Fashion Design Schools in California
Fashion design is innovation and creation: style, selection of colors, blend of textures and fabrics, intended effect, the statement one makes. Of course, fashion design is endlessly artistic, glamorous, and fun, but it's also a serious business to get into.
What It Takes for a Career in Fashion
To make it as a fashion designer and create all the imaginative clothing, footwear, and accessories the fashion industry and the world require under your own label or as an in-house designer, you will need equal doses of artistic temperament, technical excellence, and business intelligence.
You must hone your craft and be an expert in design, drawing, sewing, and business. You must understand color theory and form, textiles and fabrics, embellishment techniques and ornamentation, pattern making and draping, cutting and sewing, production and merchandising, and industry research and trends. You must master the art of creativity, the precision of technique, and the science of business. Indeed this is what many fashion schools in the Golden State are dedicated to cultivating in you.
Fashion in California
Artistically and economically speaking, California is a great place to study fashion and fashion design. California is the West Coast's hub of fashion and apparel design, fashion merchandising, and fashion modeling, and the artistic and fashion center of the West.
Los Angeles alone represents a $24.3 billion apparel industry and is the most important American fashion center outside of New York. Yes, the LA region is the fashion heavyweight of the West.
Together with San Francisco — another hotbed of creativity and innovation — Los Angeles garners more than its fair share of everything fashion. Los Angeles Fashion Week and San Francisco Fashion Week are two of the most visible examples of California's fashion industry. These events regularly capture the imagination of locals, industry, and media alike by showcasing the latest fashions from talented, professional designers.
Naturally, talent is not everything in the fashion world; professionalism is an essential component to the ensemble. Polishing your raw creative talent with formal instruction in order to gain a good, solid base of skills in art, technique, and business — not to mention the difference formal education and the opportunity to build industry contacts can make — is one of the best ways to begin a career in fashion.
Many cities in California now offer degrees and programs in fashion and apparel design and merchandising, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, and Sacramento.
