Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Chanel, Oscar de la Renta and Versace – all the leading fashionistas we think of when apparel comes to mind. But according to college of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles (AMDT) assistant professor Debbie Christel, there are many more career opportunities for the creative-at-heart in the fashion world than college students are aware of.

Christel will be the first to admit that when she began to consider a career in fashion and design, she had some reservations.

“I always thought (design) was for the elite or the incredibly gifted,” she said. “But then I had this ‘ah-ha’ moment with my grandma where she said, ‘Your passion can be your job. Who do you think designs for Nordstrom? It’s not Gucci, it’s regular people.’ That conversation took me out of the red carpet, super-narrow vision that I had.”

Within the college, Christel teaches mostly junior-level classes encompassing a variety of topics from draping to product development, and computer to technical design. She is also very proud of the curriculum that she has helped develop within the college, especially on her work to make plus-sized design more accessible.

“We try to provide an all-encompassing design and merchandising degree,” Christel said. “I think our design program really focuses on product development, so that’s designing products that function but also look aesthetically pleasing.”

A WSU alumna, Christel has been able to return home to the Palouse and watch the AMDT program expand to new facilities. Over the last few years, there has been a 10-percent growth in the college, she said.

“I think once students know the major exists and that you can actually have an incredibly successful career in it, the program will continue to grow,” Christel said.

She also said a great selling point about the AMDT program is that it is the perfect way for creative people to apply their artistic skills to a business environment with a vast variety of career opportunities.

Apparel and merchandising can be a lot of fun when students are truly passionate about contributing to the creative process from start to finish, Christel said.

In class, she has her students conduct interviews and surveys with people from their target markets so they understand whether the people they are actually designing their pieces for will accept their designs in the first place.

“So it’s not just that we’re making things,” Christel said, “everything that we design and create has a purpose.”

She said she also firmly believes that everyone needs clothes, today and in the future, so there is a lot of job security within the fashion sphere.

“Really, (apparel) is one of the basic needs of life,” Christel said. “You need food, water, shelter and clothing.”

Senior AMDT major Kelly Milligan said she hopes that her love and appreciation of fashion will soon translate into a prosperous career as a swimwear or lingerie designer.

“This is actually all I have ever wanted to do since I was a little, little girl,” Milligan said. “I could never imagine myself being anything besides a fashion designer, other than maybe a princess. It was an easy decision for me.”

After college, Milligan said she aspires to work as an assistant designer before starting her own apparel-based small business.

Over the next couple of months, Milligan will continue working on her senior runway show, put on annually by the AMDT department during WSU Mom’s Weekend. This year, the event will fall sometime during the weekend of April 7 – 9.

In her runway collection, Milligan aims to incorporate fashion trends she has forecasted for the upcoming season. “We are seeing a lot more neoprene and scuba gear in everyday fashion, so that’s what I’m working with.”

Of course, not all trends stay fresh and Milligan hopes to see some fashion pieces die a painful death in 2016 and never return.

“Chokers. I hate them,” she said. “And you know what, I’m guilty of this trend too – but the really shimmery velour that people are wearing in full-out dresses, it’s crazy.”

For the New Year, Milligan also advises those looking to improve on their style sense to pay more attention to the actual fit of their clothes.

“I think that’s the biggest mistake, so just know your body,” she said. “When you can tell that (your piece of apparel) is way too small, it is time to get something new.”

Davis Scilley, another senior AMDT major, also has some fashion trends she hopes never come back in style again.

“What’s been bad in 2016? Maybe the Canadian tuxedo? I’m just not really feeling the denim on denim look anymore,” she said.

Just like Christel and Milligan, Scilley said she has also always been drawn to the art and fashion world. While growing up, she loved art and enjoyed using her creativity to make things.

“When I was younger, I took a bunch of art classes, and I kind of wanted to translate that into doing something more productive in college,” she said. “But I love fashion, so if you kind of put those together, you get apparel design. It had a lot of my strengths in it.”

Scilley has worked as a stylist for Free People in Bellevue Square for the last two years and hopes that after college she can work her way up to an assistant designer position within the company. Free People is one of her favorite clothing brands.

Aside from the scuba trend, “What’s forecasting right now are very oversized silhouettes, we are seeing a lot of those denim jackets and lots of bomber jackets,” Scilley said. “So kind of very big silhouettes over maybe some tighter clothes like knit-tops or knit-dresses.”