This summer, FSF Community College Scholars arrived in New York City and Los Angeles with three days to experience as much of the fashion industry as possible.
They stepped inside a creator studio at TikTok. They talked trend forecasting with buyers at Ross Stores, Inc. and networked with their mentors at PVH Corp. They learned how experts at The RealReal assess fine jewelry, watches and handbags, met one-on-one with VF Corporation employees, and heard directly from designers at Favorite Daughter.
The trip takes something that can feel abstract in the classroom and grounds it in the industry's day-to-day reality.
For many Scholars, the immersive is their first chance to learn how the fashion industry operates from inside the workplace. They meet people working across design, buying, marketing, merchandising, and other functions, and see how those roles fit together inside a company.
That exposure is central to the FSF Community College Scholarship Program, which includes a three-day Fashion Industry Immersive designed to give Scholars a clearer view of available careers and what those jobs look like in practice.
THE 2026 COMMUNITY COLLEGE SCHOLAR COHORT
FSF launched its Community College Scholarship Program in 2020 with three Scholars. In 2026, the program supported 32 Scholars from community colleges across the country, maintaining the cohort size reached in 2024 while applicant interest continued to grow.
Applications have increased 96% since the pilot cohort. The 2026 cohort was 91% BIPOC, 72% Pell Grant-eligible, and 56% first-generation college students.
Each Scholar received a $5,000 scholarship, funded in 2026 through The VF Foundation, the PVH Foundation, and True Religion. Scholars also joined the 10-week FSF Summer Scholar Series, were paired with an FSF Alumni mentor based on their area of interest, and traveled to either New York City or Los Angeles for an all-expenses-paid, three-day Fashion Industry Immersive.
Scholars outside their NYC Welcome Dinner. Image courtesy of FSF
INSIDE THE NEW YORK CITY IMMERSIVE
In New York, Scholars gained access to several very different corners of the industry.
At The RealReal’s Madison Avenue location, a behind-the-scenes store tour became a lesson in the secondary luxury market. Experts walked Scholars through the intricacies of fine jewelry and watch valuation, offering a look at what it takes to authenticate, price, and merchandise high-value pieces.
Scholars tour TheRealReal in NYC. Image courtesy of FSF
At the VF Corporation showroom, the focus turned to people. Scholars participated in one-on-one speed mentoring sessions with VF employees, giving them space to ask questions about specific roles, career paths, and what working inside a major global apparel company looks like day to day.
The VF Corporation also invited Scholars to explore the Timberland, The North Face, and Vans stores, giving Scholars a look at the retail side of three brands within VF’s portfolio. Scholars enjoyed panel discussions with executives from each brand and attended a boot customization workshop at Timberland, where they dove into the design process.
At PVH Corp., Scholars heard from employees during an industry career fireside chat before touring Tommy Hilfiger’s men’s, women’s, and accessories showrooms. The event concluded with a PVH x FSF networking hour, giving Scholars time to connect directly with employees and ask questions about careers across the company.
The group also visited AMUR, where executives from multiple departments joined Scholars for a discussion and Q&A. Hearing several functions represented in the same room gave students a view of how the pieces of a fashion company connect, particularly for anyone whose idea of an industry career had previously centered on one or two familiar roles.
Community College Scholars attend a discussion and Q&A at AMUR in NYC. Image courtesy of FSF
For Community College of Philadelphia Scholar Alexcis Torres, meeting peers and professionals reinforced that her experience fit within the industry. “This experience affirmed that my journey as an artist and Black and Puerto Rican woman has prepared me for a bright future in the fashion industry. Connecting with fellow scholars and industry professionals was deeply inspiring.”
Those interactions also gave Scholars something harder to reproduce online: practice walking into an unfamiliar professional environment, introducing themselves, and joining the conversation.
INSIDE THE LOS ANGELES IMMERSIVE
The Los Angeles itinerary brought Scholars closer to the decisions shaping what consumers eventually find in stores, on social platforms, and in their feeds.
At Ross Stores, Inc.’s Los Angeles headquarters, Scholars joined a focus group with company buyers who put their knowledge of current fashion trends to work. The conversation gave students direct exposure to a discipline where cultural awareness has commercial consequences—buyers must understand what is happening in fashion and decide which trends make sense for their customers.
Scholars participating in a focus group with Buyers at Ross Stores, Inc. Image courtesy of FSF
At Centric Brands’ Los Angeles headquarters, Scholars heard from leaders across Favorite Daughter’s design team. The panel discussion took them inside the creative and commercial process behind a contemporary fashion label and introduced career paths within design that are difficult to understand from a course description alone.
TikTok offered an entirely different view of the industry. During an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience at the company’s Los Angeles headquarters, Scholars toured a creator LIVE studio, participated in a panel discussion, and joined a speed networking session with leaders from across TikTok’s marketing, commerce, and creator teams.
At Vans’ Costa Mesa headquarters, Scholars toured the campus and joined a panel and Q&A with employees working across apparel design, environmental design, merchandising, production, fit and wear, recruiting, and early career programs.
The Los Angeles itinerary also included an experience at The RealReal’s West Hollywood location, where Scholars received a business overview, walked the store, and joined discussions on visual storytelling and other areas of the business.
Fashion careers now stretch well beyond the traditional set of companies associated with the industry. Retailers, technology platforms, resale businesses, brand groups, and media companies all play a role in how fashion gets designed, discovered, sold, and understood. Putting Scholars inside those workplaces expands the map of what a career in fashion can look like.
“After the Immersive Experience in LA, I have so much more clarity on what I want to do now and how to accomplish my goals. I am so excited to enter the corporate fashion industry,” said Riley Hibbs, an FSF Community College Scholar and student at Des Moines Area Community College.
Image courtesy of FSF
WHY FSF INVESTS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE TALENT
Community colleges are an important talent pipeline for the fashion industry, reaching students whose paths into the industry don't begin at a four-year institution.
Community college students are often more socioeconomically and racially diverse than students at public and private four-year institutions. Community college students remain underrepresented in corporate internships, workforces, and leadership tracks.
The 2026 Community College Scholar cohort shows what opening another point of entry can look like. Scholars came from community colleges across California, Illinois, Iowa, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Kansas, and Florida, bringing different disciplines, experiences, and career ambitions.
The immersive is only three days, but the larger program is designed to make those three days meaningful long after everyone flies home.
A Scholar who meets a buyer in Los Angeles can continue developing that interest through an FSF mentor. A conversation with a VF employee can inform an internship search. A first look inside a design team, resale business, or creator studio can give a student a new role to research, a person to follow up with, or a clearer sense of where they want to build their career.
The immersive gives Scholars concrete points of reference they can carry into the rest of the program—a company they’ve visited, a role they’ve seen up close, and a professional they can follow up with.
HOW TO APPLY FOR THE FSF COMMUNITY COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
For students interested in applying, FSF’s Complete Guide to the Community College Scholarship Program walks through the program, eligibility requirements, faculty nomination process, and application materials in detail.
The guide also explains what applicants should prepare, including a faculty recommendation, transcripts, a short video, and a class assignment demonstrating their creative or business interests.
