• Faculty

  • Alexander Helander

    Part-time Assistant Professor

    Email
    helandea@newschool.edu

    Office Location
    N - 66 Fifth Avenue

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    Alexander Helander

    Profile

     

     Here’s a cleaned-up, SEO-friendly version of your bio that highlights your expertise, current role, and key industry contributions:

    Alex Helander is a seasoned apparel and fashion industry expert with over 30 years of experience spanning branding, merchandising, sales, product development, supply chain management, and sustainability. He is currently the Director of Business Development for Bluesign®, a division of SGS, where he helps brands, retailers, and manufacturers implement sustainable and responsible textile production solutions. Bluesign partners with global companies to reduce environmental impact, improve chemical management, and ensure safer working conditions throughout the supply chain.

    As a Fashion Mingle board member and partner with Global Fashion Mentorship, Alex provides strategic consulting to businesses in the fashion and consumer goods industries, guiding them through sustainability implementations, branding strategies, and evaluation assessments. His extensive career includes executive roles at Polo Ralph Lauren, The Limited, Sunrise Brands, Denimex, and Brandon Thomas, as well as running his own private label manufacturing company.

    Alex also played a pivotal role in launching TerraCycle LLC’s first fashion incubator, driving innovation in circular economy solutions for the apparel industry. Passionate about education, he teaches courses on entrepreneurship, technology, retail and sustainability, at Parsons School of Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).

    "Teaching has always been something I wanted to do, and I look forward to working with students at Parsons and beyond."

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    Degrees Held

    BA English Literature


    Professional Affiliation

    AAFA member


    Recent Publications

    https://boldjourney.com/meet-alex-helander

     


    Performances and Appearances

    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/todays-industry-has-to-incorporate-more-tech-into-its/id1511766210?i=1000541615197

    Alibaba featured speaker @ Co-Create 2023

     


    Current Courses

    Retailing & Service Design
    PMFM 5070, Spring 2025

    Future Courses

    Research 2: Capstone Project
    PMFM 5100, Summer 2025

    Technology & Innovation
    PMFM 5030, Fall 2025

    Past Courses

    Communication & Social Media
    PMFM 5090, Summer 2024

    Intro to Fashion Management
    PMFM 5000, Fall 2024

    Research 2: Capstone Project
    PMFM 5100, Summer 2024

    Technology & Innovation
    PMFM 5030, Fall 2024

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