Luxury & Retail MBA

The new semester is already in full swing but before we came back to NYC we got to spend a week in Milan learning about Italian Luxury.  The DBI in Milan was a two-week excursion with the first week on NYU’s campus learning about the basis of Luxury from Thomai Serdari. For the second week, we flew to Milan to learn from a mix of site visits to companies like Montero and Lamborghini and classroom time at Bocconi.  We spent a ton of time learning and the rest of the time exploring and celebrating how far our class has come.

 

Even though I am in the Fashion and Luxury program, most of my attention had always been in fashion or beauty retail.  I had never really appreciated or understood luxury until learning from Thomai during those two weeks. We started by covering what exactly luxury is; the perfect intersection of philosophy, science, engineering, and design. Followed by how the luxury industry has evolved from open-air markets to our current market.  There is no one who can make the luxury retail space sound more like an enchanting, mystical and beautiful than Thomai. After her lectures, I could fully see the beauty of luxury goods for the first time.

 

The following week in Italy made these lectures on craftsmanship come to life.  We watched silk printing happen in real time at Montero and took a tour of the Lamborghini factory that made me interested in cars for the first time.  These visits truly encapsulated what craftsmanship means in the modern day.

For me, the visit to Milan was especially meaningful since the first night was my 26th birthday. The FLUX class is small at 27 but large enough that getting a dinner reservation for all of us seemed difficult.  Luckily, our class is full of people with different skills who are willing to help out. A classmate took the lead for me and planned a birthday dinner, found the restaurant, took care of gathering information on who would or wouldn’t make it, found a place to go dancing after, and kept a google calendar invite in check for me. Thanks to her my birthday was perfect, almost all 27 people gathered for dinner and then went dancing with me to American top 40s (which was my one goal for my birthday celebration). I am so grateful that I got to spend my birthday in Milan celebrating with classmates. They even sang Happy Birthday to me in Italian at a site visit earlier that day!

Everyone has a different process for prepping to apply for business school.  I often get asked how much time should be set aside to prepare for everything from GMATs to essays and full applications, what should I write about, am I connected to fashion enough?  It is easy to feel a little lost and overwhelmed looking at the whole application process so I am going to break it down a little.

First, the process is about you, so don’t feel like you need to stick to any prescribed timeline.  

For me, I found out about the Stern Fashion & Luxury program in August and applied for the November deadline.  I studied for the GMAT every weekend and only took it once before applying. My turnaround time between looking at the application and submitting was only a few months because I knew the moment I saw the program I wanted to join.  One classmate spent a full year talking to people at Stern, from students to administrators, before applying. She spaced out her time for the GMAT, took a class to prepare and took it a few times. That year allowed her to take her time and work through everything as slowly as she wanted.  Both of us got accepted and both of us are thriving here at Stern. Your application is your own process, you know yourself best so don’t get too caught up in what everyone around you is doing.

Second, let some fun seep into the process, it doesn’t have to feel like work.

Applying for business school can be nerve-wracking and stressful, but it doesn’t always have to be.  This is a big step, but it is a fun step too that gives you some space to think about your future. Maybe writing the goals essay was easy as pie for you because you’ve always had a 5-year plan, or maybe it can be your space to think through what you want from a career.  The Pick 6 can be your time to reflect on what you value. While there is a goal to this application, enjoy the journey and wade around the in the self-discovery aspects of your application process.

 

Third, let your passion shine through!

The Fashion & Luxury Program is a focused program for a reason, everyone is passionate about something under that retail umbrella.  You are going to be surrounded by people who are as enthusiastic about retail and fashion as you are! If you are looking at this program there is probably a reason for it and you should let that excitement come through in your application.  I was a Gender Studies major during my undergraduate degree where I researched makeup and gender presentation. I then worked as a makeup artist before coming to Business School. These aren’t aspects that immediately come to mind when putting together an application, but they do represent what I am passionate about and I wanted that to come through.  Make sure you include what made you excited about this program in the first place!

 

For me, and a few others in my program, the NYU Stern Fashion & Luxury Program was the only program we applied to because we knew it was the only program for us.  For the majority of the class, there were a number of options to pick from for Business School. When you are looking for which program is right for you it is easy to determine the normal strengths like academic rigor, reputation etc, but I didn’t realize the main benefits I got from Stern until I was on campus.  

We all gathered together for Stern Gala

1) Community

Over the summer just the Tech and Fashion & Luxury program are on campus, which for us was a total of about 60 people.  That means for three months you are spending everyday Mon-Thu 9-4:30 with the same 60 people. Within a short period of time, I had a network of people I felt incredibly close with who were all experiencing the same thing as me. My favorite day of the week was Sunday when many of us gathered in the cafe, which come Fall would be full, but over the summer was just us.  We would work on homework together and laugh about what we did over the weekend. It was easy to feel comfortable and at ease with my classmates. The community didn’t end when the Fall started and the cafe filled with other students. Many of us all still sit together to work on homework and giggle and outside of school we still got together for things like Beer Olympics and Friendsgiving.

2) One on One Attention

I’ll admit it, moving to a brand new city, with a new roommate, and starting a new program where I knew no one was a little scary! I came from a non-traditional background and was worried about getting lost during classes or through my career search.  How would anyone on campus even know me when it is always full of people?! What I quickly learned is that at Stern everyone gets special attention. Over the summer we had a number of Office of Career Development (OCD) programming that left me on a first name basis with a number of OCD members.  Another time, we had a special lunch where 3-4 students were paired with two leaders of the Office of Student Engagement (OSE) where we just talked about our life outside of our resume. I learned more about my classmates than I had known before and I felt close with two key people in OSE. When I felt lost about where to go with a problem I reached out to the same OSE members who got back to me within the hour.  I feel known as an individual by almost every office at Stern.

3) Connections

One thing that continues to amaze me is how integrated into the city and industry Stern is.  Our immersions had us talking to C-Suite level employees asking us what we thought of their current business landscape.  The fashion board gave each of us a mentor and an amazing and interesting project for Stern Solutions. The industry is tight-knit and even if Stern didn’t have a connection to a particular company, which is rare, one of my classmates who came from the industry did.  It felt like all the companies that felt so fancy and far away from outside NYC were suddenly all at my fingertips.

After an intense summer filled with classes, happy hours, and company visits, six other classmates and I decided to go on a REAL vacation to Spain. Prior to coming to business school, I’ve heard from old coworkers and friends that one of the greatest aspects of Stern is the opportunity to travel with classmates.

Step 1: Location

Being in New York City, we had many options to choose from. Some initial ideas ranged from driving down Pacific Coast Highway in California to exploring the Sahara Desert. After a couple days of thinking, we decided on Spain – a place with beautiful beaches, delicious food, and great shopping.

Step 2: Planning

A detailed google spreadsheet was created. We all met up after class one day and planned the itinerary within hours. After identifying the schedule with corresponding dates, we delegated a large but exciting to-do list.

The Fun Part! 

Barcelona

A real football game, shopping, delicious food, long walks on the beach

Seville

Sightseeing in 100-degree weather, siesta hours, more food, salsa dancing

Ibiza

Boat cruise, lots of dancing and napping by the beach

Valencia

Tomato Festival

Barcelona

More sightseeing and exploring this beautiful city

I’ve lived in a number of cities in my life: London, Salt Lake City, Chicago, and DC.  No matter where I ended up I was always drawn back home to New York. I grew up in Upstate New York in the Albany area, but my love has always been The Adirondacks, only a short drive away from my parents home.  My heart settles into its place whenever I am surrounded by the peaks and valleys of The Adirondack scenery. So it seemed logical that the next city I dip my toes into should be New York City, close enough to home I can still make it to the Adirondacks but far enough that I felt like I was in a new world.  

Part of choosing Stern was choosing NYC.  Stern directly benefits from the city it is located in, from unparalleled faculty to access to industry leaders. This is especially evident in the Fashion & Luxury program. Where else could you study the business of fashion in the epicenter of where fashion is happening?  I can take a night class with a retail analytics industry leader spending his “spare” time teaching at Stern. I spend my Friday’s with my Stern Solutions fashion client in their downtown headquarters talking about strategy and watching people walk through their store. When this is done I can go shop in midtown at the same Ferragamo store location where I had an immersion session with the CEO and leadership team.  The possibilities are literally endless in NYC when it comes to Fashion & Luxury. Where else could you do site visits with any major store you can think of, usually all in one NYC neighborhood?

The benefits of NYC don’t end with Stern possibilities. It is also a huge part of the Stern culture.  Whenever we want to spend time together as a class we have an enormous number of restaurants, and bars to explore.  If we want to take it easy and enjoy the weather we can meet in Central Park to people watch. When it’s colder we can explore any of the 100 museums in NYC. If for some reason we want something outside of NYC, we are also close to 3 major airports and have taken trips to Spain, Croatia, Mexico, and soon Miami for a change of scenery during the program.  Best of all, our classmates are at most a 30-minute train ride away, while most are walking distance from school.  If we need each other at a moment’s notice, we can be there for each other ASAP.  I can speak from personal experience that I have texted our F&L cohort asking for help carrying something up my 5 story walk up and have immediately gotten responses.  When I need comfort I have friends who bring me a sweater and sit for brunch within a moments notice. Stern Fashion & Luxury provides us with a tight-knit community and big city benefits.

 

NYC may not have the peaks and valleys I am used to. They aren’t green and changing with the season.  But they are still stunning enough to take my breath away and settle my mind.

A regular question I get as a GA is what to put in a Pick 6 application.  Are certain photos too cheesy or regularly seen? Should it still be focused on my work experience or qualifications? What is Stern really looking for in this part of the application?

Don’t overthink it. Stern wants to know and understand you as a person! There is a reason our slogan is IQ + EQ.  Part of emotional intelligence is being empathetic and curious about the people around you. The Stern community is as diverse as it is cohesive, a big part of that is Stern selecting people with unique backgrounds who are as excited about everyone else’s unique background as they are in Stern.  The ‘Pick 6’ is your chance to show who you are outside of work and outside of a resume. We want our community to be built off of seeing the whole person, not just a resume. This is evident in Stern Speaks, an event where students talk about their life outside of Stern and work, and in Stern Chats, a podcast featuring Stern students, professors and administrators who share their life stories.  We want to see who you are in this part of your application and what you are going to bring to our community.

So when it comes to picking photos, choose what makes you unique and special.  This doesn’t have to fit any specific format. Some people used photos of food to describe their heritage, some focused on their favorite cities, and I focused on my family.  During this whirlwind application season use this time to stop and think about who you are, your values, and what makes you proud of your life. This reflection is going to serve you well in and out of business school.  I know regardless of any job, external accomplishment or failure, my family will always be my number one priority and a big part of what makes me, me. Here are two of my ‘Pick 6’ about my family, and I hope it can provide some inspiration to your own Pick 6.

“Almost every summer my mother, brother and I go on a cross-country trip to explore a new national park – being in nature and climbing mountains is one of my favorite memories and daydreams.”

“I am lucky enough to be a part of a combined family, the oldest of four siblings – one biological and two step; getting all of us together for holidays is my favorite time of year and also the loudest.”

Know that Stern is so excited to find out about who you are!

The one year program is unique to the two-year program, we start in the summer, May to be exact, and with a cohort of 30 instead of 400. The two Focused One Year Programs, Tech and Fashion & Luxury, have their own orientation program in the spring where we first meet before starting classes. We then have a whole summer to bond over classes, our immersions, and our dedication to our focused programs. While the campus feels small over the summer with just the 60 of us, it feels booming starting in the fall when the two-year program comes back to campus. Suddenly the 60 students in the Fashion & Luxury and Tech cohort are surrounded by another 800 students. This seems like it could be overwhelming, except Sternies are a welcoming group and not only were they excited to meet us, they were enthusiastic about mixing us into the larger Stern culture.

First, as we started our new semester I wanted to reach out to other MBAs in Stern who interned in the Fashion & Luxury industry over the summer. Everyone receives a list of students with their internship, past experience, and contact information as Stern encourages coffee chats across programs. In this spirit, I emailed six people assuming maybe 1-2 would respond and be able to set up a meeting. Within 12 hours, every single person I reached out to had responded and worked with our crazy schedules to set up a coffee chat or phone call. One student and I got bubble tea and walked around Washington Square Park (NYC location benefits!) while we talked about retail startups. Another gave me a call to go over his internship and interests in sustainability, which led to me applying to be on the conference committee of SISA. Everyone is excited to share their experiences and wants their peers to succeed!

Another way our Focused Program integrated into the larger Stern culture is through clubs and leadership positions. Since we are in the Fashion & Luxury program it makes sense that we would want to be a part of the Luxury and Retail Club, LARC, here at Stern. The leaders of LARC were incredibly excited to integrate us into the club. They set aside a number of Vice President, VP, positions specifically for focused one year students so we could be more involved. Being on the board of a club allows us to get to know our fellow 2 Year, Full-Time MBA students better and mingle with other students interested in the same industry as us.

The last, and maybe the most fun, way we mix in with the 2 Year MBA students is Beer Blast and other mixers. Every Thursday a club hosts a Beer or Bar Blast that takes place at or near Stern. Everyone from the 2 Year , Part Time, and Focused Programs come together to socialize and talk about their week. The first Beer Blast I went to I met a number of the first and second year  MBAs, one who even helped me with my Fantasy Football Lineup! It’s an incredibly fun way to meet new people and mix into the larger Stern culture. The Focused One Year MBAs may be a unique program, but there is nothing separating us from joining together with everyone else at Stern!

With the summer semester over, we are officially a third of the way through our course. Time has flown by and I’m amazed by how much we’ve accomplished over the past few months.

Starting school in the summer has been a novel experience. While the working world is in vacation mode, we’ve been working hard finishing all our core classes. As each subject only has six 3-hour long classes, we’ve been processing a lot of content in a short span of time. The core classes have been a mix of quantitative (e.g. Accounting and Finance) and qualitative (Leadership and Communications), giving us a strong foundation going into the fall. This jam-packed schedule of classes with plenty of readings, assignments and group projects has definitely made me sharpen my time management skills!

Despite the heavy workload, there has still been time to enjoy New York City in the summer. As an international student, I moved here with a whole bucket list of things I wanted to see and do, and I’m happy to be steadily going through it. Some of my highlights have been visiting the Heavenly Bodies exhibit at the Met, exploring the rooftop bar scene, and watching the 4^th of July fireworks from East River park with a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline.

Being on campus during the summer has been very peaceful. With not many other students around, it’s been nice to have the whole building to ourselves and its always been easy to find a space to study. I expect that to change dramatically come fall when the returning and new full-time MBA students come back to school. I’m excited for us to meet the broader MBA community, return to a more ‘normal’ academic routine, and begin participating in club and social activities.

The Fashion and Luxury NYC immersion has definitely been one of the highlights of the summer. Every Friday over the semester, we’ve had the chance to strengthen our knowledge of the fashion and luxury industry in New York through a host of classes, speakers and field trips and leverage our location at the heart of this dynamic fashion capital. Here are some examples of experiences I found inspiring and informative:

Field Trips

From being treated to a private viewing of Sotheby’s Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary Art Collection to drinking Belvedere cocktails in the Magic Room at the LVMH headquarters, visiting companies off campus is always such an inspiring experience and something unique to studying in New York City. These visits are made possible due to the strong industry connections Stern has cultivated. This is also reflected in our Fashion and Luxury Council, which is comprised of C-suite executives and thought leaders from across the business.

My favorite visit was to the Carolina Herrera HQ. We were welcomed by Emilie Rubinfeld, President of Carolina Herrera, Ltd. , who gave us an overview of the company’s history and present-day status, after which we were guided through the company’s atelier. The whole experience was very on brand and every bit as exciting as you’d imagine it to be. Having such a prestigious brand to open their doors to us was truly special and such learning experiences was one of the main reasons that drew me to Stern.

Alumni Panels and Office Hours

Over the Summer we’ve also had multiple opportunities to hear directly from Stern alumni who have pursued careers in the fashion and luxury industry upon graduation and learned how having an MBA degree has benefited them. One of the most important skills they said they learned was gaining a holistic view of an organization, being able to speak intelligently to a wide variety of teams and understanding the different KPIs that each team focuses on.

Aside from panel discussions, the Office of Career Development has also hosted alumni ‘office hours’, which has given us the chance to speak to alumni in smaller group settings, enabling us to get to know them on a more personal basis. All the alumni I have spoken to have been extremely honest and helpful, and it was great hearing from people who have been in our shoes.