Runway to Success: Babson Offers Unique Gateway into Fashion Industry

Babson's virtual Global Fashion Show.
Listen

It happens each spring semester registration day. At 7 a.m., Caroline Daniels’ course Entrepreneurship in Fashion goes live with spots for 24 students.

In just a few short minutes, indicative of the interest and the need for entrepreneurial leaders in the field, all those spots are filled.

“Fashion is one of the largest industries in the world,” says Daniels, a Babson professor who also is the founder of the Fashion Entrepreneurial Initiative and serves as the faculty advisor to the Babson Fashion Group. “We want to keep being the leading business school that develops business models in fashion, building understanding and learning to innovate.”

The Next Fashion Entrepreneurs

Like all Babson students have when starting a business, William Everett MSEL’21 identified a problem. Golf shorts are overpriced, out of style, and uncomfortable.

The solution was simple: create a pair of shorts designed by golfers, for golfers, at a reasonable price, with a temperature-regulating liner, and Velcro strips for a golf glove.

Everett’s idea was one of several showcased at last month’s virtual Global Fashion Show, featuring the work of BOW Three College Collaboration current students and alumni. The show was organized by the Fashion Entrepreneurial Initiative of The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship, Jaila Taylor ’22 and Mary Kille ’22, Jonathan Griffiths, the Weissman Foundry, and Larinda Cole from the Undergraduate Center for Career Development.

The Fashion Entrepreneurial Initiative hosts events with students, alumni, and corporate friends. Established in 2016, the project’s goal is to understand and research business models in fashion.

Students such as Everett have worked closely with experts in the field of fashion to tailor their ideas and ventures.

“We have alumni all over the world in the fashion industry,” Daniels says, referencing graduates in China who work in design and manufacturing, as well as partners in Europe, India, Malaysia, and South America.

Not to mention, one can’t forget icons such as Milaaya Embroideries founder Gayatri Khanna ’97, fashion entrepreneur Ruthie Davis MBA’93 or Bombas founder David Heath ’05 and chief financial and chief operating officer Andrew Heath MBA’12.

Over the years, students have worked with partners from global brands such as Dior and Uniqlo.

“The companies have a blast (working with the students),” Daniels said. “Every class I have, students are interested in every part of the industry. … It’s visual, experiential, it’s an industry people notice and that everyone can relate to.”

Economic and Social Impact

There are two clear avenues for students interested in a prospective career in fashion, Daniels says. They are through the business side, in social media, analytics, and finance departments, and through the need for sustainability, in an industry responsible for 10% of human carbon emissions, and in which 85% of textiles end up in landfills annually.

To no surprise, fashion-passionate Babson students are positioned to thrive through both paths.

“Those are the entryways,” Daniels says. “It’s no longer the design that will get you in, it’s the business model sense. The companies are looking for our students … economic and social impact, our students enter the job market with expertise.”

Posted in Entrepreneurial Leadership

More from Entrepreneurial Leadership »

Latest Stories

Man and woman listen to a pitch
Lessons from the Heart of Babson’s Summer Venture Program   Each summer, Babson’s Summer Venture Program gives student founders the tools, mentorship, and momentum to accelerate their ventures. Meet four advisors who are helping shape the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders—one insight at a time.
By
July 22, 2025

Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership

Side-by-side screenshots of the moment caught on camera
When Scandal Strikes the C-Suite: What Two Babson Professors Say Companies Should Do  A viral Coldplay kiss cam moment involving a CEO and human resources leader at a tech startup rocked the company to its core. Babson management professors provided insight into how ventures can survive a leadership scandal.
By
Hillary Chabot
Writer
Hillary Chabot
Hillary Chabot is a writer for Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. An award-winning journalist, she is known for her insightful reporting and dedication to detailed storytelling. With a career spanning over two decades, she has covered a wide range of topics, from presidential campaigns and government policy to neighborhood issues and investigative series. As a reporter for The Boston Herald, Hillary earned a reputation for tenacity and integrity. Her work at Babson College fuels her passions—to learn something new every day and conduct thoughtful, empathic interviews. She’s thrilled to be at Babson College, where students, faculty, staff members and classes provide compelling copy daily.
July 21, 2025

Posted in Insights

Businesswoman practices deep breathing exercise at workplace desk
How Employees Navigate Mental Illness in the Workplace and What Employers Can Do to Help Emily Rosado-Solomon, an assistant professor at Babson, looks at how employees with mental illness handle their symptoms while at work, a topic that is understudied.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
July 17, 2025

Posted in Insights