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Once you've made the decision to attend, or at least investigate fashion design as a career, its time to consider your educational prospects. By attending a school for fashion design, you will get the training you need to be successful in your new career. In addition, you will also have the chance to network, and have post-graduate job placement opportunities. Although there are many choices available, finding the right program doesn't need to be complicated.One of your first tasks should be narrowing down your field of study. Take a look at the various occupational profiles related to fashion, and focus on the ones that interest you. Some of the more popular fashion areas of study are: design, merchandising, marketing, and fashion retail management. By having a primary focus in mind, you can look primarily at programs which are strong in your niche. If you are not sure what your focus is yet, take a look at schools that offer a variety of fashion design programs, so you can make a decision after you've started your initial classes.Another factor to consider is what type of degree program you are looking for. There are a number of two and four year universities .. more »

Fashion design school helped Carrie Cochran say RICKY MARTIN wore my T-shirt. Well, not her personal shirt -- Carrie actually custom-designed T-shirts for the popstar to wear throughout his world tour in 2005. That was a proud moment for the thriving fashion designer.Carrie has dreamed of a fashion design career for a long time. "I've always had a talent with creativity and art," she explains. "When I was a teen, I would sew and design my own clothes and costumes. Sewing and fashion was my hobby, and I spent all my free time doing it."Carrie was a natural, so she steadfastly headed to a fashion design school to cultivate her craft. She attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale where she eventually graduated with honors. "The fashion design school was close to home and I easily attended while still living at home with my parents," she recalls. "After visiting the fashion design school, a guided tour with a counselor nailed my decision down." Excited by what the fashion design college had to offer in terms of classes, an annual fashion show that students participated in, and educational trips to New York and Paris, Carrie knew she wouldn't regret choosing fashion .. more »

In fashion school, most of your time was spent learning to create fashion illustrations, draping, sewing, and flat patternmaking. While these are good skills to have, they aren't very practical when you're trying to land your first job in the fashion industry. In the real world you'll be expected to know how to create computerized flat sketches, develop garment specs, CADs, and presentation boards. And I know some of you are thinking "But I learned those things in school too!" To which I reply: You think you know, but you have no idea! Take it from experience: fashion schools don't focus on those skills nearly enough to fully prepare you for your first design position. In this article I will discuss each skill and its importance in the fashion industry.Draping and Patternmaking - Low Importance While patternmaking and draping are valuable skills, they usually only come in handy when you deal with a lot of fits. However, fittings are usually conducted by technical design teams so if you got into fashion for creative reasons, you'll most likely be miserable in this type of position. On the creative side of design, all you need is a basic understanding of what creates .. more »