What Should I Study to Be a Fashion Designer?

What is fashion design?

Fashion design is a type of art that focuses on the production of garments and other accessories for everyday living. The two primary genres of current fashion design are haute couture and ready-to-wear. The haute couture line is made to order for a restricted set of consumers and is sized to their exact specifications.

Ready-to-wear collections are better ideal for huge production runs because they are standard sized rather than custom produced. There are two types of collections: designer/creator collections and confection collections. Designer collections are famous for their superior quality and workmanship, as well as their distinctive design. They frequently symbolize a certain concept and are made to make a statement rather than to be sold. Ready-to-wear and haute-couture collections are displayed on international catwalks.

What Should I Study to Be a Fashion Designer?

The allure. The notoriety. The art of attention to detail. Those who pursue a profession as a fashion designer will have access to all of this and more. Is a passion for making garments, however, enough to make a decent designer?

Today's fashion industry is extremely competitive. If you want to work in this field, you'll need to put in more effort and learn a variety of new abilities. It's not sufficient to get a Bachelor's degree in Fashion Design; you also need to know about Visual Arts, General Design, and even Graphic Design. You must do so if you actually want to be the best.

Now, if you want to be the next Vivienne Westwood, consider your educational possibilities.

1. Get a head start — start preparing for fashion studies in high school

To meet the university entrance standards for a Fashion Bachelor's degree, it's always a good idea to be prepared ahead of time. As a result, taking some similar classes in high school can be beneficial. Here are some crucial steps to take:

• Learn how to sew quickly by enrolling in home economics classes.

• Exercise your eye for color and pattern by drawing and painting on your own.

• Photoshop, CorelDraw, Xara, and Serif DrawPlus are examples of visual design software.

• Read blogs, books, and periodicals about art and fashion design.

2. Pursue a fashion design bachelor's degree

If you want to do more than just work in the fashion industry, you need to learn the fundamentals first. Undergraduate fashion design studies will help you learn everything you need to know about fashion design history, manipulating garment textiles, sketching clothes, fashion events, and managing a fashion firm.

These are some excellent fashion schools to which you should apply:

• In France, the LISAA School of Design

• Italy's Istituto Europeo Di Design (IED)

• Italy's Accademia Del Lusso

• In the United Kingdom, there is a college called London College of Contemporary Arts

3. Pursue a Bachelor's degree in Visual Arts

Some of today's fashionable fashion designers have earned a bachelor's degree in visual arts. These courses combine theories and practises from painting, drawing, and photography, making them excellent for fashion design.

Learn how to use and interpret diverse design aspects, as well as techniques including collage, professional photography, and digital imaging. The following are some of the best places to pursue such a degree:

• In Canada, visual arts degrees are available

• In the United States, visual arts degrees are available

• In the Netherlands, visual arts degrees are available

• Bachelor's degrees in visual arts are also available online

4. Pursue a Bachelor's degree in Art History

Fashion is a form of expression. Art that can be worn. To comprehend the history of fashion, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of art history. Courses of Philosophy of Art can also provide useful skills for expressing and contextualizing your thoughts.

Still not persuaded? What if we told you that Vera Wang, the world-renowned designer, studied Art History? If this helps put things in perspective, here are some excellent places to look for a Bachelor's degree in Art History:

• In the United States, art history degrees are available

• In Australia, art history degrees are available

• In Canada, art history degrees are available

5. Pursue a Bachelor's degree in design or take a short course in the subject

Graphics are everywhere these days, even in fashion. Scissors and paper aren't going to cut it. While a three-year Bachelor's degree in Design or Graphic Design isn't required, you should make use of the insights these fields have to offer.

Short courses in Design, for example, will teach you how to investigate numerous ways for creating a high-quality, aesthetically pleasing product, as well as approaches for a visual representation of spaces and surfaces, product design, and design research. As a result, you can combine your Fashion-related degree with Design courses such as those offered by:

• The UK's London School of Design and Marketing

• Coursera, UC San Diego, United States

Steps to a Successful Fashion Design Career

While a Bachelor's degree in Fashion Design or a related field will aid in the development of critical skills and knowledge, there is no guarantee that you will be able to break into the competitive fashion industry. You should devote some of your time to other pursuits, such as:

• Meeting and networking with people who share your interests

• Identifying your niche

• Getting a taste of what it's like to run and build a business