a great team and learn how to build a collection from scratch," Brice said. "I am so grateful for what this experience has taught me."

About AATCC
Since its founding in 1921 as a renowned professional association in textiles and apparel, AATCC has developed and provided testing methods for textile, color, and quality control for educators and professionals worldwide.

Photo by Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer.

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