Michele Estrick

Riding the Waves of the Surf/Skate Industry

"Before I started at FIDM, when I was thinking of getting into fashion, my dream job was working in the surf/skate industry!" says Michele Estrick, Merchandiser/Design Assistant for Roxy Swim, the women's division of popular surf/skate brand Quiksilver. "And through hard work and dedication and internships, I was able to get what I wanted!"

When used in a Product Development sense, a Merchandiser is someone who takes an idea from a drawing to an actual product. As a Merchandiser/Design Assistant, Michele is involved from the initial development of the goods through getting them to the salespeople. After getting the preliminary sketches, she works closely with different vendors to execute the designers' ideas. "Right now the trend is detail so I've been super-busy working with all types of embroidery, screeners, and novelty vendors." After finalizing the development of the garment, she moves on to working with patterns and patternmakers to produce the lines. She takes an active part in shooting the product for the catalog used by the sales reps as well as presenting the line at Roxy sales meetings. Finally, she works with the production team on making production deadlines. "I do everything!" she says. "Every week's different depending on where we are in the development stage of our design."

Interested in fashion since she was a little girl growing up in Orange County, California and knowing she wanted to be in business, Michele decided to become a Buyer. She earned a B.A. from Arizona State University in Purchasing and Logistics Management, and wound up working in the computer industry in California's Silicon Valley. Though she tried different companies, she found she couldn't relate to the products she was buying. "Because ASU wasn't a fashion school, they steered us away from apparel," she remembers. "After three-and-a-half years of working, I realized fashion was what I always wanted, and that was why I'd gone to ASU in the first place!" She researched fashion schools on the internet, found FIDM, and followed her heart. "I looked back to what I had originally wanted as a young girl, and that was to be in fashion."

Because she already had a degree, Michele enrolled in FIDM's one-year Professional Designation program. "I chose [Merchandise] Product Development because I was interested in the design stage but I didn't want to be a Designer, and the Merchandising sounded interesting to me," she says.

While attending FIDM, Michele worked at a showroom in downtown's California Market Center, the multi-storied hub of the Los Angeles Fashion District, assisting an independent sales rep with several different lines of lingerie. And crucial to her success, she believes, was interning--first at PacSun, then at Quiksilver. "Besides attending FIDM, one of the best things I did was interning," she notes. "It allowed me to network and meet people." And for Michele, interning opened a very real door. Lo and behold, a couple of months after graduation when a job opened up, Quiksilver hired her on!

"I feel that FIDM really helped prepare me for the industry," Michele says, looking back. "I got a really good overview of the different areas in apparel (patternmaking, sourcing, textiles, line development, design), which helped me choose what area I was most interested in." After going to a big college (ASU) with so many general classes, she remarks, "I liked that all the classes (at FIDM) were so specific to fashion." Michele also notes that, because they are fashion industry professionals, "the teachers brought real-life experiences into the classroom."

"My Product Development class was probably my favorite," Michele recalls. "The company we studied was Quiksilver, and I was really interested in the surf industry." The class taught how to look at your target customer, scope out the trends, and develop your own line.

What Michele loves about being a Merchandising/Design Assistant is seeing the evolution of an idea. "My favorite part of my job is being a part of the development of a product, and then visiting a retailer and seeing the product I helped work on in the store. It's like, "Wow! I was part of that and I know everything that goes into it!'" she says proudly. She likes that it's so multi-tasked, and that she gets to work with so many departments and people, both inside and outside Roxy. "No day is ever the same!"

"Hardworking people inspire me," she says. "I see how hard my boss has worked to get where she is and that motivates me." As for where that motivation will take her, she says, "I love merchandising, so my plan is to stay in this area and move up in my career." To get a foot in the door, as she did, Michele recommends interning, along with unleashing your curiosity. "Don't be afraid to ask questions, because the only way to learn is by asking people things. When I was new on the job I was always asking things!"

This inspired, questioning young woman, who's a snowboarder and a sometimes-surfer, has found her place at Quiksilver, where the atmosphere is casual and she's able to wear shorts to work. "It's all about the active lifestyle," she says. "Basically, we wear what we sell." Michele set her sights on the surf/skate industry and, with FIDM's help, she's there!

Please Note: The information contained herein was confirmed at the time of original publication