Merchandising and design relates to big concepts, including social, psychological, economic, aesthetic and cultural perspectives.
The merchandising and fashion design department at Missouri State University prepares its students to excel and lead.
Students majoring in fashion merchandising and design have the option to choose an emphasis in either merchandising and management or fashion design and product development.
Fashion design and product development
Students who specialize in fashion design and product development take their ideas from the drawing board to the runway.
In addition to the core requirements of the program, the fashion design and product development option involves 27 hours in courses where students can explore and express their creativity.
Students begin with learning the basic principles of fashion design through classes like MFD 103: Principles and Elements of Design.
The rest of the courses cover more specific topics in fashion design. For example, MFD 370: Flat Pattern goes over fundamental concepts of drafting and pattern manipulation techniques to develop original garments.
Fashion design and product development students finish the program by completing a fashion collection to be critiqued and juried by fashion industry professionals for a spring fashion show.
Fashion merchandising and management
A degree in fashion merchandising and management offers opportunities to learn about things like industry trends, marketing and fashion promotion, merchandising math and entrepreneurship.
Students who choose this option take classes like ACC 201: Introduction to Financial Accounting and LAW 231: Legal Environment of Business to learn about the backend of business.
Later, students develop more specific skills in merchandising in classes like MFD 460 and 560. MFD 460: Merchandise Buying and Assortment Planning has students go through a simulated buying experience including store planning, merchandising and marketing. MFD 560: Entrepreneurship allows student to develop a fashion business plan from concept to store opening.
From concept to senior showcase
Every year in May, graduating merchandising and design majors work together to produce a Senior showcase.
Merchandising students display their classroom work through poster sessions and video displays. Design majors showcase their juried senior collections during a runway show and live-mannequin model experience.
Rankings
Missouri State is in the top ten fashion merchandising schools and colleges in the Midwest and top 50 in the United States.
Find the 2019 rankings here.