MADISON MORRIS

What brought you to KPU and your program of study?

I wanted a full degree in Fashion Design and KPU is one of the few schools in Canada that offers that.

Can you briefly describe your current position and your main day to day responsibilities?

Knitwear Designer, Simons (it’s my last day as I start at Garage on June 29th, but I’ll say my day to day for Simons)

-Reviewing emails and responding to buyers and factories
- Creating artwork and approving strike offs
- Sketching CADs and building BOMs to send to factories
- Market research
- yarn research
- reviewing fit samples and providing comments to technical designers
-creating capsules collections

Which skills, knowledge, or experiences from KPU have been most valuable in your career so far?

Fabric and yarn knowledge
Accurate CAD creation and development
Research skills
Collection development
Fashion history knowledge
Garment construction knowledge

What advice would you give current KPU students who want to build a successful career after graduation?

I think it’s important to explore all the career paths this degree can lead to. There are so many fashion jobs and opportunities in the industry. But once you discover what you truly want to do, it’s important to steer yourself in that direction.

Apply for internships that align with your goals, and connect with people who are already in the positions you aspire to have. This degree is broad in many ways, and I really had to take ownership of my own path to ensure I ended up where I wanted to be.

In some cases, that meant not always doing things exactly the way my professors wanted. Don’t get me wrong—they have an incredible depth of knowledge, and you should absorb everything they have to teach. But fashion has always been about challenging the norm, so don’t be afraid to think differently, take risks, and step outside the box.