Shein, a global e-retailer of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle products, has invested $480,000 in a new scholarship fund and class for students to design merchandise to sell on the company’s platform as part of its Shein X designer incubator programme.
The initiative – Shein X Project Launchpad – is in collaboration with the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM).
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Through the partnership, 12 students have been selected to receive a $40,000 scholarship each, provided by Shein. The students will also participate in a new course where they will create a five to ten-piece collection to be sold on Shein’s platform as part of the company’s designer incubator programme, Shein X.
“As its name suggests, Shein X Project Launchpad aims to launch these students into successful careers in the fashion industry,” said George Chiao, US president of Shein. “By providing scholarships and access to Shein’s resources and customer network, we hope to remove some of the barriers aspiring designers typically face and provide these talented young people with the tools and support they need to help them achieve their dreams.”
The 20-week curriculum has two parts: the first half of the programme focuses on market research and design development, while the second half is focused on fit and production. Once complete, the students’ collections will be sold on the Shein platform, and students will earn commissions while keeping ownership of their creations.”
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Shein X Project Launchpad aims to launch these students into successful careers in the fashion industry by providing scholarships and access to Shein’s resources and customer network. The initiative also hopes to remove some of the barriers aspiring designers typically face and provide talented young people with the tools and support they need to achieve their dreams.
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By GlobalDataBarbara Bundy, FIDM’s vice president of education, expressed her gratitude for the generous scholarship opportunities Shein has provided their students, which she said will “enhance their design talent and creative vision, and more fully understand the business side of fashion and how a product is made end-to-end”.
Students were selected based on their academic performance, portfolio of work, resume, instructor recommendations, and a short video submission detailing why they were applying for the programme.
The Shein X designer incubator programme has grown from just seven designers when it launched in January 2021 to almost 3,000 designers and artists globally, launching more than 25,000 original creations. Shein has invested over $55m in the programme and guides participants through the end-to-end process, from product development to marketing and supply chain logistics. Notably, Shein X designers maintain ownership rights to their Shein X designs.
“This collaboration is exciting to me because it is an area that I have yet to focus on as a designer,” said FIDM student Keagan Roberson. “Having just finished FIDM’s Advanced Fashion Design programme, which focuses heavily on a more niche, designer market, I think it will be a valuable experience to design for a completely different sphere within the industry. From this collaboration, I hope to take away valuable insights, such as the production and manufacturing process, that I can use across the industry regardless of which area in fashion I move to next.”
Shein is looking to onboard 500 more designers to the programme in 2023 in the US alone.
