Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Fashion education

Most fashion designers today have attended some kind of art school. There are a number of well known fashion design schools worldwide. Possibly the most famous is Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. Alumni of St Martins include John Galliano, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan. Other notable London Fashion Schools include the London College of Fashion,The Royal College of Arts in London and the University of Westminster, whose alumni include Vivienne Westwood, Christopher Bailey, and Stuart Vevers.

Notable American fashion design schools include Pratt Institute, Parsons The New School for Design and Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.) in New York City, Lasell College in Newton, Massachusetts, Drexel University and Moore College in Philadelphia, Woodbury University, The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (F.I.D.M) and A.I.U. in Los Angeles alumns include Uriel Saenz and Ashley Paige, and more specialized in French Haute Couture techniques, Academy of Couture Art in West Hollywood. According to the annual survey from US News, Parsons has recently lost its position as the top school in the U.S. for graduate art programs; now The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (S.A.I.C) has shifted up in the list and taken its place. This is being attributed to Parsons' loss of Tim Gunn as a faculty member of their fashion program, who resigned to become the Creative Director for Liz Claiborne. SAIC: Founded as the Chicago Academy of Design in 1866 by a collective of studio artists, the institution went through many changes before the turn of the century, some necessitated by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The collecting arm of the School was founded in 1872, and The Art Institute of Chicago was born in 1882 to accommodate a distinct museum and school. The Art Institute moved to its current iconic location on Michigan Avenue after the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, and it remains the largest museum-school partnership in the country. Notable fashion alumi include Halston, Gemma Kahng, and Cynthia Rowley.

A classroom filled with sewing machines and mannequins.

A classroom filled with sewing machines and mannequins.

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