Tatiane Romero
My name is Tatiane Romero and my experience at Westchester Community
College was remarkable. While studying at Westchester Community College, I
was involved in several school projects and volunteering work. During one of
those volunteering projects, I was appointed to be the fashion show
assistant for the director of the American + International Designs. The A+ID
is a trunk show that happens twice a year, where international designers
show their collections to buyers of luxury stores. The following three
season, after the volunteering experience, I was hired to be a freelance
sales assistant for a famous Brazilian designer. I was able to increase his
sales figures by 40%, since the designer had difficulties to negotiate with
American buyers due to cultural differences. Westchester Community College definitely opened some
doors for the future and gave me the opportunity to make great connections
with professionals in the fashion field.
Soon after graduating from Westchester Community College, I found an opportunity
online at a website called Fashion.Net, and was hired as the operational
director assistant at Bing Bang Jewelry. In 2005, Bing Bang was an up and
coming Jewelry Company, which had been very successful and since then has
grown substantially. From 2005 to 2006, I was involved as a liaison between
Bing Bang and jewelry district vendors. My job was to assist the Director
and Production team in negotiating with jewelry district vendors and
prospective suppliers. Some additional responsibilities were monitored all
shipping orders, which involved import and export documentation, duties and
taxes research and control of inventory.
At Bing Bang, after dealing with several tasks and
being involved with customs, trademark and copyright issues, I realized that
I needed a broad knowledge of international business. Fall of 2005, I
applied for an ITM Bachelor Degree at FIT and was accepted in 2006. Since
then, I have been learning about international business, import and export
documentation and now fashion law. Bing Bang definitely made an impact on my
decision making, and it is unfortunate that I’m not working for them
anymore. School schedule interfered with my work at Bing Bang and I left the
company in the summer of 2006.
After Bing Bang, I was not planning to work full time,
since I wanted to finish my bachelor degree. However, an amazing opportunity
came my way and I ended up interning and later working for Gucci Group. I
interned at Stella McCartney Wholesale Division for 4 months and received an
offer to work part-time as their wholesale assistant. I worked there from
end of 2006 to May of 2007, assisting the wholesale division and learning
about international sales.
I really loved the experience at Stella McCartney. I
also found out a lot about myself and what I really would love to do after
graduating. One of my aspirations is to own a showroom and represent new
upcoming designers. The idea of represent someone and bring their collection
to a new country fascinates me. I would love to work with European and Latin
American designers, and have unique pieces that will stand out in the
fashion market. To accomplished this dream of mine I must learn about
licensing, copyrights and trademark issues. I also need to master about
distributor and agents’ contracts and sales agreements.
I decided to take Fashion Law at FIT to increase my
knowledge about contracts and representation and possible get a prospect of
how to start bringing my dream project to reality. Next spring, I am
planning to get an internship where I can learn more about contracts and
international sales representation. I’m not sure how to even start searching
for such an opportunity, but I’m willing to try. We never know what the
future holds for us, but I’m glad that I can choose what motivates and
drives me. I am confident that my skills as a merchandiser and my fresh
knowledge in international business and marketing will provide me with the
tools to professional success in the near future.
