ENG. So, if you read the FIRST PART of this article you already know how important the location or the place is, in order to choose the right Fashion School. There are also other factors you should definitely take in consideration, like the Program's Offer + Professors as well as the Study Abroad and Internship programs of the schools.
Programs + Professors
When you have decided on the place you want to study you have to start looking for the schools and universities available for fashion careers in that area. Also, it is of great importance for you to know the type of program you are looking for: a diploma, a bachelor’s degree, a short course or a master's defree, since this will help to narrow down the schools.
To find information about the school programs and professors there are 3 sources I consider the best: The School, the Alumni and the Internet.
The School
Search the school website and start investigating about what the programs offer. Search the courses for each program and try to find out as much information about them. Ask for catalogs and talk to the advisors of the school. If it is possible, visit the campus and talk to students already studying there.
Alumni
Talk to people who already studied at the school an graduated, they will for sure give you a sincere opinion of their experience and about the course in general. Especially, they will let you know how helpful or successful the school was to prepare them for the real world. If you don’t know any alumni, search on LinkedIn, Facebook and social networks for people that studied at the school you are interested in. For sure, some of them will take the time to answer your questions. I have been contact both with potential students in this way several times, and most of the time it doesn’t bug me since it only takes 5 minutes of my time to answer a question. Or even if you don’t feel like contacting people you don’t know, at least try to see what they are doing now. This is the best way to get an idea about the quality of the school. Remember the school prestige is determined by the success of their alumni. Alumni are the best or the worst testimonial the schools will ever have. Also, alumni always tend to look back to their school when they need interns and when they have job placement available. So, this should be another aspect to take in consideration when you are choosing your school and program.
Internet
Look at online fashion blogs, fashion online magazines and search for what they are saying or what they have said about the schools you are interested in. There is always information out there that can help you make a better choice. Don’t rely only on what the school tells you about it; try to read articles written by people outside of it. For example, while I was researching for this article I found a post by the fashionista, who last year ranked the best 50 fashion schools around the world.
So, with all the information you gather you should really go in depth and research the curriculum of the programs you are interested in, in fact, research the courses themselves. I believe that in general a good fashion school should always offer a course in fashion history (textiles and designers) that is available for all fashion-related careers. This is a basis that everyone studying fashion should have. Therefore, always look for a course like this in your curriculum. After that, you should go into the specifics; if you’re interested in design, look for manufacturing courses, pattern making courses, illustration courses, sewing courses etc.; if you’re interested in merchandising or marketing, look for math courses, trends courses, product development courses, buying courses and brand management courses. If you are interested in communication, look for writing courses, journalism courses, fashion show management courses, public speaking courses, among others. The more specific and less general the courses are, the better.
Also, you should look at the information you gather of the professors from the schools you are evaluating. In my opinion, it is better to have a mix between professors with an academic background and thise with real workd work experience. You want them to have a deep knowledge of both because you need a base of academics that can make you think strategically or can help you know the basis of pattern making, but you also want a person who has been in the field and would teach you practical things you need to survive out there, and to know how to do a great job. Therefore, my advice is to look for a school that has both.
Study Abroad + Internship Programs
Fashion is global, therefore it is essential to experience fashion in a worldwide manner and setting. For that reason, I believe it is key to choose a school with a great Study Abroad Program. A study abroad program gives you the opportunity to learn from professors from other countries with a different perspective on fashion, to experience a new culture, and to broaden your knowledge and network.
For example, I studied at Philadelphia University; I chose that school because they have a great study abroad program. On my third year, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Rome. I took classes such as opera, Italian language and Italian culture for my own cultural enrichment, and I must say these classes apart from living in the spectacular Rome and travelling all over, are what made me fall in love with Europe. I also took fashion illustration with the amazing professor Nora Aponte, who had an extensive experience in the fashion industry worldwide. This experience as a whole made me rethink my career and this was what pushed me to take the decision to come back to Europe and look for a job in Milan in fashion.
I cannot stress out enough how important it is to have work experience, which you can acquire through internships, before you finish your degree. During my college Years, I volunteered for fashion shows, worked for Heimtextile in Germany, did an internship at Intimissy in Atlanta, and also worked for Anthropologie. The more work experience you can combine with your academic knowledge the better your resume/CV will look. Also, while I was doing my master's I got the chance to do a project with Descamps and to work with L'Oreal in their internship program. I found some of these work experiences on my own, while others were opportunities provided by my school.
Your school should not be obliged to find you a job, because let’s face it, that is solely your responsibility; but for sure they should provide you with the basic elements for finding one afterwards. The best way a school does this, is by offering a strong internship program. By a strong internship program I mean that the school should have a wide network of companies that they traditional work with. Also, not only is it important that they have a network but that they have strong long term relationships with the companies. You can find out this information by asking the advisors which specific companies they promote in their program. You should also ask if the school actually helps you get the interviews with the companies, and you should also talk with students who have participated in the program. I encourage you to ask these questions because sometimes schools do have an internship program but they actually don’t help you find the internships, and in my opinion that is not effective.
Here I am providing you a list of the schools I recommend based on my experience and knowledge of the fashion industry and some research I have done on the web(some of them courtesy of the fashionista website). I also have had the opportunity to enrich it even more by asking the opinion of some of my friends and colleagues in the fashion industry who live all over the world. The schools are for design careers as well for business oriented ones. Hopefully this list will be helpful for you guys!
North America
Parsons the New School for Design
Fashion Institute of Technology FIT
Pratt
Drexel Univeristy
Philadelphia University
California College of Arts
Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising
Centro
LaSalle College International
South America
LaSalle College International Colombia
Santa Marcelina
Istituto Europeo di Design Brasil
Europe
Central Saint Martins
University of Westminster
London College of Fashion
Kingston University
Istituto Marangoni Milan and London
Polimoda
Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts
Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale
ESMOD
Studio Bercot
Essec
Bocconi
Asia Pacific
Beijing Institute of Technology
Raffles University
ESMOD in Beijing
Fudan in Shanghai
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Whitehose Institute of Design
Bunka Fashion College
Mode Gakuen
NIFT National Institute of Fashion Technology
I believe that if you are reading these series of fashion careers articles, you are for sure interested in the general aspects of fashion, but before you go into the process of choosing the right school you have to also to decide and have clarity on what aspect of fashion you like the most and if your abilities are compatible with that. If this is still not very clear to you, don’t worry, we will talk about this aspect in my next post (in 2 weeks): matching your abilities with the careers the fashion industry has to offer!
