Updated for the 2025 Undergraduate Admissions Cycle

The Fashion Design Management Case Study is required of all first-year and transfer applicants interested in this option of the Fashion Design Management option of the Fashion Design & Management major*. This submission will be considered along with your required application materials (Common Application, transcripts, etc). Fashion Design Management applicants who do not submit the Case Study will not be considered. 

*Applicants interested in the Fashion Design option must follow separate fashion design portfolio guidelines.

How do you transform an idea into a successful fashion brand, and how do you define “success”? Fashion Design Management merges creativity, business savvy, and ethics to realize the potential of fashion products and ensure they reach the right consumers.

In the College of Human Ecology, students approach all areas of study by centering the health and well-being of people and communities. In Fashion Design Management, this means thinking about the needs and desires of consumers as well as the impact of fashion products, production, and promotion on the environment, garment workers, and society more generally. How do you learn about your consumer (i.e., “target market”) and then align your branding, communications, product lines, manufacturing, marketing, and retailing with their preferences?

The Fashion Design Management Case Study will provide an opportunity for you to answer some of these questions and showcase your creativity, analytic skills, and understanding of fashion design management. The written statements, though separate from the Case Study, will also offer a space to share your experience, background, and perspective on fashion design management.

Submission instructions
All Fashion Design Management Case Study components must be submitted via SlideRoom. Mailed materials will not be accepted, reviewed, or returned.

Deadlines
Your Fashion Design Management Case Study must be submitted to SlideRoom by the application deadline that corresponds with your application status. Late submissions will not be considered.

Fashion Design Management Case Study Components
The Fashion Design Management Case Study consists of the following (2) required components and (1) optional component (see below). Applicants must complete and submit the (2) required components.

  1. Required — Written Statements
  2. Required — Case Study
  3. Optional — Your own creative work

All work must be original and produced by the applicant, WITH NO ASSISTANCE FROM CONSULTANTS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ETC. Any images or graphics that are not the work of the applicant must be properly cited (for example, a mood board of collaged images from a magazine must include attributions to the source). Submissions found to have significant similarity to work posted on the internet or from other sources will not be accepted.

Fashion Design Management Case Study Instructions (2025)

Frequently Asked Questions

Email us if you have additional questions about the design supplement.