Fashion student Ethan Jimenez: From shopper to visual merchandiser at Santa Monica Place

Growing up in California, Ethan Jimenez has fond memories of trips to Santa Monica Place to check out the latest styles. Now he’s returning to the shopping center, but not just to observe and shop — he’s gaining real-world, hands-on experience in visual merchandising.

In his role as a student worker for ASU FIDM, the fashion school at ASU’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Jimenez is putting into practice the career-ready skills he learns at the school’s Los Angeles location by assisting with the visual merchandising of a new window display at Santa Monica Place. The display showcases the work of recent ASU FIDM graduates and was designed specifically for Santa Monica Place visitors.

“It was a unique experience as a new student to be brought into this project,” Jimenez said. “I learned how different types of garments work with different mannequins. And, through additional experiences with assisting the ASU FIDM Museum with installations, I have learned how clothes work on different types of mannequins.”

After earning his AA degree from Santa Monica College, Jimenez transferred to ASU FIDM to pursue a career in fashion and to gain these real-world experiences. 

Guided by Remington Reble, ASU FIDM program manager, Jimenez learned the skills and techniques for positioning the mannequins in the window by looking at the display from the inside and the outside and through taking photos to view the angles the work would be seen at and how the lighting impacts the display. 

Located on Level 1, the display is just a few windows away from the All Saints store, one of the places Jimenez liked to visit when he went to the shopping center. The work on view in the window was created by two ASU FIDM alumni as part of their projects as students: Gifty Ulinwa ('24) and Madison Nelson ('24).

Before they graduated, their designs were featured in ASU FIDM’s Uncertainty fashion show on April 13, 2024, at Scottsdale Fashion Square. ASU FIDM, which operates from both Phoenix, Arizona and downtown Los Angeles, has a longstanding relationship with Scottsdale Fashion Square, which led to the connection with Santa Monica Place; both shopping centers are part of Macerich, a leading retail center company. Through community-focused industry partnerships like this, ASU FIDM faculty build opportunities for student work to take center stage and give students valuable experiences in the professional systems of event production, visual merchandising and branding.

The current display at Santa Monica Place is up through Oct. 4, when Jimenez will return with ASU FIDM Director Dennita Sewell to change out the works on display with other student work. The pieces by Ulinawa and Nelson will return to Phoenix for the AZ Humane Society Fashion show “Compassion for Fashion” on Sunday Oct. 6. The runway show for this popular community event features all ASU FIDM student work and is produced by Margaret Merritt Productions with the help of ASU FIDM students who run the show as volunteers working with Merritt and her team. Like Jimenez, these students learn skills from and work with leading industry partners while contributing to their community.

Jimenez said not only do these experiences offer students real-world opportunities but they can also serve as inspiration for the community and current ASU FIDM students who get to see the work on display.

“Seeing the graduated students' work in the window was exciting,” he said, “especially considering the idea that my own work might be featured in a few semesters!”

For more ASU FIDM stories, visit asufidm.asu.edu.