Mid-century students studying at Lasell often participated in campus fashion shows and worked retail jobs at Boston fashion giants Filene’s and Jordan Marsh. Yet, it was not until 1937 that an official department was created for fashion education at Lasell. In 2022, the University celebrated 85 years of its fashion merchandising and management program.

In 2012, faculty conducted research on the history of fashion at Lasell, and found that the earliest iteration of the program “Offered courses in line and design, applied chemistry, economics, retail training, and appreciation of color.” In addition, Lasell established formal partnerships with local store executives to train students in service and retail management “during the busy period from Thanksgiving to Christmas.”

The program began in 1937 with 27 students. Today, more than 60 merchandising students are enrolled and work at on-campus retailer studio1851, attend National Retail Federation (NRF) events, and intern at companies including Marc Jacobs, Wayfair, The TJX Companies, and New Balance.

This year marked two additional milestones at Lasell: The University celebrated 30 years since the first full class of bachelor’s degree recipients graduated, as well as 25 years as a co-educational institution.