A Cut Above: An Introduction to Fashion Schools

Lots of smart and influential people have considered fashion and clothing important. For example, Ben Franklin said, "Eat to please thyself, but dress to please others," and Mark Twain added to the Latin proverb "Clothes make the man" the dry observation that "Naked people have little or no influence on society." However, one of the nicknames that insiders use for the fashion industry -- sometimes affectionately, sometimes derisively -- is "the rag trade," as if all that fashion were about was mixing and matching leftover scraps to sell to the unsuspecting public. The truth lies somewhere between these extremes, but closer to the former. At its worst, fashion can seem terribly artificial and self-involved (Right Said Fred's song "I'm Too Sexy" springs to mind), but at its best, fashion can be a vital, exciting enhancement to personal appeal and self-esteem.

That being said, what opportunities exist in the fashion industry? Is it the sole province of top-flight designers and models of women's clothing? Hardly. David M. Schmida, Executive Director of the International Association of Clothing Designers and Executives (IACDE), says, "Sometimes students call me because they want to be the next Donna Karan or something, which is great, but that's not our main focus. Our membership works mostly on the technical side of the design and production of fine menswear." For every marquee fashion designer with their own label, there are hundreds of other people who create less heralded but no less important designs, or who move designs from an illustration on a screen or a one-off prototype to finished goods on the racks at a store or on the shelves at a boutique.

Careers in Fashion

To help you understand the different careers available within the fashion industry, we're providing short overviews of each in the following paragraphs:

Lead designers are the folks that most people think of in connection with the words "fashion industry." Their main responsibility is creative; they work up designs for individual pieces or entire lines of clothing and accessories. This typically involves several generations of sketches or computer-aided drafts; consideration of color, texture, material, and shape when worn; and supervision of final patterning and construction. Some lead designers aim to set trends (and, with skill and luck, they often do); others do their best to follow and capitalize on trends that are already established, or simply to design very beautiful, comfortable, and/or useful garments. Their markets vary from department stores to boutiques and specialty retailers to individuals willing to pay large amounts of money for custom-designed originals. While some lead designers are self-employed or head their own labels, many others work for apparel manufacturers, designing fashions to be sold to the discriminating few through high-end catalogs or to the millions who shop at discount super-centers.

Technical designers take a lead designer's creations from the prototype stage through to full production. They work up specifications for new clothing and accessories, have samples made, and work with marketing and production facilities to ensure that finished pieces are made correctly and profitably. Technical designers need to uphold the quality of their company's brands, not just by making sure that garments are solidly and consistently constructed, but by maintaining "fit continuity": If they're responsible for a line of dress slacks (to choose an arbitrary example), all of the line's different slacks with the same measurements should fit customers the same way, and should fit customers very close to the same way as slacks with the same measurements that the company has released in recent years. Technical design might be done "behind the scenes," but it's tremendously challenging and important.

Once the designers have figured out what shapes and cuts of material to use for an item, patternmakers create the master patterns for those shapes and cuts that guide further production. In the modern fashion industry, this is mostly done on computer, but it still requires a steady hand and a sharp eye.

The fashion industry is driven by innovation just as other industries are, and for many of its innovations it depends on new and improved construction materials and procedures created by textile specialists and engineers. Fashion and textile science have both come a long since the inventors of synthetic fibers unleashed nylon, rayon, and polyester on the world. Today natural-fabric mainstays such as cotton and silk can be "tweaked" with desired properties, and original synthetics can be virtually custom-crafted to have just the right amount of stretch, thickness, wear, strength, fire resistance, etc. Textiles can also be processed in new ways; for example, to allow garments to be made with fewer pieces or less stitching. If blending art and science this way appeals to you, you might want to investigate this type of career.

Marketers make people want to buy new designs, new clothing lines, or even a designer's or company's entire output. They do this not just with advertising, but with every tool at their disposal. For example, they often try to get actors and actresses to wear their clothes in movies, in TV series, and at award shows; recruit NBA stars to wear and endorse their shoes; snag the best possible display locations at trade shows; arrange lunches, demos, and previews with influential members of the fashion press; and send free samples to people identified as trendsetters in hopes of generating positive exposure and word-of-mouth. Marketers need to have a finger on the pulse of pop culture, so they can see where the trends are going, which designs are likely to be most successful (or need the most help to be successful), and which groups of consumers are most likely to buy the clothing they're selling.

If one word could describe what merchandisers do, that word might be "presentation." They typically work for retail stores; it's their job to make the clothing that the store is selling (and for that matter the entire store or clothing department) seem as attractive as possible to the store's customers. They select which clothing items to sell (and which of those to prominently highlight), figure out the optimum amount of space to use for displaying them, what height to place things, which items to display together or next to one another, how to arrange any forms or mannequins involved, even what kind of signs and lighting to use and (sometimes) what kind of music to play.

Sourcing specialists, or "sourcers," work for apparel manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, contacting suppliers (usually in China or elsewhere in Asia) to find either the raw materials needed to make clothes (fabrics, leather, dyes, etc.), manufacturers who will make clothing to your company's specifications, or particular types of already-finished clothing that match what your company is looking for. Sourcers need to be diplomatic, tactful, and culturally sensitive, yet have a keen eye for bargains and trends, be strong negotiators, and be able to keep track of where lots of sample packages and other shipments are at the same time. Being computer-savvy and fluent in both English and Chinese are big advantages in this kind of position.

Buyers purchase clothing and accessories for their company, either on their own discretion or following the selections of the merchandisers or sourcers. They travel as needed to search for products at trade shows, preview new items that suppliers are offering, present these new products to company executives, negotiate prices and margins, and so on. They also track orders and make sure that purchased items are delivered on time to where they need to go. Just like most other fashion professionals, buyers need to consider target markets and key trends when they make their purchasing decisions.

Stylists put together wardrobes, coordinate outfits, and do whatever else it takes to make fashion models and their surroundings look good for the viewers and cameras.

All of the aforementioned people help get clothes onto the racks of a store or warehouse, but once a customer buys something, it's the job of tailors and seamstresses to take garments from "approximate fit" to "perfect fit."

Fashion writers, photographers, and videographers cover fashion shows, expositions, and the industry in general, keeping people everywhere in the world informed about styles, trends, and activity happening anywhere.

Costumers and costume designers create or select the costumes that actors wear in theatrical, film, or video-game productions. This is often normal contemporary dress, but can range from the period clothing of ancient Rome or Victorian England to the spacesuits of science-fiction epics. Some apparel companies employ cosmetologists to work with their models and stylists, and other firms that meld women's fashion with personal beauty and cosmetics employ cosmetic designers.

Fashion Education

Do any of these job possibilities intrigue you? Perhaps you're thinking of trying to start a fashion career, but you're wondering what fashion education can do for you. Haven't a lot of fashion's biggest names lifted themselves into the business by their own cleverly designed bootstraps? The truth is that for every marquee designer who has skipped higher education and made a fortune, there are dozens who've succeeded because they sharpened their skills and gained greater knowledge with a fashion education -- and dozens who haven't succeeded because they didn't do so.

While you're in high school or studying for your GED, how can you best prepare yourself for a higher education in fashion? What should you learn and do, and what skills should you acquire? A representative of the Costume Society of America (CSA), who asked not to be named, asserts that you need to study history because you "cannot be a designer if you don't know history"; she also says you should study art to learn how to visually communicate your ideas, and learn the basics of garment construction if you can.

Tara Draper, Director of Admissions for the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, agrees that sketching is important and that you should try to learn the basics of sewing with a sewing machine: "Even a straight line is fine -- we're starting from scratch here." She also says that "bilingualism in English and any other language is helpful," though Mandarin Chinese is particularly good because so many apparel companies manufacture or source goods in China. David Schmida says that "two skills stand out: computers and art or drafting (both creative and practical)." Linda Welters, Professor and Chair of the Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising, and Design at the University of Rhode Island, urges prospective fashion students to "take art classes if they're available" and to begin an art portfolio, which is required for admission at many schools of fashion and design; she also recommends that you get "experience working in retail, to learn how customers think and how merchandise is presented." Simon Ungless, Director of Graduate Fashion at Academy of Art University, says to "do as much drawing as you can," and amplifies with this controversial suggestion: "Try to take any available course/classes in nude figure drawing at high school or community programs".

Where Can I Study Fashion?

There are a large number of schools where you can study fashion:

Many community colleges offer full certificate or degree programs in fashion, including Houston Community College-Central in Houston, TX; Shoreline Community College in Shoreline, WA; Genesee Community College in Batavia, NY; Lethbridge Community College in Lethbridge, AB; and Liverpool Community College in Liverpool, UK.

Fashion degrees are available from traditional colleges and universities such as Cañada College in Redwood City, CA; Iowa State University in Ames, IA; Texas Woman's University in Denton, TX; the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Finland; and the Textiles Workshop of the School of Art at Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.

Fashion is one of many specialized courses of study available at career schools such as Bauder College in Atlanta; Wood Tobé-Coburn School in New York City; Brooks College with campuses in California; M. C. College Group with campuses in western Canada; and the International Academy of Design & Technology with campuses across North America.

You can learn the trade at a dedicated fashion school such as the SUNY-affiliated Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City; Fashion Careers of California College in San Diego; the School of Fashion Design in Boston; the National Institute of Fashion and Technology with campuses in several Indian cities; and ESMOD International with campuses in France and ten other nations.

Some online schools, including Academy of Art University, confer fashion degrees, but it's still more common for traditional colleges and fashion schools to offer a selection of their fashion courses online. You can study Italian fashion illustration through Milan Fashion Campus' FashionDrawing.com, but the accreditation and value of this course is unclear.

A note of caution: If you want to be a fashion model, be very wary of attending "modeling schools" that purport to prepare you for a modeling career. You don't need any education other than on-the-job training to work as a model! Modeling schools are neither normally regulated nor accredited; many are fronts for scams; and modeling agencies don't regard their certificates and diplomas as having any value. Even the more established modeling schools function largely as "charm schools" or "finishing schools" rather than providing true career education. This site has more information on the topic.

Things You Might Not Have Considered

When you select a school, what other criteria besides location, facilities, cost, and length of program should you be thinking about? Welters points out that if you're trying to find out whether a school offers fashion studies, not all college-level fashion programs or departments will have the word "fashion" in their names; some will be titled "Family and Consumer Sciences," "Human Ecology," or even "Home Economics," so look carefully.

The CSA's spokesperson recommends choosing a school in an area where you think you'll want to work after you graduate; that way, you'll be able to establish local contacts while you're still in school. Schmida suggests investigating the school's faculty to be certain that the "people teaching have been practitioners in the industry." Ungless agrees: "Make sure the faculty are still current with the industry; are they really working professionals?" He goes on to say, "Check to see if courses are hands-on rather than all lecture and book study. Also look at the job-placement statistics for the programs." Draper talks about placement statistics too; how is the school doing in placing its graduates in fashion-industry jobs? As for what type of school to attend, she adds, "it depends on where your passion is" -- that is, are you eager to get into the field as soon as possible, or do you long to investigate all of your possibilities, or what?

It's also very important to attend an accredited school -- that is, a school whose facilities, faculty, finances, curricula, and procedures have been investigated and approved by an educational standards body. Most schools in the USA will be accredited by one of the recognized regional accreditation organizations. Similar provincial organizations accredit schools in Canada, and many Canadian career schools are accredited by the Canadian Education and Training Accreditation Commission (CETAC). In the UK, many schools are accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). A few American fashion programs are specifically accredited for fashion education by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).

As a fashion student or professional, you might want to investigate the numerous professional associations that will be open to you. A small sampling of these includes the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), Fashion Group International, Custom Tailors and Designers Association (CTDA), and the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA); many others can be found with a little searching, although a surprising number of them don't yet have their own websites.

Paying for a fashion education can be a challenge, but aside from the usual federal and state grants and loans, plus need- and merit-based financial aid granted by schools, some fashion-specific scholarships are available. Ungless says, "Many companies and organizations run scholarship programs for students that are awarded through merit. Usually only good schools get to participate in such programs." He specifically mentions scholarship awards offered by CFDA and Fashion Group International, as well as the Target Design Initiative Scholarships. However, CSA's representative states that "More scholarships are available from professional organizations for graduate students than undergraduates," even though the CSA's own Stella Blum Research Grant goes to an undergraduate CSA student member working in the field of North American costuming. Welters mentions that the AATCC awards some scholarships, mostly to Massachusetts students; that American Intercontinental University (AIU) awards one student an annual scholarship to study fashion at a campus abroad; and that often scholarships like these are awarded through contests. Schmida says the "IACDE offers one scholarship, through its suppliers' arm, to a student at a school local to the city where the IACDE's annual convention is held."

What should you make sure to study while you're working toward your fashion degree or diploma? Everyone agrees that learning to use computer hardware and software is very important for most jobs in today's fashion industry. In addition, Ungless emphasizes "drawing, design development, and pattern making and construction." Welters has a more expansive list: "Art, including drawing, 2D and 3D graphics, color, and computer-aided design (CAD); art history; business; economics; theater, particularly theater costuming; and textiles, because fashion relies on innovation in fabrics." She suggests that, given the international nature of the industry, some study abroad (or at least taking cultural studies) is useful if you can manage it.

While you're in school, you can get real-world fashion experience by completing a fashion internship. Some schools, such as Marist College, the Laboratory institute of Merchandising (LIM), and others in NYC and California, have internship arrangements with local firms, but you might have to search for opportunities yourself. Tara Draper says that FIDM has a job fair on the second day of classes, and that there are internship possibilities in entry-level fashion sales, both retail and wholesale. Linda Welters also points out opportunities in retail, but urges students not to "get stuck in sales," but to try for management or -- exactly echoing the words of the CSA representative -- "shadow the buyer." The CSA representative also suggests checking with any local design firms, retail stores, and museums that might have collections of historic costumes. Although Simon Ungless sees most fashion and apparel companies as having "internship programs for entry-level positions ranging from design assistants to retail," David Schmida remarks that European and Canadian firms are typically more willing to accept interns than American firms. Schmida qualifies his statement by saying that entry-level internships are often available in companies' design and CAD departments, even if the companies aren't directly involved in the fashion industry.

Getting a Job in Fashion

Once you get your certificate, diploma, or degree, how will you get a job? According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 15,000 people were employed as fashion designers in America in 2002, and while total employment in fashion- and apparel-industry positions that require a higher education is much greater, it's still a competitive field. An internship certainly helps qualify you for employment; it's very important to have a good resume and portfolio; and any school worth its scissors will help to place you in a position. But you might need to go beyond that. Getting family and friends to scout for jobs for you is always a good plan, but you should also find people working in the fashion industry to talk to -- not just after you graduate, but while you're still taking classes.

Schmida advises: "Take every opportunity to meet and greet guest speakers from apparel manufacturers and other firms; begin networking early." Draper emphatically agrees: "Take advantage of every moment!" (She goes on to suggest that if you want to be a designer, you "work the weekends" by going to nightclubs with your best friends...and having them wear clothing you designed that week!) Ungless says you should register with recruitment agencies. Welters suggests than when you search the Internet for jobs, you check not only the general career sites (Monster, etc.) listed below, but also the websites of various companies you think you might want to work for. She also recommends that you let the faculty members that you respect know that you're in the hunt for a job, because many of them get calls from employers all the time.

Speaking of websites, in addition to Monster, HotJobs, AllStarJobs.com, and other general employment sites, there are numerous fashion-specific job sites and pages you can monitor, including (but certainly not limited to!) Fashion Career Center, 24 Seven Inc., CRB Apparel Search, Talisman Retail, Planet Personnel, Women's Wear Daily, and Fashion Retail & Personnel. And here are some other sites that might be useful to you while you're in school, after you graduate, and as you pursue a fashion career: You can keep track of fashion news and trends with portals and publications such as Fashion Guide, FirstView, just-style.com, and Worth Global Style Network (WGSN); you can investigate the fashion resources of cities and regions through clearinghouses such as The Fashion Center New York City, Made in Italy, and Mode à Paris; and you can keep track of industry activity as reported through the Web sites of trade groups such as the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA).

What jobs are liable to be "hot" or "not" when you finish your studies? That's always hard to say, of course, but as of this writing, Draper suggests that textile design for the fabric, wallpaper, and bedding markets is wide open, and when it comes to graphic designers, "we can't fill jobs fast enough." As for fashion designers, Welters cautions that "many are called, but few are chosen"; not only do you need to have tremendous creative and practical skills, but you need to be extraordinarily good at "forecasting what people will want six months from now." If that's the job you want, go for it with gusto, but hedging your bets by becoming qualified for a wider range of employment is probably a good idea.

Inspiration

All it takes to keep the wind and rain off someone's skin is a pile of cut-out burlap sacks, but if you study fashion, you can learn not only how to help people shelter themselves, but also how to help them look and feel their best, no matter how seasons and styles might change. Perhaps Ella Wheeler Wilcox said it best: "There is new strength, repose of mind, and inspiration in fresh apparel."

By W. Randy Hoffman, FashionSchools.com Contributing Writer.