You know you're destined to be a fashion designer if you: a) spent most of your childhood making clothes for your Barbie dolls instead of playing with your friends; b) read fashion magazines instead of your school books; c) ran a boutique out of your basement at age 10. In other words: if you want to be the next Yves Saint Laurent, it helps to be completely and utterly obsessed with fashion.
Working as a fashion designer can just as well mean supervising a design team at a sportswear company as producing a label under your own name. To create your own label takes a lot of time, dedication and hard work.
Choosing a strategy
There are as many different ways to embark upon a fashion career as there are styles of design. Ralph Lauren's Polo empire was founded on a small tie collection that he sold to Bloomingdales. Michael Kors built up a network of customers by selling clothes in a trendy NYC boutique. However, most people find that the best foundation for a design career is to get a fine arts degree in fashion at a prestigious school. Besides teaching you the craft, a good school will also add credibility to your resumé.
"We live in a brandname society, and having the name of a good school behind you really does help," says Carol Mongo, Director of the Fashion Department at Parsons School of Design in Paris. It's hard to enter these schools as competition is high, and they tend to be very selective. You apply by sending a portfolio of drawings of your designs. Drawing is also an important skill for a designer – it is the way you communicate your ideas. In order to build an impressive portfolio it's a good idea to have some experience in sketching; taking art classes will help you understand form and proportion. What school will do for you
Most fashion programs are three to four years long. During that time you will take fine arts classes and study drawing, color composition and form. You will also learn pattern making, draping and cutting techniques. One of the most important advantages of design schools is that they work really closely with the industry. Parsons, for example, have "designer critic projects" where successful designers like Donna Karan and Michael Kors work directly with the graduating students.
Ambitious students also have the chance to win prestigious awards and grants, which bring them a lot of attention as well as financial support. One very important event is the fashion show at the end of the last semester, when graduating students show their collections. A lot of important people from the fashion industry attend these shows to scout new talent.
Alternative routes
"Let's be realistic," says Carol Mongo at Parsons, "School's not for everyone. If you're just looking to get a job in the fashion industry – not a career as a designer – you probably don't need to go school." If you want to work as a seamstress or a patternmaker, the best thing is probably to apply for an internship at a fashion house and work your way up. For example, Dior's brightest new star, men's wear designer Hedi Slimane, had a degree in journalism when he started working with men's wear designer José Levy.
Balenciaga's Nicolas Ghesquière is another example of a brilliantly successful designer who learned the jobs hands-on, as an assistant at Jean-Paul Gaultier. Usually, you apply for an internship by sending a portfolio to a fashion house you're interested in.
Understanding the business
Unfortunately, it's not enough for a designer to be creative; you also have to have some business sense. A lot of fashion schools are currently increasing business classes in their curriculum. "Our students have to be smart enough to know how to negotiate a contract, or to pick a business partner," says Carol Mongo. It's perhaps telling that many of the designers that are really successful today, like Calvin Klein or Tom Ford, are involved in every aspect of the business – from licensing strategies to ad campaigns to actually designing the clothes.
A. The History of Fashion Design
What Is Fashion Design?
Fashion design is a form of art dedicated to the creation of clothing and other lifestyle accessories. Modern fashion design is divided into two basic categories: haute couture and ready-to-wear. The haute couture collection is dedicated to certain customers and is custom sized to fit these customers exactly. In order to qualify as a haute couture house, a designer has to be part of the Syndical Chamber for Haute Couture and show a new collection twice a year presenting a minimum of 35 different outfits each time.
Designer collections have a higher quality and finish as well as an unique design. Both ready-to-wear and haute-couture collections are presented on international catwalks.
The first fashion designer who was more than a simple seamster was Charles Frederick Worth, in the 19th century. Before he set up his fashion design house in Paris, clothing was made by anonymous dressmakers and fashion standards were derived from the styles worn by royalty. Worth was the first designer to actually dictate to his customers what to wear rather than following their demands.
What Does It Take To Be A Fashion Designer?
Fashion design is a form of art. To work as a designer, you should have an artistic and creative personality. Fashion designers have a good visual imagination and are able to think in three-dimensions and put their ideas into garments.
Fashion designers have to be aware of the fashion market requirements. They have to be very interested in learning new things and read magazines, journals and books on fashion design history and new trends. They also have to be interested in art, visit art galleries and interact with all kinds of artists whenever they have the opportunity. A designer should also have some knowledge and experience of tailoring (cutting, draping, sewing etc.) and be able to tell the difference between different fabric quality levels.
A good understanding of the audience's lifestyle and customer needs and requirements is also needed in fashion design. Designers should have good communication skills and be able to express their ideas clearly.
B. How To Decide On A Fashion Design School
Some wouuld argue that, one's success in the field of fashion relies partly on your choice of school. In this article, we will provide you with the basic criteria you can use in exploring your options in terms of the various fashion design schools.
This is one of the main considerations that will have a large impact on your choice of Fashion Design School. The sad truth with fashion design schools is that they are so few in number and amongst this relatively small number there are a handful of Fashion Design Schools that can truly deliver efficient education.
As with so many other things, the lower cost fashion design schools can only be considered of value if they can give effective learning. However, this is rarely the case though because, with lower fees, generally comes a lower quality of education. Primarily the reason is that these schools cannot afford to employ the quality of professional teachers. If you do your research you will be able to find some well-performing fashion design schools that will suit your means.
In the fashion industry, it is well recognized that certain Fashion Design Schools specialize in certain areas and you need to be aware of this when making your choice. The first thing you would want to do is to study the nature of the fashion design school.
What courses does it focus on?
One of the best determinants for your choice of school is ensuring that you know their reputation. A qulity fashion design school is one that makes itself renowned in the world of fashion through their teaching and also through what former students say and do.
Does the school you are considering participate in fashion design school competitions?
This would be a very clear indication of fostering excellence in the industry and the commitment of the Fashion Design School to the very highest levels of education.
You need to consider the overall Curriculum which the school offers. As with college education, you must also check out the curriculum offered by the schools of fashion design that you are considering. The size of a class per teacher can indicate two things; the school is either too popular or it is underfunded. It is often better to choose between schools with relatively fewer students since this will normally indicate that the teachers can better focus on the individual students.
These are only some of the major points which you need to consider in making your choice of fashion design school.
Working as a fashion designer can just as well mean supervising a design team at a sportswear company as producing a label under your own name. To create your own label takes a lot of time, dedication and hard work.
Choosing a strategy
There are as many different ways to embark upon a fashion career as there are styles of design. Ralph Lauren's Polo empire was founded on a small tie collection that he sold to Bloomingdales. Michael Kors built up a network of customers by selling clothes in a trendy NYC boutique. However, most people find that the best foundation for a design career is to get a fine arts degree in fashion at a prestigious school. Besides teaching you the craft, a good school will also add credibility to your resumé.
"We live in a brandname society, and having the name of a good school behind you really does help," says Carol Mongo, Director of the Fashion Department at Parsons School of Design in Paris. It's hard to enter these schools as competition is high, and they tend to be very selective. You apply by sending a portfolio of drawings of your designs. Drawing is also an important skill for a designer – it is the way you communicate your ideas. In order to build an impressive portfolio it's a good idea to have some experience in sketching; taking art classes will help you understand form and proportion. What school will do for you
Most fashion programs are three to four years long. During that time you will take fine arts classes and study drawing, color composition and form. You will also learn pattern making, draping and cutting techniques. One of the most important advantages of design schools is that they work really closely with the industry. Parsons, for example, have "designer critic projects" where successful designers like Donna Karan and Michael Kors work directly with the graduating students.
Ambitious students also have the chance to win prestigious awards and grants, which bring them a lot of attention as well as financial support. One very important event is the fashion show at the end of the last semester, when graduating students show their collections. A lot of important people from the fashion industry attend these shows to scout new talent.
Alternative routes
"Let's be realistic," says Carol Mongo at Parsons, "School's not for everyone. If you're just looking to get a job in the fashion industry – not a career as a designer – you probably don't need to go school." If you want to work as a seamstress or a patternmaker, the best thing is probably to apply for an internship at a fashion house and work your way up. For example, Dior's brightest new star, men's wear designer Hedi Slimane, had a degree in journalism when he started working with men's wear designer José Levy.
Balenciaga's Nicolas Ghesquière is another example of a brilliantly successful designer who learned the jobs hands-on, as an assistant at Jean-Paul Gaultier. Usually, you apply for an internship by sending a portfolio to a fashion house you're interested in.
Understanding the business
Unfortunately, it's not enough for a designer to be creative; you also have to have some business sense. A lot of fashion schools are currently increasing business classes in their curriculum. "Our students have to be smart enough to know how to negotiate a contract, or to pick a business partner," says Carol Mongo. It's perhaps telling that many of the designers that are really successful today, like Calvin Klein or Tom Ford, are involved in every aspect of the business – from licensing strategies to ad campaigns to actually designing the clothes.
A. The History of Fashion Design
What Is Fashion Design?
Fashion design is a form of art dedicated to the creation of clothing and other lifestyle accessories. Modern fashion design is divided into two basic categories: haute couture and ready-to-wear. The haute couture collection is dedicated to certain customers and is custom sized to fit these customers exactly. In order to qualify as a haute couture house, a designer has to be part of the Syndical Chamber for Haute Couture and show a new collection twice a year presenting a minimum of 35 different outfits each time.
Designer collections have a higher quality and finish as well as an unique design. Both ready-to-wear and haute-couture collections are presented on international catwalks.
The first fashion designer who was more than a simple seamster was Charles Frederick Worth, in the 19th century. Before he set up his fashion design house in Paris, clothing was made by anonymous dressmakers and fashion standards were derived from the styles worn by royalty. Worth was the first designer to actually dictate to his customers what to wear rather than following their demands.
What Does It Take To Be A Fashion Designer?
Fashion design is a form of art. To work as a designer, you should have an artistic and creative personality. Fashion designers have a good visual imagination and are able to think in three-dimensions and put their ideas into garments.
Fashion designers have to be aware of the fashion market requirements. They have to be very interested in learning new things and read magazines, journals and books on fashion design history and new trends. They also have to be interested in art, visit art galleries and interact with all kinds of artists whenever they have the opportunity. A designer should also have some knowledge and experience of tailoring (cutting, draping, sewing etc.) and be able to tell the difference between different fabric quality levels.
A good understanding of the audience's lifestyle and customer needs and requirements is also needed in fashion design. Designers should have good communication skills and be able to express their ideas clearly.
B. How To Decide On A Fashion Design School
Some wouuld argue that, one's success in the field of fashion relies partly on your choice of school. In this article, we will provide you with the basic criteria you can use in exploring your options in terms of the various fashion design schools.
This is one of the main considerations that will have a large impact on your choice of Fashion Design School. The sad truth with fashion design schools is that they are so few in number and amongst this relatively small number there are a handful of Fashion Design Schools that can truly deliver efficient education.
As with so many other things, the lower cost fashion design schools can only be considered of value if they can give effective learning. However, this is rarely the case though because, with lower fees, generally comes a lower quality of education. Primarily the reason is that these schools cannot afford to employ the quality of professional teachers. If you do your research you will be able to find some well-performing fashion design schools that will suit your means.
In the fashion industry, it is well recognized that certain Fashion Design Schools specialize in certain areas and you need to be aware of this when making your choice. The first thing you would want to do is to study the nature of the fashion design school.
What courses does it focus on?
One of the best determinants for your choice of school is ensuring that you know their reputation. A qulity fashion design school is one that makes itself renowned in the world of fashion through their teaching and also through what former students say and do.
Does the school you are considering participate in fashion design school competitions?
This would be a very clear indication of fostering excellence in the industry and the commitment of the Fashion Design School to the very highest levels of education.
You need to consider the overall Curriculum which the school offers. As with college education, you must also check out the curriculum offered by the schools of fashion design that you are considering. The size of a class per teacher can indicate two things; the school is either too popular or it is underfunded. It is often better to choose between schools with relatively fewer students since this will normally indicate that the teachers can better focus on the individual students.
These are only some of the major points which you need to consider in making your choice of fashion design school.
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