Additional Information
A fine arts program in fashion design will offer you the design, sewing
and marketing skills you'll need.
Fashion designer Karen Pottle says it helps to have technical skills and
a design history before you go for training. "It's such an advantage...if
you have background behind you because you learn so much more. When I was
going to school, some people that were doing the course didn't seem to have
as much background as I had. They spent a lot of time catching up and I just
spent a lot of time creating," she says.
Graduating from one of the many fashion design programs in the U.S. could
help you land an entry-level position at a design house.
"Manufacturers and design houses sometimes recruit staff from the graduates
of fashion design schools," says designer Claudia Bishop. "Many students who
take fashion co-op programs also get hired on full time by the people they
worked for in co-op."
Formal education should be only part of your training. Visit textile factories,
go to fashion shows, and tour art galleries and museums.
People watching is a great way to check out the limits of what you can
do with fashion.
"There's often a big difference between what people are wearing and what's
actually out there for fashion. It's a good way to scope out what your buyers
will wear," says designer Liz Tompkins.