Fashion design schools all teach the common threads of fashion design and most train professionals that are destined for trades in manufacturing or glamorous catwalk productions, but what are the differences between schools?
An industry publication recently published its list of top twenty fashion design schools, begging the question: What makes a top fashion design school?
Fashionista is a respected fashion design blog that took a look into the birthplace of many of fashion’s leading designers. Through a self-described painstaking process, Fashionista produced a list of the top fifty fashion design schools in the world. Topping their list are fashion design schools at Central Saint Martins, Parsons, and Bunka Fashion College. So – how did they decide who was “best”?
Their methods were well-rounded and included the opinions of all facets of the industry. “To generate our list, we spoke to students, employees at the schools, companies who hire graduates, and industry professionals. We also considered tuition costs, demographics, famous alums, and variety in programming,” the website said, adding that although their method isn’t scientific, it was as objective as possible.
It is likely that a student’s journey into finding their own best choice for fashion design school will be fairly unscientific as well. However, much of the decision might rely less on how awesome the school is ranked by industry pros and rely more on what a student can afford. As the site points out, we’ve also found that a world-renowned fashion design school can charge a staggering $40,000 to $50,000 per year.
Perhaps the best method of choosing the best fashion design school for an individual starts with tuition, but the industry blog is right in its methods. What other students say, how many alums went on to achieve success, and especially the opinions of hiring companies will matter about fashion designs schools within a student’s price range.
