A Marymount University senior who wowed retail, design, marketing and technology leaders at Coach’s New York City headquarters this February just completed an internship with the company’s 3D design team.
Tran Truong, an Interior Design major, took home the top prize in Coach and Windowswear’s 2019 student competition, which more than 1,000 students participated in nationwide. They submitted their own fashion-forward, futuristic window designs for the Coach Holiday 2030 campaign, with 10 finalists selected to attend an awards ceremony in New York. Five of the finalists were Marymount students, and Truong’s first-place finish earned her the coveted Coach internship.
She completed the seven-week program online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but she was still able to observe and learn about various departments at Tapestry, the parent company of Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Wietzman.
Within each department, Truong had the opportunity to virtually meet with speakers and Tapestry executives from all over the world. She also learned about career planning with the company’s human resources department, and observed the product development process.
“Product development is a surprisingly long process that involves many cross departments, such as the design team, production, materialization, suppliers, marketing, buyers and more,” Truong said. “One of my best experiences during the internship was learning about the design process – both product design and the store, pop-up and visual merchandising experience from conceptualization, prototyping, lookbook and runway mock-up, line presentation, finalization, brand activation and the final shot.”
During her internship, Truong also worked closely with Giovanni Zaccariello, the Global Vice President of Visual Experience at Tapestry. Zaccariello oversees four branches of visual merchandising, which allowed Truong to gain insight into the global team and global field team, 3D studio and brand events.
Currently, Truong is completing a mentorship experience with Joanna Roopchand, 3D Team Manager at Coach, until February 2021. With Roopchand, Truong is getting a more in-depth look at what kinds of projects and strategies the 3D team uses in the company. Tapestry’s 3D studio is responsible for window, pop-up and showroom design, as well as bespoke installations for Coach and many other notable fashion companies. Additionally, Truong is receiving advice on her personal networking and brand development relating to her resume, portfolio, cover letters and interviews.
After graduation, Truong will complete a summer internship for Tapestry, although due to the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is unclear whether it will be virtual once again or in person.
The internship opportunity from Coach and Windowswear, a visual database of retail and e-commerce, was a collaboration between the two companies to give students experience in visual merchandising, interior architecture, marketing and design.
