Fashion Design and Merchandising Department
Unleash Your Creativity. Master the Business. Influence the Industry.
The Fashion Design and Merchandising program at St. Catherine University prepares you to lead the future of fashion, retail, and consumer products through sustainability-driven education, evidence-based decision-making, and hands-on industry experience.
You graduate career-ready, purpose-driven, and prepared to create meaningful change across the fashion system, from design and product development to merchandising, retail strategy, and consumer engagement.
A Fashion Program That Accelerates Your Career
Purpose-Driven. Industry-Connected. Career-Focused.
Fashion at St. Kate’s is about more than trends. It’s about people, responsibility, innovation, and leadership.
What sets us apart:
- Sustainability Is the Standard
- Not a special topic, not an add-on; your starting point. Every pattern, every analysis, and every assortment plan is built through an ethical and environmental lens. Pair your major with our Sustainability minor and expand your impact across the full product lifecycle.
- The Archive Is Your Lab
- With exclusive access to our 2,000-piece Historic Dress Collection, you study how garments were made, and use that knowledge to design what comes next.
- Twin Cities = Your Classroom
- Learn in the backyard of global retail headquarters, fast-moving startups, and purpose-driven brands. Your network starts on day one.
- Industry-Connected Curriculum
- Our active industry advisory board includes leaders from national brands like Evereve, regional innovators such as Target and Merchology, independent designers, and entrepreneurs, so what you learn in class is exactly what the industry needs right now.
- Internships That Launch Careers
- Graduate with real experience, real connections, and real confidence. Don’t wait until graduation to enter the industry; you’re already in it.
- Global Perspective: From New York to Europe
- Study at the world’s fashion capitals in London, Italy, France, or even spend a semester (or even a year) at FIT in New York City. Your classroom is global.
- Leadership Rooted in Empathy
- Katie's lead with collaboration, ethics, and purpose, the skills the industry is actively seeking.
Weaving the Thread of Innovation Through Hands-On Experiences
Signature Experiences That Set You Apart
- Own the Runway: Katwalk
- Our fully student-run fashion show is your creative studio and leadership lab. From first concept to final lighting cue, you take on roles such as Producer, Merchandiser, Marketer, and Designer.
- Katie’s Closet: Paid Internship with Purpose
- Katie’s Closet is a student-run retail space providing free professional attire to the community. As a paid intern, you gain hands-on experience in merchandising, marketing, visual presentation, and retail operations, while making a real impact.
Program Pathways
Creative and Technical Fashion Design
For the makers, the visionaries, and the pattern makers blending technology, sustainability, and design for real people
Merchandising and Retail Analytics
For the strategists, trend forecasters, and data-driven decision-makers, turning consumer insight into the right product at the right time.
Dual Degree Option
The ultimate path for future entrepreneurs and industry leaders.
Explore Fashion Before College: Fashion Summer Workshop
Try the major. Build real skills. Explore your future.
Explore Fashion Before College: Fashion Summer Workshop
Try the major. Build real skills. Explore your future.
St. Kate’s Fashion Summer Workshop is a hands-on, behind-the-scenes experience for high school students curious about fashion, retail, sustainability, and the business behind the trends.
In one immersive program, you’ll live the life of a fashion student, creating in the studio, solving real industry challenges, and learning from the faculty and current students who will mentor you along the way.
What You’ll Do
- Design in real college studios
- Explore fashion design, merchandising, and sustainability in action
- Discover how trends, data, and consumers shape what the world wears
- Work with faculty, alumni, and current students
- Explore real career paths across fashion and retail
The Fashion Summer Workshop is ideal for students who want more than a campus tour; they want to experience the major, explore career possibilities, and make informed college decisions.
Connect with Us
Follow Fashion Design and Merchandising at St. Catherine University on Instagram and LinkedIn to see student work, events, internships, and industry engagement in action.