From Kansas City, move to Sioux Falls brings opportunity for fashion career

This piece is sponsored by the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

When Ireland Frisch first considered relocating to Sioux Falls from Kansas City, she initially admittedly was “a little scared” by the prospect of a move.

“I had never heard of Sioux Falls, and I was nervous about a smaller town,” she said. “My hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, is similar in size, and I always wanted to leave. At the same time, I liked Kansas City, but it wasn’t quite where I was going to land. I just kind of knew that.”

Her first time visiting her boyfriend in Sioux Falls changed her mind immediately, she said.

“He lived in a studio in the historic district right by the Cathedral, and it was the most beautiful neighborhood,” Frisch said. “We went downtown and did all the things because he was trying to convince me this is where we needed to be — and my mind was made up the first visit.”

She was sold by the neighborhoods, the history and the charm she found downtown, she said.

“I said, ‘I can see myself in a place like this.'”

A 2023 University of Northern Iowa graduate, she made the move north last year and began looking for ways to put her degree in textiles and apparel to work. She found a job at an alterations business, then one in a bridal store.

“I had no thought of finding a fashion job here,” she said. “But I looked every day on LinkedIn to see if maybe there was an opportunity, and then I found Gameday.”

Frisch applied at Sioux Falls-based Gameday Social Apparel Co., a fast-growing national brand that designs and manufactures fashion-focused apparel and accessories for “the social fan.” The company creates licensed merchandise for nearly all major universities and is expanding into pro sports.

“I thought my interview went really well, but they said they wanted to save me for a role that was more creative than what they had open,” Frisch said. “And then about six months later, they emailed out of the blue and said they had a role for me. So they really meant it when they said they saw me in a more creative role in the future.”

She’s now a merchandising coordinator who says she loves forming a deep connection to universities and the histories within them.

“I get to design how the universities would want product to be sold and feed off that, so I love it, and the team is great,” Frisch said.

“I love a smaller team and the hard work of it where you get to wear a lot of hats.”

She also now works from a brand-new Gameday Social headquarters, which just opened in a renovated space in northeast Sioux Falls and positions the company for continued growth.

“I work with our director of merchandising to build out each collection from concept to creation,” Frisch said.

“I’m doing a lot of communication with our factories throughout production and then working with photo shoots around how the brand is portrayed. My everyday tasks are exactly what I learned in school, so that’s a testament to my program but also how cool I think my job is.”

She and her boyfriend have moved from that historic district studio to a three-bedroom rental home on the east side with a fenced backyard for her dog.

“My rent in Kansas City for a one-bedroom apartment was more expensive than I’m paying for this house, by far,” she said. “It’s pretty perfect for what we’re looking for. It’s five minutes, and we’re over a bridge into downtown.”

They enjoy being outdoors and have liked hiking and mountain biking at Great Bear Recreation Park.

“We also like the music scene here and have made some friends with local band members, and we go to a lot of their shows,” she said.

Frisch’s experience is a perfect example of what’s waiting for other young professionals in Sioux Falls, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“I love how Ireland moved here because she could see herself in our community and then went on to find a dream job once she was here,” she said.

“It’s a good reminder that while we are known for certain key industries, we have an incredible startup community that even makes opportunities in areas like fashion become a possibility.”

To learn more about building your career in Sioux Falls, email [email protected].