Students get merchandising experience with displays at mall

Southeast Missouri State University has paired with West Park Mall to give students the opportunity to practice their visual merchandising skills.

Students who participate in the project will have their window displays shown in an empty space at the mall where Aeropostale was. The products of Charlotte Russe and The Buckle will be used.

The project began Wednesday. Store managers and visual designers for the stores talked about expectations, the product and their understanding of what they are displaying.

After talking to the students, they let them have free rein to do what they want with the products provided.

This project not only is benefiting students, but also the mall. Once the window displays are up, the space will look fuller.

Workers at Buckle and Charlotte Russe said West Park Mall has suffered from store closures in the past few years.

It is also free marketing and advertising for the companies involved, because students will be using their fashions, along with the displays.

"It's kind of like Project Runway, but in a visual display," Brandon Rains, assistant manager at Charlotte Russe, said.

Students will work on their projects through March 2. Props will be provided, such as old suitcases and pallets.

Students will clean up and return items to the stores March 7.

Southeast fashion merchandising professor HJ Cho initiated the idea. She has been working at Southeast for three years and has grown the fashion merchandising department. The visual merchandising course never was introduced at Southeast before Cho started teaching there.

She brought it up to the university, and she now is teaching the class every semester.

"This is a common class for fashion merchandising majors," Cho said.

In the past, students were using cardboard boxes and Barbies to simulate mannequins in windows. Cho thought of the project idea after a weekend visit to West Park Mall. She also wanted to get her students more involved off-campus.

"I went shopping on the weekend and noticed all the empty spaces in the mall, so I thought it would be a great place for my students to do a project here," Cho said.

She partnered with Southeast student Nicole Fouche, a wedding-dress designer. They worked hard to get the connections outside of the school.

Cho's goal for students in this project is to teach them how to find more opportunities through making connections. She wants them to progress from Southeast's program into the real world of fashion merchandising.

She said she will continue to look for projects to help her students gain real-life experience.

Pertinent address:

3049 William St., Cape Girardeau, MO