Do You Have What It Takes To Become The Next Fashion Icon?
By: Emily Rogers
Have you always had a niche for fashion? Maybe you are able to envision new designs and styles, although you are not sure where to begin. The fashion industry is thriving and, in all areas of the world, trends change with every season, sometimes even sooner. While learning about textiles, accessories and styling, fashion designing can be both satisfying and terrifying. If you are determined to leave your mark, in a world full of designers, make sure you choose the right school in order to succeed at becoming the next fashion icon.
It takes more than originality and a lavishness for design to make a living as a fashion designer. In a Fashion Design degree program, you can obtain knowledge in all areas of this industry including; clothing design, color theory, marketing and management courses, just to name a few. Many professional fashion designers start off by specializing in a particular area of fashion and later immerse their individual ideas one step at a time. The smaller and more specific the market, the more likely a company is to get the right feel for their designs. It is also easier for someone, to become established in this industry, if a company is known for the one type of product, rather than several. Then, once the firm has made a name for oneself and has been successful with it’s product, and/or design, it’s more likely that their buyers will trust the new merchandise that is being produced. So, whatever ideas you may have in creation for fashion, you must take all the right steps before achieving your dream in the art of design. With dedication and the willingness to succeed, while taking one step at a time, this may certainly lead you to becoming a success in the immense world of the fashion industry.
Top 10 fashion colleges…
Parsons The New School for Design: offering a degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts. A school that holds victorious names like Marc Jacobs, Claire McCardell, Narciso Rodrieguez, Donna Karan, Derek Lam, Kay Unger and Patrick Robinsion. The fashion design department of this school is positioned smack in the central point of all fashion activities. That’s right, 560 7th Avenue New York City is where the Parsons sits. This school has held it’s name since 1906 and it’s always been on the front position of design.
Pratt Institute: located at the fashion forward Clinton Hill, just a few miles from the ritzy Manhattan.
This institute gives students the opportunity to combine their studies, in the fashion field, with courses such as jewelry design, printmaking and photography, utilizing all areas of the School of Art and Design. The Fashion Design major prepares students to design apparel, for a variety of markets, by emphasizing both the technical and creative aspects of the industry. Obtain a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute and set sail to the fashion world of icons.
Drexel University: located in Philly as they welcome guests such as Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Anna Sui and Betsey Johnson. Students get the opportunity to explore and participate in the vivacious fashion community, in addition to their coursework. Get the experience of a life time with their Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and take over the world with your designs.
Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising: is only considered one of “The Best” in the world as they have accumulated over 30,000 graduates and the numbers have not yet failed to increase over each year. They offer choices from Associate of Arts, Associate of Arts Professional Designation Degree and Associate of Arts Advanced Study Degree. You can gain all your knowledge in the midst of fashionable Orange County, San Francisco, San Diego and LA.
Academy of Art University: with the slogan “ Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only,” you can rest assure that this University means serious business. With the choices of becoming a fashion designer, product manager, pattern maker, textile designer, fashion buyer or product developer, this school is perfect for you. You can decide from degrees such as Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts and Personal Enrichment. Although they are located in San Francisco, for your convenience, you may also choose to go through online courses.
California College of the Arts: completing 100 years, it’s superiority in fashion only increases over time. It’s CCA fashion design program is one of only fifteen to be part of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. With two campuses to choose from, one in Patrero hill San Francisco and the other in Oakland, it offers the finest design training in the country.
Kent State University: located in the heart of Ohio offers one of two fashion courses, being Bachelor or Arts in Fashion Design and Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising, you can also opt to an MBA degree in Fashion Merchandising. With former students like Andrea Ramsey Lauer, Stephanie Will of Estee Lauder and Karen Barbeire of Saks fame, you couldn’t go wrong with the choice to join Kent University.
University of Cincinnati: allows you to focus on digital design, Product development, Graphic design and Industrial design. The University of Cincinnati believes “today’s fashion designer must produce beauty and excellence in design, as well as a marketable product” Here, the focus is to offer training in both creativity and technicality. This school can offer the finest of advanced training in fashion design.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago: is one of America’s premiere fine arts colleges, located in Chicago, Illinois. Once known as the Chicago Academy of Design, this school is a great way to keep up with the fast pace of the ever changing fashion industry. With former graduates such as Halston, Gemma Kahng and Cynthia Rowley, this school is the largest museum school partnership in the country.
Savannah College of Art and Design: in Georgia holding top of the line operational sewing studios and computer labs, this school strives to give the best all-round fashion education possible. They offer skilled training in sketching, forecasting, promotion to presentation and garment construction. Offering more degree programs and specializations than any other art and design university in the United States, the Savannah College of Art and Design is uniquely qualified to prepare talented students for professional, creative careers.
If you believe the fashion industry is right for you, and you think you have what it takes to succeed, there are some important steps to take before entering the vast world of design. The main steps to take into consideration are cost, reputation, length of the program and location. The last can be an especially important consideration, as you will want to attend a fashion design college in an area where you will eventually be able to settle in. This way you can begin making important contacts while you are still in school.
After narrowing it down to your final choices, it’s vital that you look into the faculty of every fashion design. Do they still maintain contacts with their industry? Are they current with contemporary trends? Are the courses hands-on or just based on texts and lectures?
Last, make sure that the college of your choice has been approved as a reputable school in faculty, facilities, classes, finances and procedures by one of several regional governing bodies. A fashion design school that offers non-accredited diplomas will not have near the reputation of an accredited college.
Once you choose the school that fits your needs, make sure you are ready to put your all into learning the central keys to opening up your own door to the world of fashion design. There’s such a vast world in the fashion industry awaiting you upon your graduation from a fashion design college. The most important step of this entire experience is the dedication you put into learning all you can while you are enrolled in college. The opportunity awaits you and the amount of choices you have are incredible, it’s what you choose to do with the knowledge you obtain that will lead you to your destiny of becoming the next fashion icon.