Laila A. Thurman
Professor Weaver
English 1102 Section 298
7 March 2022
Summary
The Fashion Institute of Art and Design looks for students who are innovative and aspire to not only participate in the fashion and design industries but lead them on the global stage. Students with these characteristics should attend this school to connect with industry leaders and network with peers, alumni, and affiliated organizations. This institute structures its website to speak directly to those who appreciate the finer things in life and implements the rhetorical strategy of Kairos to appeal to modern students.
Analysis
On the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising’s website, there is a lot of information for prospective students to sift through. The website speaks of its Los Angeles campus, its mission to promote sustainable practices, connections to the fashion industry, and alumni success stories. As stated in the previous paragraph, the website’s structure is used to speak directly to the hearts of students who appreciate refined designs. Bold colors and simplistic page components help the institution ‘pop’ and remain in the mind of students who can see themselves as leaders and global influencers within the art, design, fashion, and entertainment industries.
At its core, FIDM is an art school. It speaks to those who are creative and who think outside the box. Its advertising reflects this, which is why the FIDM Look Book exists. The Look Book is the best place to begin speaking about structure. According to the FIDM, the Look Book helps prospective students “learn more about what it’s like to be a student at FIDM.” (fidm.edu, Look Book 2021) This Look Book offers a glimpse into life inside the institution and provides well-organized layouts to appeal to those with an eye for design. The aesthetically pleasing pages provide an average amount of information, but it isn’t the information that’s important here. At least not the written kind. The design of the look book, its structure, is organized with several eye-catching components at the forefront. Large photos of Los Angeles, candid photos of students working, and photos of brand collaborations and work opportunities fill the pages and allow students to visualize themselves at the school.
All of the information inside the FIDM Look Book can be found on the institution’s website. However, the organization of the lookbook is much more detailed, acting as an advertisement for the benefits of attending FIDM. It is important to remember that this is an institute of design and merchandising. Every decision made on the website and the accompanying materials is likely made by professionals who work at or with the school. These professionals know how to grab an audience’s attention and use their structuring to guide that audience where they need to go. In this case, the audience is directed towards the Look Book and other colorful parts of the website instead of the deeper information such as pricing, education, and financial aid.
Moving past the website’s design, the next way the structure is used to influence students is through the organization of the website’s success stories page. For context, the website’s mission statement states, “FIDM Graduates embrace cultural diversity and ethical choice while advancing the well-being of their communities.” (fidm.edu, About) The structure of this page provides evidence that supports this statement. By starting with a graduate named Robin Coté, who hosted the Indigen-US fashion show on March 5, 2022, the web page does its best to highlight the different successes of BIPOC students and alumni along with students from other marginalized groups such as the LGBTQ+ community. Coté, who, according to the FIDM website is, “… from the Cote First Nations, which is located in Saskatchewan, Canada,” is a Native American graduate. (fidm.edu, Success Stories) She, along with other alumni such as James Flemons and Sarah Choi, are able to show FIDM’s fulfillment of their mission statement along with their alumni connection and networking opportunities. (fidm.edu, Success Stories)
Outside of structure, FIDM also takes great care to utilize the rhetorical strategy of Kairos. According to Elizabeth Losh and Jonathan Alexander, authors of Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing, Kairos is “a larger rhetorical strategy that focuses on Awareness of the appropriate timing, occasion, or opportunity for a given rhetorical act.” Most examples of this strategy are located within the look book, but a few managed to sneak inside the campus life section of the website.
Starting with the sustainability section of the lookbook, it can be assumed that FIDM’s focus on this practice stems from the popularization of sustainable fashion and climate activism. People (both prospective students and others) have begun to criticize the wastefulness of industries involved in fashion and design. By placing information about sustainability on a spread dedicated entirely to showcasing the institution’s commitment, FIDM aims to entice those aware of the damages caused by plastic packaging and exploitative trade. (FIDM Look Book, 32) As of right now, with climate change and other global emergencies, the emphasis placed on sustainability and ethicality has become mainstream.
Following the sustainability section of the look book comes the website’s global industry practice. As stated in the FIDM’s mission statement, “FIDM’s engaging learning environment and rigorous programs of study develop graduates who become leaders in the industries of global design and business.” (fidm.edu, About) It is no secret that global trade networks make the world go round, and fashion has always been a field that thrived from globalization. FIDM makes sure to recognize that history as they advertise the benefits of attending their institution. The goal of FIDM is to attract students who have the potential to become leaders in their respective industries. These students connect with FIDM’s alumni success stories and are then influenced by that success to apply.
Response
Personally, I would not attend FIDM. Even if the school was affordable and the campus was located in Georgia, it would be a waste of time without an interest in fashion, design, or merchandising. Even if I was interested in the majors at this school, FIDM’s status as a for-profit university makes me wary. While FIDM does a lot more for its students than most institutions like it, they still hide a lot of information behind a difficult-to-navigate website. They invest in internships, scholarships, supplies, and physical campus, and I know they partner with GUESS to study sustainability. But, outside of their brag sheet, it’s hard to find facts like average GPA, graduation rate, retention rate, and classes offered within majors. Overall, they have an impressive catalog of benefits. However, the difficult-to-navigate website is impossible to ignore. In the end, FIDM is an impressive school. The students it promotes seem to be happy and satisfied with their education. Though nontraditional, the alumni showcased on the success stories website lead me to believe that it fulfills and promotes growth for many of those who choose to attend. Finally, FIDM lacks a student community due to its campus living situation. Community is one of my most important values because those who surround you support you. Since there is no community formed at this university, there is no established support group, which is another nail in the coffin. Even in a perfect world, I would continue to have no interest in attending FIDM.
Works Cited
Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. “Your Storybegins Here.” FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, https://fidm.edu/.
“FIDM Home Page.” FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, https://fidm.edu/.
Losh, Elizabeth M., et al. Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing. Bedford/St. Martin’s, Macmillan Learning, 2021.