Fashion Design Schools & Online Degrees
Fashion designers experience a lot of competition but also a lot of professional and creative satisfaction through their work. Designers work as apprentices, creative directors, assistants, pattern makers, and managers of their own lines or companies. To become a fashion designer, you will need to be trained from a fashion or art school that can help you reach your specific career goals. Associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s programs are offered in fashion design and fashion merchandising through online programs, traditional four-year and graduate universities, art schools, vocational schools and fashion schools. If you want to start your own fashion or accessories line or own a fashion-related company, you may want to enroll in a program that offers concentrations or extra course work in business, fashion marketing or fashion merchandising. Many bachelor’s degree programs and MA programs will allow students to combine their art and design studies with these extra focus areas and feature course work in advertising and public relations, designing campaigns, finance and accounting, entrepreneurship and more.
Students who only want to study fashion design without any kind of business concentration should look into fine arts programs, which are offered at varying levels and include all kinds of majors. Some related courses of study include accessories design, fine arts, textile/surface design, menswear, fashion photography, jewelry design, fabric styling and others. Art schools and fashion schools will offer the greatest variety of majors, while traditional universities and online programs may only offer comprehensive fashion design or fashion merchandising degrees. Depending on your program, you may also be able to specialize in a particular area of fashion design through elective courses and an internship. Some of these specialization possibilities may include costume design, fashion journalism, styling, commercial design, and others.
The curriculum plans for associate’s, BA, BFA, MA, and MFA programs vary, but all students will learn about pattern making, draping, fashion history, sketching, textiles and materials, sewing, styling and fitting, and more. Many cutting edge fashion programs also encourage or require students to take some sort of computer design, graphic design or digital arts class as well. Studio work and internships is also incredibly important in gaining hands-on experience and networking for future jobs.
