Suzanne Piazza

Education

AAS, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York

 

Biography

Suzanne Piazza’s teaching potential was recognized shortly after graduating from FIT. She was asked to join the Fashion Buying and Merchandising department as an adjunct instructor. She gladly accepted the position and has continued to teach over the past 25 years while working full-time in the industry, enjoying the ability to pass her current knowledge on to other aspiring fashion students.

The majority of Piazza's career was spent at JCPenney in managerial and executive positions for both catalog and retail. At JCPenney, through buying, product development, and fashion office positions, she gained hands-on exposure to all product categories and classifications. For five years, she acted as Fashion Director for the Popular Club division of the J.Crew Group, researching and implementing trends for the women’s, men’s and children’s areas, in addition to merchandising/styling catalog spreads. JCPenney then invited her to return in 1998 as the Women’s Fashion Director, where she determined the trend direction for product development and buying for a $7.2 billion business. Under her guidance, the division consistently achieved top performance ratings for the entire company.

In her various professional positions, Piazza has traveled extensively to Asian and European fashion capitals to develop volume producing items and attend major industry shows for both the domestic and international markets. She has emerged as an accomplished apparel executive whose creative vision is uniquely combined with the analytical skills necessary to grow businesses in today’s competitive retail climate.

Piazza teaches a variety of subjects, including Fashion Forecasting, Merchandising, Styling, and Creative Fashion Presentations. In addition to imparting knowledge through teaching, she has actively participated in associations with internship programs, resulting in several successful industry professionals. She is passionate about mentoring students and helping them find both internships and full-time jobs. The realistic projects she provides have proved useful to students for both interviewing as well as in the industry.

Courses

• FM 245 Fashion Forecasting for Merchandisers
• FM 223 Creative Fashion Presentations
• FM 228 The Business of Fashion Styling
• FM 206 Strategies of Merchandising