Learn Fashion Design Without Paying for a Design School Degree

In the fashion industry, expertise matters more than education does. I've interviewed for design positions with a variety of garment manufacturers. In all but a few cases, the first thing the interviewer said to me was not "Where did you go to school," but rather "Let me take a look at your portfolio". There are always going to be exceptions to this, but the vast majority of fashion industry employers care more about skills than they care about educational background.

The necessary skills can be acquired in a variety of ways. While it is true that design school is one of the easiest ways to learn how to become a fashion designer, it is not the only way. This article explores a few alternative ways to learn the skills necessary to succeed at fashion design.

How Design Schools Teach Students the Art of Fashion Design

Design schools offer a variety of different courses and teaching methods, but most of them incorporate all of the following methods:

Textbook Learning: The student reads relevant material from a fashion industry textbook.

Classroom Instruction: An instructor teaches relevant information to the class.

Hands-On Learning: The students learn skills such as sewing, pattern making, and draping by engaging in these activities in a hands-on way.

Internships: Many design schools offer credit to students who accept unpaid or low-paid internships at local businesses in the fashion industry.

Portfolio Preparation: Many design schools incorporate portfolio preparation into the curriculum.

Self-Directed Study for Fashion Design

Even if you choose not to go to design school, 4 of the above 5 options are still open to you. If you are motivated enough to learn without supervision or guidance, then you can teach yourself just about everything you need to know to succeed with a fashion design career.

You can buy textbooks and read them. You can buy a dress form, sewing machines, fabrics, and all the necessary drafting supplies. Nothing is stopping you from getting an internship or entry-level job in the fashion industry, either. You can also prepare your own portfolio as well.

Learn Fashion Design from Design School Textbooks

Obviously, you need to know which books to buy if you are going to learn fashion design by reading books. Here are some suggestions.

Fairchild Books are used in many design schools. Take a look at their current catalog, and choose titles that are relevant to your intended area of specialization.

Prentice Hall books are also popular. Fashion from Concept to Consumer is one title that is used in many design school classrooms. Check for it at amazon.com too. I have owned multiple editions of this book from many different years. In my experience, the photos in the book change periodically, but the information largely remains the same. If you want to save some money on this particular title, don't buy the latest edition; buy a previous edition on amazon.com.

The following books are also recommended:

The Enterpreneur's Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing
Author: Kathleen Fasanella

Fashion Specifications
Author: Shelia Marks

Periodicals

Subscribe to Women's Wear Daily if you live in New York City, or California Apparel News if you live in Los Angeles. Both subscriptions are helpful no matter where you live, so if you can afford to get both of them, it's worth it. Buy a few issues from the newsstand first to make sure you actually enjoy reading them though; if not, skip it.

Take a Look at the Fashion Design Curriculum Offered by Design Schools.

Most fashion design schools don't make any secret of what they'll be teaching you if you enroll. Take a look at their offerings, and design your own course of self-directed study accordingly.

Also, note that some colleges do offer continuing education, so if you come across a topic where you really need hands-on instruction from a teacher, you can take a single course. For example, Otis in Los Angeles offers continuing education courses. I have taken several of them, and they were all outstanding.

Here are links to information about the fashion design courses of study offered by various design schools:

Fashion Design at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)

Apparel design at Rhode Island School of Design

Fashion design at Parsons School of Design

Fashion Design Curriculum at Otis College of Art and Design

Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM)

Put Your Knowledge Into Practice

Reading about these things is not sufficient; you need to actually put your knowledge into practice. Invest in supplies so that you can practice sketching, draping, designing, patternmaking, etc.

Learning Fashion Design by Working in the Fashion Industry

Many companies offer entry-level jobs in the fashion industry to people without degrees. Do not expect the work to pay well, but perhaps it beats paying someone to give you an education.

It was an eye-opener to me that, even with my degree from design school, the jobs I was offered right out of school did not pay well. I was stuck with school bills, and my first job didn't even pay enough to live on. I'd caution prospective students to avoid getting themselves into that situation.

In some cases, experience can prove to be even more valuable than education is. One of my classmates had taken an unpaid internship while we were still in school. She was able to negotiate a higher starting salary than I was.

Whether or not you have a degree, expect to spend some time paying your dues and learning the ropes when you get started in the fashion industry. Even if you earn a degree in fashion design, the odds are against getting a high-paid, glamorous fashion design job right after graduation from design school. There are exceptions, but in many cases you will need to prove to employers that you can do the job before they will trust you with either a high salary or the responsibility of design work.

Examples of Fashion Designers Who Did Not Go to Design School

Maurice Marciano was the speaker at my graduation from the Fashion Industry of Design and Merchandising in 1997. He shared a fascinating story with my graduating class. He spoke about Guess, the company that he and his brothers founded together in 1981. He confessed to our class that he never attended design school. His brother Georges, a former fashion designer for Guess, dropped out of school. (Source) Paul Marciano also dropped out of school. (Source) Even without design school diplomas, these hardworking, creative and talented brothers built a fashion empire together. They are an inspiration to any would-be fashion designers who want assurance that it is possible to be a successful fashion designer without attending fashion design school.