Alumni
One of FIDM's most famous faces, Lauren Conrad, was featured in anepisode of Second Life, the podcast that spotlights successful women who've made a major career pivot and thrived in the process. Hosted byWho What Wear Co-Founder and Content OfficerHillary Kerr, theMerchandise Product Development Alumna discussesher incredible journey from reality TV star to entrepreneur, philanthropist, and bestselling author.
Best known as the star of the famed MTV reality shows, Laguna Beach andThe Hills,Lauren had aspirations to be a fashion designer from a young age. As seen on the hit series, she attended FIDM and interned at Teen Vogue. Those experiences led to a successful line with Kohl's, LC Lauren Conrad, which is still going strong 10 years later.
In 2013, she and fellow FIDM Alumna Hannah Skvarla founded The Little Market, a fair-trade marketplace that works with 70 female artisans from around the world. Their popular online shop sells bags, accessories, candles, and other assorted home goods with a mission to empower their global partners.
She told Second Life the reason why she started the non-profit, which now has a brick and mortar location in LA's Palisades Village: "I got to a point where I felt like I had kind of checked off a lot of my big goals, and I felt really good about where I was at my career," said the seven-time New York Times bestselling author."The one thing that I hadn't done is used my platform to make a difference."
Visit secondlifepod.com and thelittlemarket.com to learn more.
Categories:Merchandise Product Development Alumni
