Apparel merchandising students Judi Guevara and Erin Schagunn cut clothing patterns.

Who ever said you had to be near the design showrooms and runways of New York to learn the ins and outs of the fashion industry?

Students in Cal Poly Pomona's Apparel Merchandising & Management (AMM) program have proven otherwise with a recently completed line of casual loungewear. Across campus and in the surrounding community students are wearing comfortable Cal Poly Pomona shirts, shorts and pants bearing the AM2 clothing tag.

"This is an exciting adventure that offers our students a hands-on learning opportunity," says Betty Tracy, chair of AMM. "Apparel merchandising & management students have the unique distinction of being in the only university program that allows them to create their own product line and label. It is for students, by students."

True to the university's learn-by-doing philosophy, students in the Apparel Product Development Simulation class are responsible for developing the AM2 clothing line from concept to distribution. They prepare for this project through a series of courses that expose them to concept design, computer illustration, pattern making, fashion themes and colors, purchasing, marketing, product development solutions and quality assurance. The courses are taught at the Apparel Technology & Research Center on campus, which houses a model apparel manufacturing facility.

"Creating the AM2 line is about tying all of the classes together and bringing reality into the classrooms," says Cindy Regan, associate professor. "It brings them that much closer to the industry, so when they go out for their first job they know what product development is all about."

After designs are approved, garments are manufactured at a local company that donates services to AMM. The clothing is then sold at the Bronco Bookstore and ApparelScapes, a mini-shop run by retailing students located at the AGRIscapes Farm Store. Students track inventory and make recommendations for reorders or changes for the following line.

.Last year, American Apparel in Los Angeles manufactured the clothing and hired two interns to oversee production of the AM2 line. One, senior Koffajuah Toeque, says creating the line was an experience that will definitely help her better understand pattern making.
"It was very professional," she says. "We were given a deadline and made sure we had a quality product."

The AM2 program began two years ago with the support of the AMM advisory board. Students are now developing the third clothing line. Proceeds from the clothing sales help to pay for fabric and other program costs, but AMM professors would eventually like to use the money to create a student scholarship program.

For students like Toeque, seeing others wear the clothes she creates fills her with a sense of accomplishment.

"Many people do not know a lot about our program and think of fashion design as a bunch of girls walking around dressed up," she says. "But the line gives people an awareness that we really are doing something and that our program is important."

The university's rapidly growing AMM program educates and prepares students for various positions in the apparel field, including product development, apparel engineering sales, purchasing and store management.

For more information on the apparel merchandising & management program,
contact the department at (909) 869-3377.