California Fashion Schools
There are 6 Schools in California for Fashion Design + Merchandising.
It was founded in San Francisco in 1929, has over 18,000 students and is regarded to be the largest privately owned art and design school in the United States. It’s located near San Francisco’s Union Square, a world-renowned fashion shopping district. Students learn in practice how to develop their unique talents with the help and guidance of top industry professionals. They can follow career paths in Fashion Design, Knitwear Design, Textile Design, Fashion Journalism, Fashion Styling, Merchandising and Visual Merchandising…
Founded in 1907 and situated in Oakland, California, CCA is a private, non-profit coeducational, residential institution with 2,000 students from all over the world. The 4-acre campus is located in the Potrero Hill neighborhood, next to the city’s design district. The focus of attention is on the Future of Fashion and producing emerging innovative design leaders. What to Expect from CCA This BFA in Fashion Design aims at boosting your creativity. Top industry experts teach you how to apply critical…
Founded in 1969 and located in Los Angeles, California, this specialized, private college dedicated to educating students for the Fashion, Graphics, Interior Design, and Entertainment Industries has 7,000 students and is regarded as an internationally recognized force in these studies. Students learn the hands-on, technical skills such as fashion sketching, creative design, draping, and pattern drafting, along with the theoretical skills necessary to succeed in this incredibly creative and exciting field. This school offers a truly unique career-oriented and reality-based…
Founded in 1918 and situated at Lincoln Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, Otis College of Art and Design is L.A.’s first independent professional school of art. It has 1,200 students and 87% of them receive some sort of financial aid.bThe school’s programs, accredited by WASC and National Association of Schools of Art and Design, include four-year BFA degrees in illustration, fine arts, fashion design, toy design, and many more. Originality in fashion design results from a rigorous process of developing…
Founded in 1929 and located in Santa Monica, California, the Santa Monica College is a two-year, public, junior college offering hand-on experience and the knowledge required for your first entry in the world of fashion. It has 30,000 students in total and a 38-acre urban campus. It is ranked number one among California’s junior colleges in transfers to the University of California, University of Southern California, and Loyola Marymount University. Fashion Design and Merchandising Santa Monica College’s Fashion Design and…
Founded in 1884 and located in Burbank, California, this private, non-profit, coeducational, nonsectarian university of 1,500 students is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Los Angeles and one of the oldest business schools west of Chicago. Woodbury Fashion Design students learn the art of fashion design through the study of design process, aesthetics, and fashion history and theory. They are prepared through a sequenced curriculum that develops the expertise required to enter multiple areas of the professional design…
Fashion Schools in CA
When you think about fashion, the thought of New York City will undoubtedly pop into your head. In spite of this, other states have top ranking fashion schools, such as those in California. Five of California’s six Fashion Colleges are on the list of Top 75 Fashion Design School Programs in the US.
The fashion industry is an exciting field for both men and women, although the field is dominated by women. Only about 7% of jobs in this industry are held by men, leaving a wide open avenue for men pursuing careers in fashion design.
Famous Californian Designers
There are many famous male designers such as Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Pierre Cardin. This proves that, even though women dominate the field of fashion design, men have been very successful in penetrating the top ranks. Top women designers include such names as Elsa Schiaparelli, Miuccia Prada, Coco Chanel, Phoebe Philo and Rebecca Minkoff. There is a long list of women designers; however, their names do not come to mind quite as easily as the famous male designers.
There are many career options available to a fashion design graduate beyond being a fashion designer. Graduates of fashion design programs go on to work as buyers, merchandisers, managers, fashion writers, graphic illustration, textile design and many other fashion related industries. Below is a list of some careers that you may pursue with a degree in fashion design.
Areas of interest to prospective graduates:
Fashion Designer * Costume design * Buyer * Merchandiser * Retail Manager * Visual merchandising * Fashion blog writing * Fashion illustrator * Graphic designer * Stylists * Fashion Magazine Writer
Specific Industries:
Arts, design, culture 27.9%
Commercial, public sector management 8.9%
Marketing, sales, advertising 8.7%
Business, financial 1.6%
Other professional, technical occupation 1.2%
Education 1.1%
Retail, catering 29.1%
Numerical, clerical, secretarial 7.8%
Other 13.7%
Some fashion industry leaders in California are Levi Strauss & Co, TEA Collection, and Athleta. They host an Annual Fashion Show in the San Francisco Bay area and also offer internships for fashion industry students. Working closely with the schools allows them to get a lead on the best prospects and with six extraordinary Fashion Design schools located right in California; they have a lot to choose from.
In 2006, the average salary in California for fashion professionals was $53,792 yearly. In 2010 the average salary saw a respectable increase to $58,177 per year. California fashion schools definitely should not be overlooked as prospective industry leaders.
