Partnerships
Creative ConnectionFashion Retail + Interior Design
Through a partnership between ASU FIDM and The Design School at Arizona State University, fashion merchandising and interior design students worked together to develop immersive retail concepts that mirrored real-world product development and store design processes. Fashion students assumed the role of retail clients—curating assortments, developing brand strategies, and defining customer experiences—while interior design students acted as retail design consultants responsible for translating those concepts into physical retail environments. Grounded in Communities of Practice theory and experiential learning, the collaboration demonstrates how cross-disciplinary projects strengthen communication, strategic thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and workforce readiness while providing students with authentic experience working across creative disciplines.
Insights for IndustryTrend Forecasting in the Classroom
Dr. Testa created a reciprocal learning environments between students and professionals. Beginning with an introductory trend forecasting course, students develop foundational forecasting skills by investigating macro-level drivers of change—including social, cultural, economic, consumer, environmental, and technological trends—while collaborating with professional forecasters and industry experts who share forecasting methodologies and engage directly with students' emerging insights and trend spotting. As students advance into upper-level forecasting courses, the focus shifts from identifying macro-trends to applying concepts to fashion forecasts for brands. Students translate long-term forecasting research into brand-specific recommendations, seasonal strategies, and product concepts, providing organizations with fresh perspectives while gaining authentic experience applying forecasting research to real-world business challenges. Together, these collaborative experiences create a continuous learning ecosystem in which academic research, student innovation, and industry practice collectively shape the future of forecasting.
Insights from IndustryIndustry-Integrated Learning & Executive Engagement
As Faculty Chair of the ASU FIDM Executive Advisory Board, Dr. Testa works with senior executives from leading fashion and retail organizations to provide strategic guidance on curriculum, industry trends, workforce needs, and student development. Beyond curriculum advising, students regularly engage with industry through the annual ASU FIDM Fashion Symposium, executive panel discussions, guest lectures, webinars, and mentoring opportunities featuring leaders such as Mickey Drexler and executives representing companies including Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior, Target, Dillard's, Torrid, Liverpool, James Perse, Karen Kane, Gordon Brothers, and other leading businesses. Together, these experiences create an industry-integrated learning environment that connects classroom concepts with current business practices while expanding students' professional networks and career readiness.
Local Retail ActivationExperiential Retail Merchandising
This collaboration with The Mayfair Group explored how fashion brands can foster community, well-being, and meaningful consumer connection beyond the point of purchase. Developed in partnership with ASU FIDM, the initiative transformed an on-campus space into an experiential activation encouraging students to pause, reflect, and reconnect during the final weeks of the academic semester. Grounded in themes of mental wellness, belonging, and intentional brand engagement, the project provided students with an opportunity to examine how experiential retail and purpose-driven branding can create emotional value while supporting community well-being. By connecting classroom concepts with an authentic industry collaboration, students experienced firsthand how brands can cultivate relationships through experiences that extend beyond products and transactions.
Educational PartnershipsFree, Online Learning for Fashion
Fashion Scholarship Fund launched FSF University, an online learning platform created through ASU FIDM's online learning infrastructure to expand access to high-quality fashion education for students pursuing the Fashion Scholarship Fund scholarship competition. Dr. Testa served as Founding Professor and Head of Curriculum. The program was designed to provide equitable educational resources to students from both member and non-member institutions, ensuring all applicants had access to the foundational knowledge, industry insights, and professional skills needed to develop competitive case study submissions. Guided by student feedback and learning assessment, the curriculum evolved from a comprehensive, instructor-intensive model into a more flexible, self-paced learning experience that balances academic rigor with accessibility. Today, FSF University combines asynchronous learning modules, industry resources, supplemental learning activities, and optional faculty support to empower students to engage with content according to their individual learning needs while preparing for scholarships, internships, and careers across the fashion industry.