The YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund wants to expand its internship program to recruit more talent into the apparel industry.
At a Sept. 29 luncheon at the New York Marriott Marquis, YMA recruited on two levels: at schools, to get students, and in the industry, to get companies to open their doors to interns.
This year, YMA gave a record 124 students $5,000 scholarships and placed 15 in apparel-related internships.
The organization, originally called Young Menswear Association, has been giving scholarships for decades, but the internship program only began in 2005. Last summer, students interned at companies including Kellwood Co., Phillips-Van Heusen, Perry Ellis and Oxford Industries, tapping from the companies represented by its board of governors.
For its third summer of internships, YMA is trying to expand its offerings, particularly in the women’s wear world, which interests many students, but is less represented on the board than the men’s wear industry, said Debra Malbin, chair of YMA’s intern committee. Malbin, also president of the headhunting firm Debra Malbin Associates, added that she wants students to be more open-minded about where they intern, “even private label.”
YMA also wants to attract a larger base of students, not just from design but also business and English majors interested in the merchandising and business sides of the industry. “If we at the YMA were focused only on design talent, we would be defeated as an industry,” said Kenneth Wyse, YMA scholarship committee chair and PVH president of licensing and public relations.
The fund is looking to expand its scholarship offerings to non-fashion schools. While Parsons and the Fashion Institute of Technology were of course represented, so were Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania and Washington University. Kevin Rosenbloom, men’s merchandising manager for Macy’s Merchandising Group, said YMA was looking “for both future ceo’s and fashion designers.”
“This business is about passion,” Rosenbloom said. “If you have passion, you can come from all levels of life.”