Britney Kirwan

How she made her dreams a reality

By Britney Kirwan

Picture this: You wake up to go work one day, when all of a sudden Nicole LaValle (a.k.a Snookie) wants to give you her favorite clothes from the The Snookie Shop and Kelly Clarkson wants you to be on her show. A girl can dream right?! Well, for Amanda Munz, she doesn’t have to as this is now her reality. Amanda Munz is the founder of The Fashion Foundation, which is a 501c3 non-profit. She  gets designers to donate merchandise or samples that they don’t need anymore. They’re sold on the website for a fraction of the retail cost for customers around the world to buy, and then the proceeds go to help local underprivileged kids. She’s been featured in Forbes and was even on the Today Show because of her business. There’s so much to learn about Amanda and it was such a pleasure interviewing her.  

I’m so excited for everyone to get to know you and everything about the Fashion Foundation. So, to start off, tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? Where did you go to school? What did you study?

 So, I grew up on Long Island in New York. I had my first internship in fashion at 16 years old because I went to a trade school. Most towns don’t have this, but our town had a trade school program where I left my high school for half of the day for my junior and senior year, and then I went to a fashion school. I learned how to sew, learned about fashion merchandising and the basics of fashion. So because of that, that’s how I got my first internship in fashion. I started at my internship at 16 and I stayed at my internship as a paid intern for five years. I was so young, I couldn’t even drive to my internship. My parents had to drop me off. After high school, I went straight to FIT for fashion merchandising and management and stayed for all four years. 

What made you decide you wanted to be a part of this industry in the first place and what are some notable experiences ?

I honestly was never fashionable growing up. I remember in middle school and elementary school wearing T-shirts and sweatpants every day. I also wasn’t super girly. I don’t remember at what point it kind of switched over to being interested in fashion, but I remember I was always creative. By the time I was in trade school and had my first internship was when I really started to seek interest in it. However, I don’t think it was just one moment that I realized I wanted to be apart of it. I think everything just built up to it. 

What sparked the idea of “The Fashion Foundation”?

As I got older and I got deeper and deeper into the industry, I was questioning whether or not I loved the industry anymore. I just remember sitting at one of my internships and saying,”, Why are we throwing shoes in the garbage? Why am I throwing clothes into a dumpster?”  And that was the moment where I realized I couldn’t work in an industry like this my whole life. After doubting the industry I was working in for a little bit, the solution came to me by finding a way to combine my love for fashion with starting a non-profit. 

What is you’re day-to-day like running the “Fashion Foundation”?

Day-to-day every day is very different because we are an e-commerce store selling all donated designer merchandise. We’re not buyers so I don’t plan for my merchandise as what I get is what I get.  I could wake up and get 30 boxes delivered to my office and I have no idea it was coming. I could get one box or not get merchandise for three weeks. It really depends on the day.  I’m not much of a morning person so our work day starts at 10 o’clock. I don’t wake up and do yoga and have a matcha. I literally wake up, roll out of bed and get to the office. I answer my emails,  I look at like our social media accounts, and I typically ship out orders. I could also be sitting in meetings all day brainstorming for collaborations. That’s pretty much everything, I guess. And then the next day could be totally different. 

It’s very evident that “The Fashion Foundation” has impacted many people, but how has it impacted you?

Oh,  I’ve  never had someone ask me that.  It’s definitely impacted my life and I absolutely love what I do. It has brought me job opportunities and helped me create my personal brand. It’s definitely the reason why I am also a college professor at 28.  It has also given me more clients to work with after being featured on The Today Show and  Forbes.

What message/advice would you like to give to our readers?

You really  need to set yourself apart in whatever kind of field you’re going into. There’s a lot of competition, especially in the fashion industry and PR industry. What is that thing that’s going to set you apart from other people? For me, I’ve always been a hard worker. I’ve always had a job. Like I said, I started at 16. I was an unpaid intern to start, but that kind of rolled into a lot more opportunities. So you need to put in the work. You need to set yourself apart just because you get an internship doesn’t mean you’re going to last in that internship. You need to be a good intern. 

How can readers get involved in “The Fashion Foundation”?

Okay, so I think the easiest way is to follow us on Instagram and support us on social media, even if you don’t buy anything or volunteer in an event. Shopping and telling your friends about us is also a great way to be involved. Don’t keep it a secret because the more people know about us, the more merchandise we sell, and the more kids were able to impact.

I’ve noticed that you’ve collaborated with some pretty notable people/companies, which one(s) have been your favorites so far or have really given you a “Woah I’m really here right now” moment?

Definitely when Kelly Clarkson said that she loved my glasses and loved everything I was doing. I was just thinking,” What is happening?!” She’s an icon. I just can’t believe it happened. Rebecca Minkoff, as well. She was one of the very first people who supported our mission as a designer, and celebrity Paige Desorbo from Bravo who responded in 12 minutes after I had emailed her about about partnering with The Fashion Foundation. She’s been to schools with us,  homeless shelters, and she’s always donating from her closet for us. What’s amazing is that these celebrities are genuinely helping us because they want to and we’re not paying anyone to help. 

You also have had incredible recognition. Will you explain why September 15th is such a significant day for you and the backstory. 

So, September 15th, 2021 was when I was on the Kelly Clarkson show and they brought out Mayor Bill de Blasio, and he actually honored me and dedicated September 15, 2021 to be recognized as Amanda Munz Day in the City of New York. I don’t know. I really sometimes can’t believe it. Like, that’s my life and these are things that are now  happening. The craziest thing is once once I recorded Kelly Clarkson, it didn’t air for another two weeks, so I wasn’t able to tell anybody what happened. 

I know that many of us UGirl’s are ambitious and such dreamers and I really want to say that you are the definition of what UGirl is about. With that being said, to end on a high note I want to ask on behalf of  girls who are in college and pursuing their dreams and unsure of where life will take them and ask you “Why it’s important to stay true to yourself and do what you believe you are meant to be doing even if you are scared of how things will turn out or unsure if its the right choice?”

Here’s the thing, in college I was not comfortable in my own skin. I was  always trying to impress people. You’re surrounded by a lot of competition and you’re trying to figure out who you are. 

Trust me, you will learn it. You might not learn it in college, but it will come to you.. I learned who I was after I started my business. If you’re in a job that you hate or you’re in a relationship that you hate,, take that as a win because you just learned about what you don’t like. Don’t stay in jobs too long that aren’t good for you. Don’t stay in relationships too long that aren’t good for you. I think that helps kind of alleviate the stress of what you’re searching for and really helps you feel more comfortable in your own skin. But figuring all that out comes with age and time. Don’t get like worked up right now, especially while you’re in college. A lot of things will be out of your control and you’re not alone. Learn how to figure out each day as it comes. 

Originally published for University Girl Magazine Fall’ 22 Issue – Read Here: https://issuu.com/universitygirlsu/docs/ugirl_fall22_final_066317099453f4r