STEP INTO THE WORLD OF FASHION

STEP INTO THE WORLD OF FASHION

“Dressing is a way of life,” as the late Yves Saint Laurent proclaimed. Is that how it is in your life? You are dead serious about clothes? An artistic and creative type? Got a sense of style? Want to have your own clothing line? Think you’re capable of starting a new fashion trend?  Well, maybe a career of Fashion Designer is right for you!

But what does it take to put your foot in the door of the glamorous fashion world? Of course it takes talent, and fair bit of luck, but talent and luck alone are not enough. Fashion design is a very competitive industry. You might just be the new Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren or Chanel, but it takes hard work to get into the spotlight. Whether you see yourself in the future as an in-house designer for some major fashion company or the next great couturier with your own fashion label – proper education should undoubtedly be your first step.

Being a fashion designer is not just dreaming up new clothes all day and drawing up some sketches! There is a lot to learn about color, texture, textiles and garment styling. Fashion design students also study art, design principles, the history of costume, etc. Ever heard of “clothes psychology”? Not only there is such a thing, but it could be one of your courses! And if you want to be a professional, you have to also be handy with tailor’s tools yourself. Up for a challenge? Then read on.

Choosing the right fashion design school is tough – there are thousands of them! So how do you choose? Well, you can’t go wrong with the reputation factor to narrow down your search. Here is a quick guide into the most reputable fashion design schools around the world.
Parsons School for Design in New York has been considered the top school for fashion in U.S. for a long time with notable graduates such as Bill Blass, Tom Ford, Isaac Mizrahi, Anna Sui, Narciso Rodriguez and Behnaz Sarafpour. A “US News” survey claims, however, that Parsons has been recently surpassed by School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Halston, Gemma Kahng, and Cynthia Rowley backing the name).

Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), with campuses in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Orange County, can also boast quite a list of now famous alumni: Calvin Klein, Monique Lhullier, Santino Rice, Nick Verreos just to name a few.  One of the Black Eyed Peas, Will.I.Am, also studied there (just looking at that guy you knew he was no stranger to fashion, didn’t you?).

New Yorkers can argue all they want but the first city to come to mind when someone says the word “fashion” is Paris. France has been ruling European trends for centuries with Paris being the prime centre of international haute couture and mecca for fashion designers. Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent – even those who don’t know anything about fashion have heard these names! The great French schools for aspiring couturiers are ESMOD (l’Ecole Superieure des Arts et techniques de la Mode – actually the very first fashion school established in France), IFM (Institut Francais de la Mode) and Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne – the school of the Federation Francaise de la Couture (French couture industry’s governing body).

Talking about Europe, you might as well opt for Italy or United Kingdom as they also have a lot to offer fashion wise. Living in Rome and studying at The Koefia International Academy of Haute Couture and Art of Costum should be an experience of a lifetime! Rome is be the political and financial capital of Italy, but Milan is the true fashion capital of the country. In that city there are literally dozens of high profile fashion schools. Instituto Marangoni, for example, is considered to be one of the finest in the world and even has campuses in other European fashion capitals (Paris and London).
But if you’re heading to London it probably makes more sense to look at British schools, not Italian. There are the London College of Fashion, The Royal College of Arts and the University of Westminster (which gave the world Vivienne Westwood and Christopher Bailey). Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is also very famous (John Galliano, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Arkadius, Hussein Chalayan and other fashion icons all went there).

The choice is yours, but getting into those top schools is not an easy task. The number of seats is limited, admission requirements are very high and there are way too many contenders from all over the world. So how do you make it in? And is it possible at all? Sure is! As Coco Chanel stated: “Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.”. You can achieve anything if you believe in yourself and refuse to even think of failure. And, of course, you need to come well prepared in order to become one of the selected few. High profile schools want the best of the best. And, of course, they like their “best” qualified, experienced, and fashion savvy. Usually all the applicants have attended at least some kind of art school in the past. A portfolio is also one of the admission pre-requisites. Those fashion design schools can afford to be picky about the candidates and they are – because school’s reputation depends largely on the success of its students. How do you get noticed in the huge crowd of fashion designer wannabes and secure yourself a spot? There is a way.

New Image College
 has recently introduced a unique program called “Fashion Design and Techniques”.  This program offered by Teen’s Computer School department of New Image College prepares high school students for a future career in the fashion industry. New Image College has a long history of commitment to the highest standards in contemporary education and has repeatedly demonstrated how to achieve unmatched results integrating the latest technology and innovations into learning. During its 10 years in North America New Image has helped thousands of adults on the road to their dream careers. But this is not only for adults! When Teens Computer School was established, the college opened its doors to kids and teenagers too. The students of the new Fashion Design and Techniques program will graduate with exceptional knowledge and skill set, but, more importantly, will also have a professional portfolio on their hands, which is guaranteed to impress those in charge of admissions in any of the world’s top fashion design schools.
The curriculum was developed by professional fashion designers and focuses on the following areas: fabric and textile studies, rhythmic and proportional structure of the costume, costume color, fundamental visual presentation, fundamental creative decision, fundamental set and collection design, sleeve tailoring, as well as many other subjects related to the modern fashion industry.  Also, through class projects students will study composition fundamentals and examine historic and national costumes as examples of Applied Arts.
Teachers and fashion industry professionals collaborated to create a unique learning experience that is intense and at par with programs for adults, but has been carefully adapted for younger students aged 12 to 17. Another good news is that Fashion Design and Techniques program is also available through distance learning to everybody with access to computer and Internet. So it does not matter where you currently reside – you can enroll and study to become what you have always wanted to! Do not let any barriers stand between you and future. Ralph Lauren once said: “I don’t design clothes, I design dreams.” So be the designer of your own clothes, dreams and future! Go ahead and visit www.teenscomputerschool.com for Fashion Design and Techniques program details.

Bogdan Fadeev
bfadeev@gmail.com