FIDM Students Design For Disney Princesses
      And They Lived Happily Ever After...

When the creative minds of nine International Manufacturing & Product Development students collaborated with one of the world’s most recognized brands, the result was nothing less than spectacular.  The students were asked to capture the magic that is synonymous with the Disney brand by creating a lifestyle collection for The Disney Store North America based on the beautiful Disney Princesses. 
Mixing the information and skills they learned at FIDM with the wonder and enchantment of Disney the group created Rags and Riches - apparel, sleepwear, and home accessories fit for little princesses around the globe.

“I really wanted the girls wearing my collection to feel like they were going off to the ball instead of off to bed,” said Amy Ottney of her Home and Sleepwear Collection inspired by Disney’s Cinderella.  “I wanted to capture that girl-inspired, make-believe world of dreaming and dress up.”  She, along with peers Sharon Aks, Theresa Anderson, Vivian Au, Kawin Chulasen, Jeni Del Pozo, Alicia McMinn, Kylee Smith, and Jessica Solomon, used extensive research and a lot of imagination to create lifestyle collections inspired by Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty, five of Disney’s most beautiful and best-known princesses.  From Snow White’s magical mirror to the sea creatures in Ariel’s enchanting underwater world, the group combined elements from each of the characters’ tales with current market trends to breathe new life into these classic figures.

“If I captured that twinkle in a little girl’s eye, then I have accomplished what Disney is all about,” concluded Alicia McMinn.  With plans to integrate the IMPD students’ concepts into their line of merchandise this fall, The Disney Store is confident the students’ work has realized that Disney magic. “It was something that was so full of fantasy,” Ivy Ross, Disney Store North America Sr. Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, told the group.  “You are all extremely talented.  I know all your dreams will come true.”  And they lived happily ever after.