Textiles, Merchandising, and Design
Fashion is often described as the
current style that is followed by a large number of people at any one
time. Fashion has become an important part of every aspect of our lives,
from the design of our clothing to our color-coordinated kitchens.
The fashion industry deals with the design, production, marketing and
distribution of clothing and accessories for children, adults, and for
areas of the home. It is a multibillion dollar industry which offers a
dazzling array of products in every price range. It employs hundreds of
thousands of people and needs the talents of creative, fashion-minded
men and women who have the necessary training.
The Textiles, Merchandising, and Design curriculum at Middle Tennessee
State University is designed to give students in-depth knowledge and
skills necessary for a variety of professional careers in the fashion
industry. A major in Textiles, Merchandising, and Design with an
emphasis in fashion merchandising may lead to employment in areas of
retailing, visual merchandising, promotion, wholesaling, or consulting.
The demand for graduates with such skills continues to grow. A USDA
report indicates that there is a large unmet demand for professionals in
the fashion business in the USA and that this demand will escalate
during the coming years. Students selecting the apparel design emphasis
may be employed in some of the same areas or may have careers as fashion
designers or patternmakers with apparel manufacturers. The apparel design emphasis is a result of routine requests
from potential employers as well as requests from current and potential
students. Since relatively few design programs exist in the Southeast
where many apparel manufacturers have moved in the last few years, the
Department of Human Sciences at MTSU added the design emphasis to take
advantage of this potential market.
The fashion business is one of the largest and most vital industries in
the U.S. today. This relatively young world of merchandising and design
is expanding rapidly; each day many new job opportunities become
available to the person with enthusiasm, dependability, and the
specialized training for executive responsibility.
