Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School tailors experience for future fashion business leaders

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It’s been nearly five years since the announced launch of the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School (THFBS) at Elmira College. As the program celebrates milestones — it’s also charting an ambitious path forward, highlighting recent graduates and introducing new hands-on innovations that bring the business of fashion to life.

Developed in partnership with Elmira native and global fashion icon Tommy Hilfiger and his family, the program provides a unique, insider’s understanding of how the fashion world truly operates, bridging creativity with commerce and preparing the next generation of fashion business leaders.

“There are tremendous opportunities in the fashion industry for people who work on the business side,” shared Tommy Hilfiger. “Many talented designers graduate with creative skills but without a foundation in business. This program fills that gap.”

Under the leadership of Dr. Alison Wolfe, Professor of Marketing and Management, Business and Economics Chair, and Director of the THFBS, students begin with a strong foundation in business fundamentals and then gain additional knowledge on how to market and merchandise fashion products.

To get real-world knowledge, they often step out of the classroom, traveling to New York City for up-close looks at one of the industry’s largest fashion hubs. While there, they visit fashion industry professionals, tour warehouses, and sit side-by-side with SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) graduate-level students during special lectures. During one trip, a few students even got a behind-the-scenes view of a New York Fashion Week runway show, thanks in large part to the Hilfiger family’s involvement with the program.

Throughout their studies, students also engage directly with members of the Hilfiger family — including Tommy, Andy, Betsy, and Ginny — through campus visits and panels. These sessions offer candid conversations about entrepreneurship, innovation, and the realities of working in fashion today.

“It’s important to expose students to the real world of fashion,” explained Tommy Hilfiger. “The more touch points we create, the more chances they have to see and experience the business firsthand.”

And that sentiment is behind the latest innovation planned for the THFBS program.

With creative direction and guidance from the Hilfiger family, students will transform an office in the Campus Center into an experiential learning center — complete with window displays, merchandising setups, and product storytelling.

This new space will serve as a living classroom, turning theory into practice as students apply business strategies, marketing concepts, and merchandising skills in real time. It will also act as a dynamic hub for promoting the THFBS program and hosting student-led initiatives.

“It’s going to be wonderful,” exclaimed Betsy Hilfiger, adding that her family will supply mannequins, racks, hangers, and more, all of the supplies that would be needed to set up a storefront.

David Lee ‘26 is among the THFBS students involved in planning the space on the first floor of the Campus Center. He envisions a place to promote the THFBS to current and future EC students.

“It’s a good opportunity to show off the program to others,” he explained. At the same time, the space offers “creative opportunities to collaborate with different groups on campus.”

The new space will officially open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring the Hilfiger family and participating students.

These innovations and the program’s continued emphasis on introducing students to the many people and roles that make up the industry are already paying dividends for EC graduates.

Emily Guardado ’25 was in the first cohort of students to graduate in the accelerated three-year THFBS degree program. She is now working as a Merchandising Leader at American Eagle in Winchester, Virginia. She loved the many experiences and hands-on learning she received in EC’s THFBS program, which impacted her career path.

Her current role is a first step toward her career goal. She wants to become a visual merchandiser, a role she discovered as a student during one of the trips she took to New York City.

“We went on this trip to New York City, and we got to meet someone who worked for the visual department for Aerie and American Eagle,” she explained. “We got to see how they do visual branding during a tour. When I was hired for my current position, I remembered going on that tour and how I would like to work for American Eagle or Aerie because of that experience.”

Guardado’s knowledge of the fashion industry, the language and terms used by professionals, and her experiences helped her stand out in interviews and throughout her training.

“I caught on quickly because of my knowledge about merchandising,” she shared. “It has made it easier to get accustomed to my new role.”

And just as Guardado and other graduates step out to find their place in fashion, the THFBS program will continue to innovate and prepare EC students eager to make their mark on the global fashion industry — where style truly meets strategy.