Otis College of Art & Design
Programs: Fashion Design
Otis College of Art & Design
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 and editing ideas to solve specific design problems. Students work with professional faculty and guest mentors on all aspects of the design process. Working in teams, they create clothing for several mentors simultaneously, emulating the fashion design studio and following the industry’s seasonal schedule.
Fashion Mentors
Recent mentors have included Bob Mackie, Claire Pettibone, Billabong, Halston with the Humane Society, Urban Outfitters, and EleVen by Venus Williams. Junior and senior designs are featured at the annual Scholarship Benefit and Fashion Show at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. Among the 2013-14 mentors are Dosa, David Meister, Ame Austin Max (’95)/Max Studio, Nike, UnderArmour, and Mattel Barbie with Rod Beattie (’86)/Bleu.
Students learn more than the skills needed to sew and draw; they learn to meet deadlines with creativity and self-discipline. Otis Fashion alumni enter the design world as assistant designers, associate designers, illustrators, costume designers, textile designers, accessory designers, and product designers. Some open their own clothing line immediately upon graduation.
Otis Alumni
N.Y. fashion design alumni work at Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, John Varvatos, Sean John, Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, Adriano Goldschmied, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, BCBG, Bebe, Calvin Klein, DKNY, GAP, J. Crew, Juicy Couture, NIKE, Vivienne Tam, and other firms.
This College has 51% acceptance rate and the 6-year graduation rate is 56%. It’s a quite diverse campus with 11% international students.
Schools in CA
- Woodbury University
Burbank, CA WU
- Santa Monica College
Santa Monica, CA SMC
- Fashion Institute of Design
Los Angeles, CA FIDM
- California College of Arts
Oakland, CA CCA
- Academy of Art University
San Fancisco, CA AAU
