“She actually has design education herself studying at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in the early 2000s, having her own d-to-c brand S by Serena and partnerships with the Home Shopping Network. She’s seen first hand the design space and understands the need for representation not just to chase a number but to build tangible impact,” Jarvis Sam, vice president, global diversity and inclusion at Nike told WWD.
“The goal was to develop an initiative that could bring together amazing talent, primarily from underrepresented populations to develop a Serena-inspired collection, and to leverage this as an opportunity for our own teams to benefit from the great impact of this talent coming in,” Sam said.
The apprenticeship last six months and designers engage in education opportunities, work with mentors and hiring managers within the company with the possibility of achieving full-time employment on the brand’s 1,000-plus member design team. Seven out of the ten apprentices this year also landed jobs with Nike.
Check out a few pieces from the collection at https://tinyurl.com/kh6jy4df.
