Advice: Education & Career Goals (PLEASE READ POST #1 BEFORE POSTING)

[neonsprinkles]

^
^ Depends on what area of fashion you want to get into. I have friends that attend Academy of Art, Parsons, Pratt, Fit, etc...

Ultimately it's connections that land you the job. NYC has the dominate influence over fashion. SF (or the west coast in general) is a bit weaker, as far as influence goes. I believe Academy of Art does have some pretty high end connections and have shown at NYC fashion week before.

If you're really serious about NYC, I would take a year after high school and take any foundation art/design/fashion/fashion construction oriented classes (at a community/junior college) so that you're prepared.

 

[toujourslani]

I plan on going into design. And what do your friends at the Academy think about it?

That's what I was a bit worried about because most of the connections and people are in NY.

And thank you! This summer I actually plan on taking a summer course at the Academy to see what it's like

 

[InnocentSuccubus]

Hello everyone, I wanted to start this thread so address some concern I have and get your opinions.


Currently I live in Michigan and attend Internation Academy of Design and Technology majoring in Fashion Design. I want to know if just because my school is less known then Parson or FIT wil that hinder my chances to work with big names in the business like Marchesa, Dior, Chanel, De la Renta ect.

Now although I am learing the in's and outs of the business and taking the classses I need to prefect my skills like sewing and draping and talioring and so on and so forth, I still have to wonder if the name of the school and it's location will out shine my actually ability. I have always known where I want to go with my career, who the important people are, and what my designs need to be like to atract a certian client base. For example I want to go in to high fashion, so I have studied who the major players in that part of the industry are and what roles each person plays. But because Michigan (I plan on moving to New York once Im finished) is not on the pulse of the industry like New York I wonder if that will have an effect on my future.

I also know that not all school teach the EXACT same things, but to me it just seems that other schools have different things to offer because of thier location. But then agian I have seen shows like Project Runway and in real life instances where people who went big name schools, cant really do much.

So I want to know what u guys think on this subject cause I am still thinking of transfering but not sure if I should.

ThanksB)

I think your talent speaks above anything else. Joseph Altuzarra is one of the hottest designers out and he attended Swarthmore College in Philadelphia majoring in art and art history. When he moved to new york he got internships with Marc Jacobs and was a freelance designer at Proenza Schouler, before becoming an assistant designer to Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy.
Often times the interships and where you landed speak more than what school you went to.
-Good Luck

 

[shopsmuch]

Sorry to bump an old thread for a somewhat off-topic post post, but I just want to say that, though Swarthmore is by no means known for its fashion-forwardness, it is one of the most prestigious colleges in the country academically and its name goes a looooooooooooong way to getting one internships and job placements in any field anywhere in the world. It's certainly a stretch to say that someone coming out of Podunk U has as good a shot as someone coming from one of the top-ranked colleges in the country at landing competitive position.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/best-value-colleges.htm(#1 top value private college above Darvard and the rest of the ivies)

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/liberal-arts-rankings (#3 overall college in the nation, though I'd put it at #1!)

Also, it's not IN Philly, it's in the suburbs about 35 mins outside of Philadelphia. The school is in the town of Swarthmore, PA (which grew up around the college).

I'm defensive because it's my school, and because anyone who sees this old thread and the previous poster's advice will be deeply mislead about the prospects of their success!

 

[Andrea.RL]

Hi everyone. I thi k this is the perfect thread for me right now i have so much going in my head!

i live near paris and attend la sorbonne in arts. But what i really want to do is fashion design. To do that i first have to go through a basics year where you learn about everything from photography to drawing etc. You can try out for these schools only in the two years after you graduate from high school making this my last shot.
Since its very hard to get in these schools and it is my second try i am organizing a plan B and C. if i do get in after that i just need to get in a fashion design school which i think is easier sinve theyve already made a selection for the year of basic learning. If i dont, should i just skip a year and work to put money aside for a private school? (i dont have enough at the moment to do so now) or should i just skip the whole fashion design school and study marketing and take sewing lessons on the side?
I am extremely passionate about fashion i know this is made for me since the age of 7. I dont see myself studying economics and stuff but am willing to go for it if its my last chance.

Plus at the moment, to make desicions harder on me, i have been thinking about eventually being a tv/movie stylist. Like taking care of what the actors should wear to be in phase with their character. Is that a completely different kind of fashion study? I mean do they have a special section in fashion schools for that? I saw that fidm has a costume section but im not sure that corresponds.
Oh almost forgot to add that i was thinking about going to california to do my studies because i realllyy love it there, but everybody says that i should stay in paris since it is one of the four capitals of fashion. I would and i do like being able to go to fashion weeks but i just feel like its depressing here and i should maybe change sceneary at least for sometime...

Anyway sorry for my long post. I just dont know anyone who can help me or understand what im dealing with. Thanks to anyone who can help even a bit

 

[BetteT]

I can address a couple of your concerns:

The first is Marketing .... I see that you already know that it's mostly math and the business end of sales .... charts, graphes, financial and economic trends, sourcing materials to manufacture with, profit and loss for the company. If you go into markeing, you won't feel like you are in fashion doing all of this ... so unless you enjoy this sort of thing, I would avoid it. It's not one bit creative ... and I would beleive that you would certainly burn out very quickly, unless it's something you are good at and enjoy. it is tranferable to any retail or manufacturing business .... fashion is only a small part of marketing ... so it would probably be more of a steady career than fashion.

Fashion Styling .... I don't know about Europe, but in the US ... fashion design school doesn't really help you become a stylist. In fact, most stylists never had any formal schooling to help them get there. Most of them had a good eye for not only fashion but for color, line and proportion ... and most of them had contacts in the industry and just sort of fell into it. The "courses" for styling that you see at some fashion shcools are just an introduction as to how the ins and outs of styling are done ... but it doesn't ever give you a pass to get a job .... that is much harder to do. If you are seriously interested in styling, there is a How to Become a Fashion Stylist thread here that is really long ... but almost everything you need to know about this is in that thread, somewhere. I suggest you read it as homework.

Having said that school is not necessary or even common as a prerequisite to be a stylist I want to clarify it a bit. Any schooling that might include art, art history, sociology, fashion desgine and techniques, history and lots of other culteral things will help you to develop the "stylist's eye" and it's helpful to make you a better styist. It's good to have a broad range of knowledge that can help you created new ideas and concepts when styling editorials, fashion shows and for clients' lookbooks. YOu don't have to know how to create a garment ... but you do have to be able to come up with ideas as to how you may present it in a creative and interesting way. You need to be able to create a "story" ... a concept, a feeling, a vibe. And sometimes the ideas come from popular culture, history, art, music, science ... any number of places. So, any education is good for a stylist ... but stylist career education doesn't really exist.

L.A. .... there is no real fashion here. Yes ... we do have some very good designers who stay in L.A. .... because they often do gowns for celebs, etc. Monique L'hullier is one ... Kevan Hall, Sue Wong, Trina Turk, a few others. But the rest usually move to NY once they start to become more successful ... because that is where fashion happens in the U.S. What we are left with is sportswear manufactureres .... jeans, swimsuits, athletic wear and lots of small time designers ... and factories where it is all manufactured. We do have high end labels here... but the high end stuff comes from NY ... shipped to stylists here ... or you can find it in their local shops here and high end department stores. The customers are here ... because of the film industry. But ... the business of fashion happens in N.Y.

If you aspire to work for any upscale designer (other than selling in one of their shops) ... L.A. is probably not the place. If you just want to work for a small company who might make sportswear, etc. ... then there is that type of the fashion biz here. It's more of what I think of as the clothing business ... not fashion.

 

[Andrea.RL]

thank you again for your answer!

Well I figured that marketing could always be useful, if ever I want to open my own compagny and sell clothes I designed. But you're right, I'm not much of an economics person, and I do see myself getting tired of it quickly.

Here in france, they have special schools for fashion where you learn all about history of art and fashion, about the different technics to make and design clothes (meaning sewing, drawing, using I guess the different softwares on computer etc), about the different material and stuff.
My cousin also told me that to become a stylist (he is one himself) it is more interesting to do arts and so, because 1) it opens your culture and creativity in a different way and 2) here there are mostly private schools, and apparently they just want your money.
I totally understand what you guys mean, that's why this year I'm in an art section. I like it, but I just don't feel this is getting me anywhere since they don't really teach but mostly give you projects and you have to deal with it like you can, and it's not really fashion directed.
How do the fashion schools in the US work?
(and I'll definately read that thread!)

Since school isn't "needed", in any case going to it must be a plus. and well it can always be good to have an actual diploma no?
I do have some relations that can help me start, but I'm just afraid that jumping in this soon without anything to back me up (studies, diplomas, ...) is risky because it's not a stable industry where you are sure to get a job that'll last you. But on the other hand getting formed directly through internships can be benefic too...?

yeah that's also what a friend was telling me, that I'm crazy to want to go there, she would have dreamed to study in paris. But as I'm also thinking about maybe directing myself towards styling on tv sets and movies, maybe LA isn't such a bad idea?
(again with the whole FIDM, i read some of the students worked on the mentalist and fantastic mr fox)

 

[BetteT]

Education will help you, yes. A diploma ... well, if you are in the US and being a stylist ... no one will ever ask you about that. It's not important to the job.

If you want to work on TV and movies ... it's not called a stylist. It's called being a "costumer", a "costume designer" or working in "wardrobe". And that requires a whole differnt angle to get started. But education is not necessary for this, either. But ...you must know someone in th biz ... so that you will get introduced to the right person in the wardrobe dept. so that they will consider hiring you. It's a closed society ... common knowledge, actually. They hire sons, daughters, cousins, friends ... and rarely does it go to a stranger ... although it's possible.

The Wardrobe Dept. is considered a "craft" ... which puts you in the same category as carpenters, electricians, grips, truck drivers, prop people, etc. .... so you will have to join the union. And that is very complex, because you have to work a minimum number of hours on films, etc. before you can even apply to the union and it costs a couple thousand dollars to get in, too. Then, you will work your way up from there. Initially, you might just be mending costumes, or pressing them, or pulling from their huge "catalogs"(which are like a huge warehouses, with racks about 3 high to the ceiling ... you have to climb on ladders to get to most of the costume). Or you might work the front desk, checking in and out costumes for anyone who is pulling for a production. It's grunt work ... but pays really well, and once you get in, you will be set for life ... with superb benefits, too.

A stylist normally just works for herself ... no benefits, no guarantee that the next gig will come along tomorrow. Way different than being a wardrobe person.

 

[Andrea.RL]

Ohh okk, i knew it wasnt the right word
with everything you just said i want to do that more and more.
If i do start young ill have time to climb to the top and if ever, once i do get at the place i want, and i want to do my own clothing line or something it can always serve to have that experience ..?

By the way you just taught me a lot of stuff i didnt know about that job. Do you know by any chance a good website that could explain in detail what the job is and requires, the different steps from schooling to the bottom to top jobs in that section are? I tried to find interviews of people that explained how they started but nothing good came up.

(ps: i hope you dont mind me asking, but what kind of job do you have? How come you so much about everything? (i always like reading your posts because i know ill find some good and useful information) )

 

[BetteT]

I'm a stylist ... a freelance stylist in Los Angeles.

I'm not a young woman (i'm OLD, OK? ) ... so I've had a lot of real life experience via two previous careers and a bit of schooling ... all of which prepared me for what I'm doing now and have also filled my head with miscellaneous knowledge.

I was a bank operations manager, which taught me a lot about business and how it's all done, how to write resume and cover letters, how to interview for jobs, how internships work, how to talk to people when there is a problem ... lots of stuff that come in handy now. And then I sold real estate which taught me how to start up, promote and run my own business ... taxes, decutions, filing quarterlies, self employment stuff .... that still applies to my work now. I have a liberal arts background from high shcool (majored in art, music and French), but a business background in college (marketing, business law, accounting, etc.). I got into styling via a neighbor who was a fashion photographer ... and she needed help with her cameras and lighting (I'm quick to pick up things like that), then she needed help with styling, which I had never heard of ... but she taught me the basics. We discovered I had the eye and with my business background and secure finances at that point, I was able to start to grow my own business. I've had no formal training at all.

I've picked up the Wardrobe/Costumer info just by living and working in L.A. .... working with a few makeup artists who sometimes work on films too, friends who work at studios in various capacities, working for a bank that was right at the gate of Universal Studios and our customers were studio employees and a few opportunities to work with clients who would pay to rent things from the studio costume departments, so I got in to make my pulls.

There is only one good place that I know to find out how to become a freelance stylist (or a makeup artist, or hair artist Crystal Wright's books and seminars on the subject. http://www.crystalwrightlive.com/ I know that her book has been used as the text for styling classes at FIT. It's the best advice and information out there ... if you plan on being a freelance stylist in the fashion, film or TV industries.

 

[Sensibility]

Does anybody know about good summer courses about fashion styling, journalism and history? thanks!

 

[Andrea.RL]

Wow BetteT, it sounds you have done some interesting stuff! (but I'll catch that up somewhere else, this thread isn't appropriate )

Thanks a lot! I'll check out that website!

 

[CrisGalaxy]

Hi, I'm almost done with my junior year in high school and next year I should be sending my aplications to schools I'd like to go to. I'd love to go to NYC because its the capital of fashion in the western hemisphere but knowing that it just seems so imposible I don't know if I should just stay here in Chicago and go to a fashion school or if I get accepted to FIT or Parson's (that would be a dream come true) and move to NYC, live filthy poor and live in a cardboard box, would be better. I don't know if Chicago has good connections with the fashion industry because it doesnt really seems like it does. So I dont know what would be best for me, stay here or move to NYC. Advice please?

 

[BetteT]

Chicago does have a lot of clothing retailers and manufacturers that headquarter there ... so there is work. But it's generally not high end stuff ... more middle America sort of stuff.

I'd say that the better the school you can get into, the better your chances of getting work afterwards ... in any city. And NY has the best fashion schoools in the U.S.

But ... alll those other grads from FIT and Parsons (not only from your class, but from all the classes ahead of you) will be competing against you after you graduate so finding work in NY is very, very competitive. But, if don't find work in NY ... you have a fall back if you want to move back to Chicago. I would think that the competition would be less there and you'd have a leg up on the grads of the local schools.

So, I'd suggest that you shoot for the best school you can get into to give yourself the best education possible so you are prepared to compete. Apply everywhere in both cities and if you do get accepted to both NY and local schools ... you can decide at that time. If you don't get into the NY schools, then your decsion is made for you.

 

[sergfs]

Hi,
I have to do a sewing this week for a program I applied to. I've never sewed in my life, but I have an idea how to use the machines. Any advice or tips on what I can do or help?

 

[BetteT]

Sewing is a skill that takes practice ... so get going and practice for several hours every day, untill you know what you are doing and can learn some of the basics like making a seam, setting in a sleeve, sewing a dart and working with a pattern. go to this thread to see if there are any books that might help you learn and might offer some sewing projects: Books for Fashion Designers: Sewing, Draping, Developing your Own Line. Etc . If not, then try your local library or book store on some how to books. And maybe even search YouTube ... you might find some tutorials.

 

[Lee Lee]

Online Fashion market research report Mintel

Hi, does anyone have a PDF copy of the Mintel Online fashion UK 2009 market research report they could email to me please?

Anything would be appreciated.

Thank you

 

[kitty87kat]

MFA, Master of Fine Arts Advice

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to throw this out there in case any of you had some advice, I'm about to finish my bachelor of design (fashion) and am thinking about doing a Masters for Fine Arts.

Does anyone here have that degree? Was it worth it? What school did you go to? Know of any good Canadian schools, or what are the best ones worldwide?

Thanks!

 

[Gl4morous5un5et]

I need some advice! I am currently studying fashion merchandising. This is my first year studying it. I am taking a design class that I have a project in where I need to design my own line of clothing and I am having difficulty sketching and coming up with new ideas. I've never drawn before or ever taken any art classes. Does this mean I could be studying the wrong thing? Should everything be coming to me more naturally?

 

[BetteT]

You don't need to draw or design to be a fashion merchandiser ... so I wouldn't worry about not being able to draw. It's mostly about numbers, statistics, and sales ... so if you have a good head for business and math, then merchandising is a good career for you.

However ... you really need to be able to draw your ideas, if you are taking any design class. Hopefully, that "design" is only an elective class and not necessary for your merchandising degree.

I would say it's the wrong class for you ... take a drawing or some art classes first, before you take desgn ... if it's something that you need to eventually take.