Fashion Design Career Guide and Counseling

Question: Fashion Design? I have tons of ideas for fashion designs in my head, but I can't draw very well. Should I continue my ideas of taking Fashion Design classes, or just forget it because I can't draw?

Answer: Get a software program that will draw your designs for you.

Question: What fashion design game is best for a young child on the Nintendo DS Lite? My daughter is five and her big brother has DS that she really loves. We are thinking about getting her one for Christmas. She wants a fashion design game and mentioned Imagine Fashion Designer. I want to know if that is appropriate and easy enough for her to do on her own. I would also like some other options for a fashion design game that would be good for her.

Answer: My fashion studio is more simple and easy AND fun than imagine Fashion designer, it really was HARD and all these menus for nothing. It was a horrible game and "my fashion studio" really redeemed the company in question. So go with "my fashion studio" not imagine fashion designer!

Question: What is the best fashion and design school in London? I am looking at studying fashion design, but not sure which school I should go in London. I have heard of Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design and Istituto Marangoni. I just want to know which school will give me the best employment prospect, so I need the school that I go to, to not only give me a good education and training but also the good industry contacts and networking opportunity so that I have a better chance of getting a job at a big fashion house after I graduate. Thank you.

Answer: St Martins without a doubt. Have a look at the many great people it has made. It has an excellent reputation and because of that the final year fashion shows are always popular viewing, there have also been cases of fashion designers copying ideas of the some of the students at St Martins so bear this in mind.

Question: What college has a good fashion design and business program? I'm having trouble finding a college that has a good fashion design program, and also a business program that I can minor in. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

Answer: Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, New York

Question: Is it possible to start a career in fashion design without having a formal degree in design? I'm interested in fashion design, but may not be able to go to design school. Would it be impossible to get started without a degree, even if I had the skills and creativity needed?

Answer: Take up short courses if formal degree is not viable (perhaps of the budget). You can have a career in fashion. You start designing regularly, produce at minimal. Then start to sell it to the streets and Ebay. You can open up your own boutique after. Or have a designer hire you as an apprentice.

Question: What do i wear to a fashion design business for work experience? Im 15 and i have work experience at a fashion design company. What do i wear? I want to look alternative and up with the look. Help?

Answer: sexy suit....u can never go wrong with sexy suit !

Question: What state university has a good fashion design program? I'd like to go to a relatively big college with a variety of fields, like a state university, but with a pretty good fashion/ apparel design program.

Answer: Use collegeboard.com to find the schools./

Question: What are some good ways to get into fashion design? I'm into fashion design and design my own clothes, but I'm not for sure what kind of route I should take with college and speciality schools as well as with getting my work shown once I work up a portfolio. How would I go about this? What are some things that I can start doing now that would be of great help later? Any other advice would be wonderful. Thanks!

Answer: well this year i did a reaseach for a career paper for a fashion designer and the first thing u need is a portfolio of your best drawings like btwn 10 and 20...than you look at schools and they chekk out ur portfolio and they see if ur drawings are what they are looking for and voilla!!!!!

Question: Can a degree in fashion design help get a job at a fashion magazine? Hello. I'm currently majoring in Fashion Design. By next summer, I will have an associates degree. However, I was wondering if I can get a job at a fashion magazine with Design as my major instead of Journalism?

Answer: I don't see why not... The knowledge of fashion is a MUST for a FASHION magazine. You may even be able to write a column about something to do about fashion or beauty <3

Question: How should I start a portfolio for a Fashion Design college? Im a sophmore in highschool, I was origanally going to be an artist, but once I hit middle school I got fashion fever. I sew well, and I consider myself origanal. What are the steps I need to take to plan a portfolio? How many designs should I have ready to show? How many design boards should I have? Should I make an actual outfit/dress to bring in and show, or wear? Thanks in advanced!

Answer: It varies by the school. This is coming from someone who actually majors in fashion design at one of the top 3 schools in the US for fashion Design and who applied to all 3 top schools in the US for fashion design.. The only top fashion design school that will want to see your fashion design work or sewing work will be Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. But even then they'll send you a home assignment and you can submit additional work for admissions. It is the cheapest Fashion school in the US, at a price tag of like $8000 for out of state students, and like 3K in state. But in general schools like Parsons School of Design or Otis College of Art & Design(which are the other top 2 schools for fashion design in the US), will want to see a portfolio of your skills, which primarily will be of drawings of still life or life drawing. They don't want to see anything major specific(such as fashion) because you're applying to the Foundation year which is basically freshman year(not major specific)/ After your first year, you then declare your major and enter it. I personally thought I would dread foundation, but it really helps you decide and give you more time to think whether what you planned on majoring is really what you want. I know plenty of people who came to my school thinking they were going to do fashion but ended up realizing that they were just attracted to the idea of it, and ended up majoring in other fields. I would just advice to take as many drawing classes(but not a must) or even a portfolio preparation class, and that's it. Don't take fashion classes or fashion illustration classes, because that's not what is required or asked for by these institutions. If you're serious about a career in fashion design the ONLY places you should be considering applying or going to is either Parsons http://www.parsons.edu Otis http://www.otis.edu FIT http://www.fitnyc.edu Back ups who have strong fashion design programs but are not as great as the schools above are Pratt Institute http://www.pratt.edu Savannah College of Art & Design http://www.scad.edu Rhode Island College of Art & Design http://www.risd.edu BTW regardless of what people say, FIDM in Cali, is not a good school, it is also not related to FIT which is a good school. Just check the admissions requirements of the schools listed above on their websites and you'll see what the portfolio requirements are. Savannah College of ARt & Design is the only school that doesn't require a portfolio. It's optional. A community college that is strong in los angeles which also has a fashion program is Los Angeles Trade Tech at www.lattc.edu They are a really cheap option for someone on a budget, and still reputable.