California Apparel News

Following a selection process that began in August 2018, Dallas-headquartered Haggar Clothing Co. awarded Zachary Hall of Sierra Madre, Calif., the top prize in the inaugural FIDM SuperLab menswear-design competition. As the winner of the competition, Hall received an offer of a full-time design role with Haggar.

The idea of a competition began last year during a visit between Tony Anzovino, who is Haggar's chief sourcing and merchandising officer, and Roni Miller, who serves as the chair of the menswear program at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM).

"Tony had come to FIDM for a meeting last year, around this time," said Miller. "He met the students going through the program and he happened to be there when they were discussing their final projects and presentations. He went through all 11, and talked about the technology and vision."

When the time came for a new venture into fresh offerings at Haggar, Anzovino knew where he wanted to turn for a contemporary approach to designing millennial-inspired pieces for the brand's heritage apparel. When he approached Miller regarding his need for a unique vision at Haggar, she suggested they launch a competition among a group of graduates from the school's menswear program.

"We wanted to make sure the students would include some of the heritage and what Haggar means, but also bring it forward to a new generation," Miller said.

During the competition, Hall faced competition from eight other graduates of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) menswear programs, a group that was eventually narrowed down to three students: Hall; Nicole Snyder of Ankeny, Iowa; and Ashley Cheng of Taipei, Taiwan.

Students were tasked with planning 15-piece collections, sourcing materials and outlining tech packs. Working with FIDM's PLM system, the students also received the guidance of instructors from the school's menswear program.

"We had three instructors who were available for advice," Miller explained. "These were instructors whom they had worked with in the menswear program. If they had any questions, they had an expert to go to—one for fit and pattern, one on design and one on merchandising."

T.J. Walker, co-founder and vice president of Cross Colours USA helped students navigate merchandising, William Hoover of Paul Dunne provided his pattern and tech-pack expertise, and Kenneth Chang of Consort 62 guided students through design.

For the final stage of the competition, each of the finalists were judged on creativity, market appropriateness and their collection's viability.

“This contest model isn’t something a lot of brands would try,” Anzovino said in a statement. “Working with FIDM brought us three highly qualified designers, any of whom could have been a good fit on our team. That said, we are delighted to begin work with Zach this summer.”

A 2015 graduate of the FIDM menswear program, Hall is expected to move from Los Angeles to join Haggar's design team in June.