Suzanne Hoeft

Award Winning Visual Merchandiser!

FIDM grad Suzanne Hoeft's love affair with fashion began in her teens. "When I started going to high school, I got into looking at fashion magazines and going to fashion shows," she remembers. On a trip to a Chicago, she got the opportunity to attend a large fashion event with her mom. "Ever since then I was so interested in getting into the fashion industry!"

Spurred to attend fashion college, Suzanne spoke with her high school guidance counselor, who helped her with college catalogs. "My dream was to go to California!" says Suzanne, who was living in Vermont at the time. She found out about FIDM and applied for admission to FIDM's San Diego campus because, being from a small town, she liked the small community feel of the city. "I liked the weather down there and I thought it was beautiful," she recalls.

At FIDM, Suzanne found the curriculum extremely worthwhile. "I liked that everything was really specific, and that you could take specific courses related to what you wanted to do," she recounts. "The classes were small, and you had a lot of one-on-one interaction with the teachers."

Suzanne, who graduated with a degree in Merchandise Marketing, initially set out to become a Buyer, and her first two positions out of FIDM were helping her reach that goal by giving her a background in retail management. Working at Pier One and Cost Plus World Market, however, gave her new insights into the possibilities of the industry. "We had to do a lot of displays, and I found that I liked that," she says. "I wanted to be on the creative side." She remembered some of the freelance jobs she'd gotten through FIDM while she'd been going to school. "I was a Dresser for a fashion show," she recalls. "I was an Assistant Stylist for a photo shoot on a catalog." She decided she'd like to pursue similar avenues in her career. So Suzanne went back to the FIDM Career Center and they helped her find a new job, this time as a Trimmer at Macy's West in San Francisco. Suzanne relocated to the city by the bay.

In San Francisco, Suzanne worked her way up to Assistant Visual Manager at Macy's, then went on to work for several big chains, including Pasqua Coffee (as Assistant Visual Manager) and at candle and candle accessory giant Illuminations (as Regional Visual Merchandising Manager). She also worked for Duty Free Shops, the chain seen in many airports and in downtown San Francisco, and for the women's clothing favorite, Express, as a Visual Brand Manager.

After eight years in San Francisco, Suzanne felt it was time for a change. "I wanted to move somewhere where the weather was nice all year 'round -- no fog!" So she pulled up stakes and relocated to sunny Tampa, Florida, where she landed a job at a brand-new Nordstrom as a Fashion Stylist.

On a typical day, Suzanne's responsibilities include working with the department managers on their merchandising (display of merchandise), dressing mannequins, making props, styling windows, setting up signage and banners for store events such as sales, "floor moves" (moving fixtures and merchandise), lighting, and the overall presentation of the store. "I have the men's and kid's department, but I've had the women's [department] and all the windows before," she says. "I've done pretty much everything!"

For aspiring Visual Managers, Suzanne advises: "Start out either doing Christmas help for a department store--they always need people--or doing an internship. Anything you can find where they're looking for temporary people--that's how you get your foot in the door," she recommends. Of course, having a top fashion college behind you doesn't hurt! "The [FIDM] Placement Department has helped me the most out of everything, and also having on my resume that I went to a fashion school," says Suzanne. "People like to see that in the retail industry. They know that you're specialized in what you're applying for, and that you have knowledge in whatever you want to do."

The specialized knowledge Suzanne possesses has become more than evident on the job. Her store's four-person Visual team is a standout in the Nordstrom chain. "We've won the Visual Merchandising award for two years in a row for the southern region of the US," she crows. "It's hard to win--you have to be very good, and detail-oriented!" And in addition to her Nordstrom's career, Suzanne is now freelancing as a Visual Merchandising and Interior Design Consultant. Recent projects include fine-tuning merchandising and visual standards for the Tampa International Airport branch of HMS Host, who own most of the airport retail stores, and designing a living room, dining room, and kitchen in a private residence. She's enjoyed it so much that she'd eventually like to go off entirely on her own!

Meanwhile, Nordstrom is a great place to exhibit her creativity. "I think the best part is that every day is something new," Suzanne says about her job. "It's always changing!" Suzanne finds constant inspiration in people's reaction to her work. "The feedback that I get from people, and to see people looking at the displays I've created," she says, is what drives her.

And drive is what this Wisconsin-born, Minnesota-raised twenty-something has. By getting the proper training, she's been able to focus that drive in a solid direction. Now that she has solid skills, there's no telling where this extraordinary FIDM grad will end up!

Please Note: The information contained herein was confirmed at the time of original publication