Fashion Design Schools in Los Angeles / LA Metropolitan Area
Los Angeles's formidable arts and entertainment industry has its most famous expressions in motion pictures, television, and music, but The City of Angels's arts contributions don't stop there.
Los Angeles Fashion Schools
Los Angeles is California's sun-drenched stronghold of the fashion and garment industry (representing $24.3 billion) and the most important American center for fashion design outside of New York. Studying fashion in Los Angeles is a natural.
Many major fashion and apparel brands call Los Angeles home, including BCBG Max Azria, American Apparel (the largest clothing manufacturer in the United States), Juicy Couture, bebe, Quiksilver, Skechers, Patagonia, Frederick's of Hollywood, Billabong, and Speedo.
Indeed Los Angeles's fashion muscle can be found throughout the LA metropolitan area (a region that has almost 13 million residents who together speak 224 different languages); the LA Fashion District and Rodeo Drive are two prime examples. The LA Fashion District is a 90-block concentration of fashion and apparel designers, wholesalers, buyers, and others intimately linked to Los Angeles's dynamic fashion industry. Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills is a mecca for designer and haute couture fashion with a range of stores that read like a who's who of international fashion design.
Los Angeles is also home to California's premier fashion event. Los Angeles Fashion Week presents the latest Southern California designs twice a year in March and October for the fall and spring collections. It is the most important American fashion experience outside of New York.
All in all, the Los Angeles fashion industry packs a powerful punch for the prospective fashion student by putting the West's most influential fashion businesses at your fingertips.
Studying Fashion in Los Angeles
Fashion schools in Los Angeles and the LA metropolitan area are in good company with California's leading designers and manufacturers close by. Logically, the area has the greatest number of fashion schools in the state. Some of the most significant fashion schools include: Otis College of Art and Design: Established in 1918 and located close to LAX, Otis College of Art and Design is a unique art and design college with a top fashion design program. The college awards a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design.
Art Institute of California-Hollywood
The Art Institute of California-Hollywood is located in downtown Los Angeles and is close to public transport. The institute offers an Associate of Science in Fashion Design, an Associate of Science in Fashion Marketing, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design, and a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Marketing and Management.
Art Institute of California-Inland Empire
The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire is located in the greater LA area and offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design and a Bachelor of Science in Fashion and Retail Management.
The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising-Los Angeles
Close to the International Jewelry Center in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising-Los Angeles is a fashion forward art, fashion, and design school that offers Associate of Art degrees in Fashion Design, Apparel Manufacturing Management, Textile Design — Knitwear, Textile Design — Surface Design, and Jewelry Design. Advanced study degrees include Footwear Design.
Santa Monica College
Close to the beach, Santa Monica College is a community college with a large international student population that awards an Associate of Arts in Fashion Design and Merchandising.
Ventura College
Set in the hills of Ventura north of Los Angeles and west of Santa Barbara, Ventura College offers a Certificate or Associate of Science in Fashion Design and Merchandising.
Woodbury University
A private university located in Burbank, Woodbury University emphasizes the liberal arts and awards a Bachelor of Fine Art degree in Fashion Design.
Long Beach City College
Featuring resident rabbits on campus, Long Beach City College in Long Beach awards Certificates or Associate of Art degrees in Fashion Design, Fashion Merchandising, Fashion Design — Assistant Designer, Fashion Design — Patternmaker, and Fashion Design — Samplemaker.
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.
