In your case, clothes don’t just cover you. They define you. They tell the world who you are and express your unique sense of style. That’s something you share with the creative professionals who take fashion from concept to consumer. If you also share their talent and tenacity, you may be able to join them. Our Fashion Design degree programs can help you start a career in an industry of global influences, trends, and markets. We’ll help you build skills in traditional and computer-generated design and pattern-making as you begin to shape your future. It’s a hands-on education designed to help you work through design challenges drawn from the real world.
If you’re more into the hats, shoes, jewelry, handbags and belts that complete the outfit, consider our Associate's Degree in Apparel and Accessory Design. You’ll take your ideas from sketch to finished product as you have the opportunity to learn the creative and business sides of this segment of the industry.
In either program, you’ll be surrounded and inspired by other talented, creatively driven students. And you’ll be pushed, challenged, and, above all else, supported by experienced faculty*. It’s not a walk in the park. It’s a journey toward doing what you love.
*Credentials and experience levels vary by faculty and instructors.
• Basic Skills - Demonstrate knowledge of apparel production processes from concept development through finished product
• Process Skills - Demonstrate advanced skills in construction, draping, fitting, and patternmaking as well as in specialty textile design, and product and concept development
• Technology and Production - Demonstrate the ability to use industry software to create, grade, and mark patterns; use software to develop specification sheets; and develop advanced knowledge of technical sketching and computer design
• Communication - Explain connections between world events and design, color, and forecasting trends in the apparel industry, and apply current events to business trends
• Professional Practice - Demonstrate ability to apply professional standards and business concepts related to apparel design, including the ability to work collaboratively and to present and articulate concepts
• Basic Skills - Demonstrate knowledge of apparel production processes from concept development through finished product
• Process Skills - Demonstrate advanced skills in construction, draping, fitting, and patternmaking as well as in specialty textile design, and product and concept development
• Technology and Production - Demonstrate the ability to use industry software to create, grade, and mark patterns; use software to develop specification sheets; and develop advanced knowledge of technical sketching and computer design
• Communication - Explain connections between world events and design, color, and forecasting trends in the apparel industry, and apply current events to business trends
• Professional Practice - Graduates will demonstrate ability to apply professional standards and business concepts related to apparel design, including the ability to work collaboratively and to present and articulate concepts
The rigorous Fashion Design curriculum is grounded in the realities of the creative side of fashion. The focus in on building the tools to compete in an industry that rewards those who help move fashion forward.
You'll study:
Design topics:
At The Art Institutes system of schools, creativity is our core, our calling, our culture. Our Fashion Design degree programs are built on that creative foundation. It’s also built on our knowledge that a creative career is not for the faint of heart. And that today’s fashion industry is as full of challenges as it is brimming with opportunities. It’s tough out there, so it’s tough in here. But we’ll support you along every step of your journey. That’s why we provide the mentoring and real-world experience you need to prevail, with faculty* who’ve worked in the field and internship possibilities at successful businesses. You’ll be encouraged and expected to be bold. To take risks. To push yourself and the people around you. It won’t be easy. In fact, it’ll be the hardest thing you’ll ever love.
*Credentials and experience levels vary by faculty and instructors.
Owner of Strager Style, Shaye Strager, joins Ai LIVE as she shares her story of how she got started in the industry and her advice on starting out.
Photographer John Slemp joins Ai LIVE to discuss his exhibition “Bomber Boys;” Fashion and Cultural historian Laura Mclaws Helms joins the interview.
In this episode of Ai LIVE, Oscar Lopez, Chair of MIU’s Art & Design, is joined by three MIU winners of Miami Swim Week 2021, and they share their inspirations for the show.
