The fashion industry is massive and far-reaching. Potential career paths range from business and marketing to visual communications and design and with the multitude of professional avenues, the options can be overwhelming. However, Brant Cryder, president of Saint Laurent North Americas, set out to demystify fashion’s career oppourtunities and expectations in a talk Tuesday night at the Wasserman Center for Career Development.

Cryder is a veteran of the fashion industry and has prior work experience with the Prada Group, Saks Fifth Avenue, Armani Exchange, among others. Students in attendence filled the room and were dressed to impress and eager to hear Cryder’s words of wisdom for those aspiring to work in the fashion industry.

During the one-hour panel, Cryder focused not on his particular company’s brand and the exact path that he followed, but on the important values and lessons he learned while climbing the rungs of the career ladder. Cryder created the acronym S.E.R.V.I.C.E., which stands for show up, environment, relationships, vision, inspire, change and everything, to exemplify his accrued knowledge. He stressed the significance of such values as they are applicable to virtually any job in the industry.

“I took this idea of what’s been a life philosophy for me, and I made it into an acronym,” Cryder said. “For me, it’s a pertinent part of the fashion industry.”

Cryder went on to describe how each word or phrase pertained to a particular value or initiative that any person looking to be successful in the fashion industry should possess. Cryder insinuated that many of these thoughts and actions might be considered obvious necessities when it comes to working in prospective fields, but they are still often forgotten or ignored. These values include having a clear vision for one’s self, learning to adapt to changes and, more importantly, maintaining positive relationships.

He also stressed the importance of networking.

“Every relationship matters,” Cryder said. “The big people you meet with the big titles, and the little people that you meet that you think are little, with the little titles, [they all] matter.”

Cryder placed particular emphasis on the importance of working from the bottom up. He explained that the knowledge acquired while working in retail or sales, which are stereotypically considered bottom-level jobs in fashion, is priceless.

“The entire industry [including] the fashion show, the ad campaign, the samples, the buying, the wholesale market [and] the entire business, in my perspective, is built on somebody somewhere buying something,” Cryder said.

This perspective makes each person within the industry important, no matter his or her position within the hierarchy.

Gallatin senior Katherine Mann found Cryder’s perspective refreshing, particularly for young people looking to become involved in such a competitive industry.

“It was encouraging to hear that starting from the bottom and going up works,” Mann said. “You don’t just stay at the bottom. I now have that motivation to see what I can do [in the industry].”

Cryder went on to answer student questions about e-commerce in the fashion industry that dealt with hardships in a professional environment, the future of fashion and Saint Laurent’s current transformation with a new creative director.

The Cryder’s discussion was mainly about his intentions of opening the audience’s eyes to his idea of service, its importance for both companies and individuals in the fashion industry.

“[Service] is an all-encompassing thought that’s been super helpful in my life,” Cryder said.

Given his success in the industry by valuing the concept of service, Cryder’s acronym certainly holds some significance.

A version of this article appeared in the Wednesday, Oct. 24 print edition. Samantha Donat is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].