ELMIRA, NY (WENY) — A ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark a new fashion business school store was held on Wednesday at Elmira College. The Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School People’s Place Store will provide students with real-world experience before they graduate.
“It’s a fantastic learning opportunity, and Tommy has been very supportive since day one. Five years ago, when we initiated the program, he really put his fingerprints on it as to what the education is supposed to be all about, and the emphasis from the beginning was on business, yes, fashion merchandising, but understanding the fundamentals of business,” said Dr. Charles Lindsay, the president of Elmira College.
While the store is located on campus, it is open to the public. Students will run it, where they’ll learn skills like inventory management and point-of-sale.
“I hope students take away real-life experience in retail and in fashion, learn about the merchandising, marketing, and business,” said Tommy Hilfiger, fashion designer, founder, and principal designer of the Tommy Hilfiger brand.
He added, “The idea was to sell the product, and the proceeds from product sales will go into the scholarships and go into the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School at Elmira College.”
Some seniors in the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School Program (THFBSP) said they’re elated to see how this turns out for future students.
“It’s really inspiring to have this here, the past four years creating something special with this program, and as seniors, we’re really excited to see how this blossoms, and it’ll be an experiential learning experience for the next generation of students,” said student Alexandra Stilo.
David Lee, also a student in the THFBSP, added, “As aspiring creatives, if you’re in fashion, music, whatever, hearing Tommy Hilfiger’s story, coming from Elmira and being able to do what he’s done in the world in the span of 50+ years, to be honest, it’s inspirational for those who have the same motive and drive. Seeing something like that just keeps you going.”
Another student, Erin Mckenzie, also said, “We’re not only excited to bring People’s Place back to Elmira, New York, we’re also excited to have a space for our program and show new/incoming students that this program is big, but it’s also here, and it’s not going anywhere.”
The store will be open Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will close during summer break and will open again in the fall. You can find the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School People’s Place Store inside the Campus Center building.