STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Fashion Design Senior Sam Stern Interns at Off-White

For senior Fashion Design student Samuel Stern, the 2021-2022 academic year brought a number of exciting new opportunities and accomplishments. This included a scholarship win from the Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF)  Each year, FSF offers two unique scholarship opportunities for fashion students: the FSF scholarship; and a Post-Modern Scholarship sponsored by the late Off-White designer and fashion revolutionary, Virgil Abloh. This past school year, nine Thomas Jefferson University Fashion Design students were awarded scholarships through FSF. Named as one of the Post-Modern scholars, Sam received a $7,500 scholarship to help fund his senior year. Additionally, he also earned the unique opportunity to intern for Virgil Abloh’s brand Off-White in Milan, Italy as a result of his scholarship.

After spending the Spring 2022 semester studying abroad in Rome, Sam jumped on the the opportunity to return to Italy a short time later for his internship this past summer. As an intern on the women’s wear design team, Sam saw each day as a new experience and an opportunity to learn from one of the top fashion brands in the world.  By taking a hands-on approach, Sam worked on concept and mood boards, sketched technical flats, and participated in dress design for the commercial market. One of his favorite experiences at the company included fit modeling pieces and looks from the new collection. “The design team and all of my coworkers were very friendly, and I appreciated their efforts to communicate with me in English,” Sam explains. “It was great to feel included and have my ideas and suggestions taken into consideration.”