Written By Samantha Wright

We kicked off our annual NYC Trek this year with several leading companies. We were able to listen to different Michigan Alumni at these successful companies who were once in our shoes, and allowed us to gain insight into how they got from being wolverines to working for major brands in the fashion industry. 

To kick off the first stop on the trek, we were welcomed by the Louis Vuitton Fifth Avenue team. Getting to tour the Fifth Avenue store, as well as a private showroom on the 14th floor allowed our members to gain insight into the history and culture of Louis Vuitton. It was noted that with the history itself, Louis Vuitton focuses on maintaining its image as a lifestyle brand, rather than solely a luxury retail brand. Through direct client advising, any experience at Louis Vuitton will be catered to the interests of the customers, ensuring satisfaction at the end of their journey. With different meetings with members of their Communications and Talent Acquisition teams, our members gained insight into what it's like to work for such a powerhouse that is Louis Vuittion, and how many of them were in our shoes once. It was a pleasure getting to learn more about such an iconic brand like Louis Vuitton, and it was the perfect place to kick off our 2 day journey in the city. 

Moving all the way downtown to the World Trade Center, we were greeted by stunning views of lower Manhattan and the financial district. Known for its iconic magazines like Vogue, GQ, Teen Vogue, Bon Apetit, and Architectural Digest, Conde is one of the world’s most renowned mass media companies. Speaking to Chet Seeram and Vanessa Salvaggio, we were delighted to hear about a different side of the fashion industry. Highlight impactful work as one of the most important assets for career readiness, Conde is known for being a very successful media company across many different industries. They shared with us what its like to work for a leading company like Conde, and how all of their employees are very proud of what they do and what the company has achieved throughout its history. Within our tour, we were able to see some of the filming and photography studios where they film viral series like GQ’s Lie Detector as well as some of their Podcasts, and the Bon Appetit test kitchen (which was a little unknown surprise). For our members that are more interested in a fashion media career, Conde was the perfect company to gain insight into what their futures might look like. 

Every year, we are beyond excited and thankful to meet with the team over at Saks, which is full of Michigan Alumna who were all once in our shoes. We were greeted by a team of 6 Michigan Alum, who all had different journeys prior to coming to Saks. We learned about the shift between Saks and Saks Fifth Avenue, which are two distinct parts of the companies. Shifting to a digital platform, Saks has been able to become one of the leading online retailers to come from a major department store. We learned the importance of their values which are reflected onto their everyday work, which focuses on the customer and being able to accomplish those goals through others. It was noted that the company’s success is rooted through purpose, people, culture, and the Saks Brand itself. Michigan Alumni Jordyn Staff and Lillie Saperman are recent graduates who are both in their Early Career Development Program, and found their success at such an important company through hard work and dedication. Hearing from people who were once in our shoes gave a lot of our members hope and confidence into what their futures might look like in a fashion industry job. Last but not least, we were able to tour with Tapestry, who is the parent company of Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman. We got the honor to tour the full facility and see what the Coach Archive Room looked like, which honored the history as well as the new rebranding of the company. Different emphasis was represented within Kate Spade (mental health) as well as Coachtopia (Sustainability). With their slogan being “stretch what's possible” these three companies all have been powerhouses in the industry for a reason. Although many of these companies are very famous and prestigious, it was refreshing to hear and be reminded that we should all be doing what we love. Iconic brands have gained re-emergence in the past couple of years, and seeing the history behind the brands we all know and love is an experience that we will all never forget. We are more and more thankful every year for our hardworking club members as well as the beautiful alumni connections that comes with being a wolverine that grants us the opportunity to go on this trek every year and gain meaningful experience and connections that will set our members on the right path for successful careers in the luxury fashion and retail industries.