Students and alumni from the Lasell University School of Fashion retail and merchandising program joined industry professionals as both buyers and brand interns at COTERIE New York. The fashion showcase, described as the “premier women’s apparel, footwear, and accessories platform,” hosted more than 500 brands from September 19-21 at the convention center.

Ayden Hart ’23, Madison Cormier ’22, Julia McNicol ’24, Elena Gruendel ’23, and Catherine King ’23 traveled on behalf of studio1851, Lasell’s on-campus, student-run boutique, to meet with brands and explore upcoming trends while also sourcing new merchandise for the store. The team, along with Assistant Professor of Fashion Kristin Kinsky (who advises studio1851), sought to procure items that aligned with the shop’s mission of supporting minority and women-owned ventures, small businesses or cause-based companies, and those that have committed to sustainable practices.

“This kind of buying show has such a substantial number of vendors, so we really had to weigh whether products would register with our customers and understand the companies we were purchasing from,” says King.  

The trip to Coterie is an annual venture for the Lasell School of Fashion, who has a strong relationship with the organization. In addition to this year’s cohort of buyers, another group of Lasell students (and two alumni) were recruited as interns by the Susan Bonomo & Co. showroom at Coterie to take part on the selling side.

“Our School of Fashion representatives working at Susan Bonomo put their understanding of industry terminology, trends, and the knowledge of wholesale vs. retail to the test,” says Kinsky. “As always, the showroom complimented the talent and work ethic of the School of Fashion students and alumni, saying ‘This is why we always work with Lasell University!’”

Lasell alumni Hannah Meyers ’19 and Ana Rose Dumoff ’19 were joined by students Faith Costa ’23, Kelly Mooney ’22, Emma Ingenohl ’22, Jacquie Minasian ’23, and Reagan Cola ’23 at the showroom, where they helped to set up the booths and then work the sales floor during live hours.

“This internship introduced me to the fast-paced environment of this industry,” says Cola. “It was busy throughout the day, which pushed me to step up and work directly with buyers. We had to learn quickly by picking up and understanding vocabulary that the buyers used, the order forms on our end, and the garments’ sizes, colors, and prices.”

“The most valuable takeaway from this experience was gaining confidence to take orders from buyers, ask questions, and listen in on important deals being made,” says Minasian. “It was a hands-on learning opportunity in New York City … I highly recommend it for other students who want to gain more insight into the industry!”