Inside Look: What to Expect at Fashion Design School
Fashion is an elite, prestigious industry, and it can be a lucrative career choice if you’re passionate about it. However, it’s also a challenging one.
If you’re considering a career in fashion design, knowing what to expect at school is essential. Here are three things to remember:
Basic Skills
No one enters fashion school ultimately prepared- it takes years of on-the-job training to become a successful designer. Still, there are ways to prepare for fashion school to ensure you get the most out of your education.
Draw and sketch with regularity-this will help you develop a visual vocabulary and become familiar with the scale of your work. Familiarize yourself with fabrics and materials. Understanding how fabric drapes on the body is an essential part of design. Getting to know your sewing machine- an intimate relationship with this tool will improve your success in school.
Communication
Depending on your interests, strengths, and career goals, you may pursue fashion design or mass communication. Both courses offer unique training, and the choice comes down to what best matches your personal and professional goals.
Choosing top fashion design schools that support you in building a solid portfolio is essential. It is a significant factor that potential employers consider.
Internships are also a great way to gain hands-on experience in the industry. Many schools have connections to help students find internships.
Advanced Skills
While fashion may be glamorous, it requires more than just creative skills. A successful career includes knowledge of marketing, business strategy, and logistics.
Interning at a local fashion company provides valuable experience for students to understand the inner workings of small and large fashion businesses. This will help them in their future careers, whether they plan to open their label or seek positions with other companies.
You can also gain industry experience through volunteering for a local fashion event or a charity clothing drive.
Creativity
Fashion design students need to be creative, and they should have the ability to think outside of the box. They should be able to take inspiration from different cultures, art, and architecture and then use that information to create something new.
Sometimes, students may feel like they could be more creative, but that’s okay. Creativity is a muscle, and it can be strengthened with practice. Not everyone will love your designs, so be prepared for constructive criticism. You can also find success by collaborating with others.
Collaboration
In fashion design, collaboration is essential. Students work closely with classmates, teachers, and clients to create new styles and designs. This process requires frequent feedback.
Students collaborate on projects that explore all dimensions of the fashion system, develop innovative strategies, and design solutions to address diversity, inclusion, and empowerment issues. They also share their research, collection, design processes, and systems with industry leaders through the annual graduate show.
Online students can email, message, or video-call their classmates and teachers to collaborate. However, they will need access to fabrics and textiles or hands-on practical exercises like on-campus students.
Creativity and Problem-Solving
Students who want to make a career in fashion design must be creative and think outside the box. This includes creating unique designs and figuring out how to make these sketches into actual clothing.
A qualitative research study on fashion designers found that they need to value their inputs and allow sensible risk-taking to be creative conceptually. This will enable them to innovate and bring new ideas to the fashion industry. This one-week program combines a carefully curated curriculum with lectures, demonstrations, and studio work. It also offers field trips to Philadelphia’s diverse design community.
Self-Discipline
Choosing the right fashion design school can be challenging. Students should consider their geographical and financial limitations and whether a particular school is worth it in terms of tuition and materials.
Fashion is a complex industry that takes a lot of work to reach the top. Students should be ready to commit their time and energy to making it happen. They should also be willing to sacrifice their pleasures for their long-term goals. This type of discipline is often called self-discipline.
Problem-Solving and Decision-Making
Fashion designers must solve daily problems, from choosing fabrics and patterns to managing production schedules. They also need to make financial decisions and balance priorities.
While working in the industry without a formal degree is possible, you’re more likely to go far if you have one. Many fashion icons went to school, from Coco Chanel to Virgil Abloh.
FIT’s BFA in Fashion Design is a four-year program that offers concentrations in knitwear, intimate apparel, sportswear, and special occasions. You’ll learn to balance hand-making and digital techniques and develop a research-based design process.
Patience
The shiny magazine spreads and astronomical price tags of the fashion world can paint a picture of a glamorous lifestyle, but much more goes on behind the scenes.
It’s essential to have patience when it comes to the design process. Fashion designers can expect plenty of criticism and may have to re-sew a seam several times before it’s perfect.
It’s also helpful to have patience when weighing school choices. Make sure you consider the cost of tuition plus materials when comparing schools.
Teamwork
Fashion design students work in teams when creating their designs. Team members are responsible for developing the concept and making the final product.
Students gain a deeper understanding of the fashion industry through specialized courses in global fashion trends, preliminary sketching, and fabric sourcing. They also participate in the department’s annual runway show and have opportunities to study in Rome or join a global exchange program with schools in 26 countries.
Learn from fashion professionals and develop your professional portfolio with an internship or co-op. Then, showcase your work at fashion shows and conferences to expand your professional network.