Fashion Style Advice

Once you’ve made the decision to attend, or at least investigate fashion design as a career, its time to consider your educational prospects. By attending a school for fashion design, you will get the training you need to be successful in your new career. In addition, you will also have the chance to network, and have post-graduate job placement opportunities. Although there are many choices available, finding the right program doesn’t need to be complicated.

One of your first tasks should be narrowing down your field of study. Take a look at the various occupational profiles related to fashion, and focus on the ones that interest you. Some of the more popular fashion areas of study are: design, merchandising, marketing, and fashion retail management. By having a primary focus in mind, you can look primarily at programs which are strong in your niche. If you are not sure what your focus is yet, take a look at schools that offer a variety of fashion design programs, so you can make a decision after you’ve started your initial classes.

Another factor to consider is what type of degree program you are looking for. There are a number of two and four year universities and colleges that offer fashion design as one of their majors. If having a traditional degree is important to you, you may want to apply to these schools. There are also many schools that specialize purely in fashion design programs. This type of education may be more comprehensive, with more of a focus on job placement after you graduate. Many of these offer certificates, associate, and bachelor degree programs.

You should also consider the quality of the education you’ll be pursuing. Make sure you have a chance to review the curriculum and courses, and the teaching faculty. If you can attend some of the schools and take a tour, that would be ideal, as you will have a chance to observe much more than what you will see on the website. You should also try to find some objective reviews of the school and program you are interested in.

At this point, practicalities will also come into play. A major component of deciding which school to attend will be cost. Evaluate the complete financial aid packages that might be available, and consider researching and applying for any scholarships. Location is also extremely important. If you have located an appropriate school nearby, that will be much more convenient. If a nearby school isn’t an option, you may want to consider an online school, or even a school in a different city or county. Some of the best fashion schools are located in places like Milan, London, and Paris.

Because there is so much involved in choosing a school for fashion design, you should take your time and not rush the decision process. Your odds of choosing a school that will help you fulfill your fashion career aspirations are much higher if you are clear about your focus of study, where you want to study, and how much you can afford. With so many choices available, you will find the school that is right for you.

The fashion world has long been filled with glitz and glamour. The ramp for models is always long, dramatic, and well-lighted. The walk is certainly a walk for fame, fortunately for aspirants but sometimes leading to a walk for shame. Who is behind all these promises and/or even breakdowns? No less than the fashion designers.

What, exactly, does a fashion designer do?

Basically, with streaks of talent, creativity, and sensitivity, fashion designers, as if influenced by Rumpelstiltskin, craft accessory and clothing sketches. They usually concentrate in one nature of accessory or garment such as women’s or men’s apparels, swimwear, lingerie, children’s garments, handbags, and even shoes. They, sometimes, lead the groundwork of the creation and promotion of their creations.

Famous fashion designers prefer to be self-employed and they cater for the request of their clients. Some cater to high-fashion department stores or to specialty stores. They establish fashion statements by setting the colors, silhouette, and type of materials that are worn each season.

There are also some designers who are employed by manufacturers of clothes. These designers just adapt fashion statements set by other designers for the market. However, there are small manufacturers who just purchase or copy designs.

Both designers sketch unique garments and follow certain trends in fashion. Likewise, both need assistants who should get used to the fast-paced schedule of the fashion business.

In detail, these designers execute the following tasks:

• Draw their unique designs.

• Create patterns for sample garments.

• Choose textile and add-ons (accessories).

• Apply tailoring and basic dressmaking principles along with draping techniques and flat pattern works.

• Fit and alter the completed product, if necessary.

• Set-up a fashion show.

• Compare the performance of the merchandise against the competitors.

• Keep self up-to-date of latest fashion trends thru magazines and other fashion shows.

• Have frequent trips to fabric showrooms to keep self updated of latest type of fabrics.

Actually, fashion designers can be categorized as follows:

1. Lead or Head Designers

They take care of the executive and creative tasks.

2. Assistant or Apprentice Designers

They usually make patterns and sample garments. They may also teach sample makers how to make patterns and designer garments.

3. Specialty Designers

They coordinate with other designers about special lines of garments.

4. Costume or Theatrical Designers

They usually create costumes used in theater and movie productions on a contractual basis.

The foundations for their creations are their knowledge, skills, and abilities honed in fashion schools and trainings in the long run.

• Basic Design – This refers to technical know-how included in the creation and use of technical blueprints, drawings, plans, and models.

• Idea Production – This is the ability of designers to approach problems creatively and resourcefully.

• Dynamic Learning – This is being able to analyze implications of new information and materials at hand.

• Operations Scrutiny – This is considering requirements of products to execute a design.

• Uniqueness – This pertains to unusual cleverness vis-à-vis trying situations.

• Harmonization – This is being able to having good coordination with others.

• Visioning – This is being able to see how an organization works under real conditions.

The talents and skills of these artists are really important in the fashion industry. The work requires an eye for a striking creation and business management. Thus, aside from the portfolio of their usually creations, formal education help these designers acquire the secrets of the trade in this business. In fact, graduation from a college or school that provides training on fashion and design is highly recommended in the industry, to keep incoming designers updated on the advent of new techniques and technologies.

However, some leaders of this industry view vocational training schools and community college as more capable of producing competent artists because these institutions work along with clothing industries.

Vocational schools provide trainings in sketching, draping and grading, pattern making, garment construction, textiles and trimmings, costume history, principles of design and color; and how to plan and market seasonal fashion lines.

High school students inclined in fashion and design should finish basic courses in arts, sewing, mathematics, speech, English, and business.

Usually, vocational institutions provide a two-leveled program with certificate that is consonant to the degree in Associate of Arts. For those who want to enter the fashion field immediately, a first level certificate of proficiency is provided. The next level of proficiency, the second-level requires a greater time of completion. But upon graduation, artists are considered competent enough to aim for positions as Assistant Designers. After all the necessary formal trainings and specializations, those who have the guts and high hopes spin gold fabrics!

Are you interested in having a career in fashion? If you are, there is a good chance that you may be interested in attending fashion school. While it is more than possible to make money as a fashion designer, a fashion seller, and a fashion consultant without having a degree, you will find that having one may improve your chances of running a successful business.

As nice as it is to know that a degree from a fashion school or at least a certificate of completion may improve your chances of having a successful business, you may be wondering exactly why that is. If you are interested in being a professional fashion designer, you may already know that thousands have tired to do so and failed.

Unfortunately, many of those individuals ended up making many simple mistakes. By getting a degree and the training that comes along with it, you are less likely to make some of these common mistakes and you may learn many other helpful tips and tricks. The same can be said for running a fashion store or working as a fashion consultant.

Now you that you know the importance of attending fashion school, you may be wondering what it the best fashion school to attend. When it comes to finding the best fashion school for you to attend, there are a number of important factors that you will want to take into consideration.

One of those factors is the type of school you would like to attend. Fashion schools and fashion training courses come in a number of different formats. For instance, there are traditional two and four year colleges and universities where you can walk away with a degree. On the other hand, there are training schools that provide you with a certificate of completion, which is, in a way, like a degree.

Location is another factor that should be taken into consideration. If you are preparing to graduate from high school, you may find it easier to find a fashion school to attend, as you may be more willing to relocate than someone who has roots already established or a family.

If you want to stay local, you should still have a number of fashion schools or at least fashion training courses to choose from. In all honesty, the larger the city that you live in or around, the better your chances are of having more options.

Perhaps, the easiest way to go about examining all of your options, in terms of fashion schools, is by using the internet. When using the internet, you may want to think about performing a standard internet search with a phrase like fashion school.

If you would like to stay in a particular area, you may want to incorporate that city or town into your internet search, as it will provide you with more tailored results. You should thoroughly examine the websites of all fashion schools that you come across to see what type of training is offered and how much that training costs.

You may also want to ask those that you know for recommendations or any information that they may have on fashion schools. Although the person that you are speaking to may not necessarily have attended a fashion school, they may know of someone who has had.

Colleges and training schools are often something that is regularly discussed among friends and acquaintances; therefore, you never know what information you can get through word of mouth. In addition, if you are still a high school student, you may want to think about speaking with your guidance counselor for assistance.

As a reminder, attending fashion school is something that is optional, especially if you are interested in starting your own business.Despite being optional, you may still want to take the time to examine fashion schools. You may actually be surprised with how much you can learn by attending one.

Fashion design is an upcoming career which is authenticated by many universities. You get a proper degree for it. Fashion design is not an abstract thing, it needs appropriate training and necessary acquaintance with the work required from a fashion design school. A fashion design school can be understood as an institution where people become skilled at creating exclusive designs with fabrics.

Choosing the right place.

There are several factors associated in choosing your future career institute. Same holds in case of a fashion design school. In the recent times, India has seen so many fashion design schools, that you can not take each one of them on similar grounds. These vary in their reputation, fee structure, course structure etc just as you would do in case of your engineering or medicine schools. Before joining a fashion design school, one needs to take care of the following things. Firstly, think on your area of specialism in the fashion world.

To a common man, fashion might seem a piece of cake, but actually it has many branches associated to it. After deciding, look for the fashion design school offering it. Secondly, find out the facts like location, course offered, fee structure, degree level, placements and the total cost associated. There is a difference between the fee structure and the total cost required.

Fashion being a practical thing, inculcates huge cost of accessories and fabrics. Thirdly, collect all information and make a list of all the fashion design schools. Apply to them, check out id there are any scholarships or merit distinction. There can be different criteria for admission to different fashion design schools. Lastly, also try to check these institutes personally. After receiving responses to your applications, start considering the best ones.

How to get your foot into the door?

Getting into a fashion design school requires as much work as would been have been for an engineering college. To get an idea of the essential work that needs to be done in a fashion design school, you should talk to the people who are already in this industry for years. The first step towards fashion is the skill of being able to draw it on a piece of paper. Many people might wonder that art and fashion are two different things. Without the drawing, fashion is an abstract thing.

You need the aptitude to outline your ideas on a piece of paper, to communicate it to other people before developing it actually. The very basic requirement of your portfolio depends upon your designs. After that, to make samples of your complete work, you should be able to sew yourself. You will also need a basic knowledge of the use of computers for using several fashion design software’s. You might also need references of your mentors in order to find work in large fashion houses.

As we know that a fashion design school is just like a normal school, so getting good grades is also very important. And then you finally see yourself at a fashion design school, you will gain knowledge of many innovative things new marketing tools and fashion design software’s.

Give value to your time and get a close look at the world of creativity in Milan, the world capital of Fashion.

This summer do not miss the chance to take part in the Introduction to Fashion Accessories course at NABA from June 29th to July 10th, 2009 and learn how to develop a shoe and/or a bag collection. Students will have the opportunity to work hand in hand with professional teachers from a traditional Italian shoe and bag craft school.

If you already have some background in accessories design and want to attend a more advanced level course, the “Fashion Accessories Design Studio” course run by NABA from July 14th to July 24th will give you the possibility to get to know the world of luxury accessories to explore and identify the main European Luxury Accessory Brands and their  strategies on the luxury market; the product development in terms of image; the communication strategy; the Italian-specific making methods.

Are we looking for culture or cult? Gossip or facts? How can ‘lightness’ be seen or read without being empty? What does philosophy have to do with company strategies? Find the answers to your questions and speak your mind, learn how to motivate your love for fashion and produce your articles working in team like in a real editorial office. This is what you can experience by taking part in the Fashion Journalism Studio (Intermediate Level) from July 14th to July 24th.

Are you fascinated by Photography? A close approach to the world of editorial and fashion photography and interaction between fashion designers, photographers and editors is the focus of NABA Fashion Photography Studio course (from July 14th to July 24th). If, on the other hand, you want to discover how to make a short animation movie, the Photography and the Moving Image Studio course (from July 14th to July 24th) is the right choice for you. The course will focus on a simple technique used to create animations by drawing with light; a series of long-exposure stills that are edited in a sequence to form a short movie. Students will express their creativity using flashlights and colour filters making their luminous designs come to life.

Are you looking for a course that will enable you to experiment textiles and fabrics? In the Fashion Textiles and Fibres Studio course (an intermediate level course held on NABA campus from July 14th to July 24th) you will learn how the simplest finishing treatments can create great changes and improvements in the original fabrics.

If you already have some experience in the sector and are seeking for a more advanced course, maybe the Costume Decoration and Painting, developed by NABA in collaboration with Accademia Teatro alla Scala, can represent a good alternative. In this course students will have the opportunity to use the most traditional and ancient techniques that have been adopted at the Teatro alla Scala ever since for the decoration of the fabrics of both Opera and Ballet costumes. They will learn to recognise fabrics and to choose the most appropriate materials and techniques taking into account the evolution of costumes, how they are used on stage, washed and stored. This is an advanced level course taking place from 29th June to 10th July.

Introduction level courses are aimed at whoever wants to start exploring the world of Fashion, whereas Studio level and Advanced level courses are meant for Fashion college students at 1st,2nd, 3rd year and for professionals who would like to have a refreshing experience in a young international environment. Do not forget that you can attend Introduction + Intermediate level courses and take the 4-week Combined Session!

For any further information please have a look at our Summer Programs website: www.design-summer-courses.com

Any question? Write to summer@naba.it

Do you know Milano Moda Uomo?  Do you know Milano Moda Donna?

Are you coming to Milano for a fashion week?  Do you love fashion, fashion shows and want to work in the fashion industry?

Our Fashion Shows Course will immerse you in the world of Italian fashion, allow you to interact and learn from professionals in the business, and provide you with a real world knowledge of the fashion industry here in Milan and other parts of the world.

You will have the opportunity to learn about the following subjects: The Italian fashion system, the history of fashion in Italy, fashion trends, famous brands, famous designers, the business of fashion and fashion merchandising.

The course is designed to give you an in depth look at the world of fashion so we work to combine class hours with practical on site visits with professionals in different areas of the industry. You will receive lectures from several fashion experts, designers and stylists in Milan.

You will be given a tour of the most popular fashion shops located in the heart of the world famous Milan’s Fashion District. All the students that enroll to our Preparatory Course for Fashion Shows will have the opportunity to visit “Sfilate” the catwalks, where some of the industry’s  top models can be seen showing famous collections from all over the world.

In class you will analyze forms of fashion styling through some of the most famous Italian fashion magazines such as: Vogue Italia, Amica, Marie Claire, Elle, and you will study the successful business models of iconic companies like Dolce & Gabbana and Giorgio Armani. You will study the pipeline of fashion distribution, and different modes of industry communication and media.

You can experience all this and more in your Preparatory Course Fashion Show here at Scuola Leonardo Da Vinci in Milan. The reason that this course is one of a kind in Italy is that the world of fashion is constantly changing especially here in Milan – the fashion Capital and we are always changing the course program just as fast, to keep our students consistently up-to-date with the emerging trends and practical industry applications specific to fashion shows.

The Preparation Course for Fashion Shows is taught in Italian so it is advised that you have an intermediate level of Italian language in order to be able to follow the lessons without problems.

However, if you are not at this level, don’t let that discourage you from taking our course, because we also offer many different types of Italian language classes that can properly prepare you for your Fashion Shows course here in Milan.

Our next Fashion Show Course will start on September 14th and it will last for three weeks.

We are waiting for you !!!

In Italy there are prestigious fashion and design academies which are attended by students coming from every corner of the world, who chose to build their future with fashion and creativity.

The Italian Language Schools for foreigners Leonardo da Vinci located in Florence and Milan, decided to create some new courses to help all those guys whose desire is to attend a fashion and design academy in Italy like NABA, Domus Academy, Istituto Marangoni, Polimoda, Scuola Politecnico di Design, Fashion School Carlo Secoli, UptoDate Fashion Academy, Istituto Europeo di Design, etc.

The “Preparatory Course for Fashion and Design Academies” can have a duration which varies between 2 and 24 weeks, and its main goal is to prepare students for the entrance test of the Academy they have chosen, by helping them to hone and improve their skills thanks to the attention and the support of a qualified and experienced teaching staff.

During this course, the guys will learn and improve their knowledge of Italian language, in particular they will focus on the study of fashion and design terminology. In fact the course is open also to students who have a low-level Italian language knowledge, and students will have the opportunity to establish their starting level and the resulting course duration with a self-evaluation test to determine their Italian knowledge.

In the end of the course, students will obtain all the necessary instruments to face the entrance test of the academies with satisfying results.

The first session of the “Preparatory Courses for Fashion and Design Academies” will start on 9th February 2009, in our schools of Milan and Florence.

So guys, if your passion is design and fashion, and you would like also to learn Italian and enter in a fashion and design academy in our country, then the “Preparatory Course for Fashion and Design Academies” is just right for you!

For all the information about Dates and Prices, consult the School Leonardo da Vinci’s website.

If you love fashion and design, and are considering a career or further education in the field, you may want to take a closer look at fashion merchandising. Fashion merchandising combines various aspects of design, marketing, sales, and even accounting skills. If you like moving at a fast pace with a variety of duties, there are many opportunities in the field of fashion merchandising that a college or education program can prepare you for.

A fashion merchandising education involves marketing fashion lines to retail stores, or even working with the stores themselves to market products directly to consumers. Fashion merchandising is a broad field, and can encompass positions such as fashion buying, where you will select merchandise for a retail store, and event coordination, such as fashion shows. Another growing field is visual merchandising, which involves designing the way the actual clothes and products are displayed, such as window displays and floor layouts.

While the fashion industry as a whole is very competitive, there is a lot of growth and opportunity in the merchandising field, because of the wide variety of assignments available. Although clothes may be manufactured all over the world, many of the sales related aspects take place right at home. This is also the type of career that may involved a variety of different job descriptions over the years, so if you crave change and excitement, it could be a good fit.

The best way to get started in fashion merchandising involves related education. A quality fashion merchandising program will be comprehensive and involve a large variety of courses. In addition to design, you will learn other key concepts, such as marketing and advertising. You will also learn how the fashion business works, and how clothing is manufactured and delivered to retail outlets.

There are a number of choices available when choosing a fashion merchandising education. Many colleges offer fashion merchandising as an associate degree, and some that even offer it as a bachelor’s program. There are also many schools that embed fashion merchandising within a more traditional marketing degree, which will give you a broader course of study in basic business.

Other options include attending a strictly fashion design school, which will offer merchandising as one of their programs. In addition, you can also study online, as many of these schools will also offer an online or distance education program, as well.

Choosing which type of school to attend will depend partially on your educational goals. Are you looking to make a quick transition into the field, and want a career-oriented education, or do to have a strong basic business and marketing foundation? Most schools will offer internships in fashion, so you can have an opportunity to get your feet wet in the industry. Whatever type of school you choose, you can be assured that you will be learning a great deal about fashion and the fashion industry, and will be preparing for a fast-paced, quickly evolving career in fashion merchandising.

From time immemorial, Italy is famous all around the world to be the country of art, culture and above all in the last years, the country of fashion and design.

In fact, there’s a lot of young students coming from every corner of the world who come to Italy to learn the language and at the same time, to keep on studying fashion and fashion design.

In order to meet those students’ needs, the Italian language school for foreigners Scuola Leonardo da Vinci located in Milan, created a very special course: the Italian Preparatory Course for Fashion Shows.

The course has a duration of 3 weeks and was thought for anyone who wish to have a direct contact with the concept of “Made in Italy” and the Italian fashion world. During these 3 weeks, students will attend 20 hours of lessons in class and other 20 hours dedicated to out door visits to showrooms, fashion fairs and real fashion shows.

Thanks to this course, students will have the chance to be present at the preparation of a fashion show in the capital of Italian fashion, Milan; they will follow step by step the several passages which take to the final result: the magnificent fashion shows created by the greatest fashion stylists.

Students will be in close contact with the professionals of the sector and they will learn  much of the extraordinary world which is hidden behind a showroom and behind the extravagant catwalks of the fashion shows.

Especially suitable for all students who study in fashion field and wish to have a direct contact with the Italian reality of this sector, the course was created by School Leonardo da Vinci of Milan to encourage students to meet Italian culture.

Next “Italian Preparatory Course for Fashion Show” will start in June, during 3 weeks between 8th and 26th.

So guys, if fashion is your passion and your talent, and you are real “fashion addicts” this is the right course for you.

For further information about Dates & Prices and much more, visit the School Leonardo da Vinci website.

No plans for the coming summer? NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano, has a lot of ideas for you!

Spend your summer in the inspiring Milano, the cutting edge of creativity.

Milan with its vibrant urban atmosphere and unmistakable creativity make it your next destination if you are looking forward to getting a close look at the world of creativity in Milan, the world capital of Fashion, Design and Communication.

Be part of a team made of young International designers, start creating and developing a project and meet new friends coming from over 40 countries around the world.

What are you waiting for?

NABA joins together students and professionals and integrates the more traditional disciplines with the new technologies and the project-oriented culture of Italian Fashion and Design. This approach derives from continuous experimentation and research of new trends and every summer attracts students and professionals from all over the world.

This summer do not miss the chance to take part in the Introduction to Graphic Design course at NABA from June 29th to July 10th. This course is oriented towards curious newcomers to the field of communication who wish to explore the links between urban communication and graphic design through a mixture of theory and practice to inspire a “totally refreshing view of Milan”.

The final output of this course will be a printed magazine conveying Milan’s character. After completing this course you could join NABA “Photography and the Moving Image Studio” course from July 14th to July 24th and learn how to make a short animation movie through the stop-motion technique. You will be offered the opportunity to express your creativity using flashlights and colour filters and to develop your knowledge of digital photography.

Would you like to have a closer approach to the world of editorial and fashion photography? The “Fashion Photography Studio” course, from July 14th to July 24th, might represent an interesting option for you.

This course will enable you to achieve a good confidence with light, with a digital camera and teach you how to work on different sets, be it a studio set with artificial light or an outdoor location. In addition to this, you will learn how fashion designers, photographers and editors interact with each other.

If you are more interested in discovering the macro-economic scenery of the fashion business in Italy and internationally in order to learn how to anticipate and analyze its changes; to develop, manage and implement an effective company marketing strategy and marketing plan, then the “Introduction to Fashion Marketing” course taking place on NABA campus from June 29th to July 10th, is what you are looking for.

This course can be completed by the “Fashion Merchandising Studio” course – from July 14th to July 24th – in which you will explore the dynamic context and the challenges the fashion industry is facing in the currently increasing global competitive scenery, with a focus on the fashion buying cycle, retail brand marketing in the fashion industry, net fashion, the internationalization of flagship luxury stores and many more interesting topics.

Are you thinking about studying Fashion Design but you don’t know whether this is the right choice? Why don’t you enrol in NABA “Introduction to Fashion Design” course (from June 29th to July 10th)?

Using global influences and trends as a starting point, this course introduces fashion to beginners by showing them how to use a theme to produce and present work that will prepare them for further studies in the fashion field. Art, crafts, culture and lifestyles from different ethnicities worldwide (Africa! India!) will be the ingredients  to put together and shake up to create a small collection of coordinated clothes.

Talks will be given during the course on Italy’s fashion system and on art related to the project. Students will also be sent to the best fashion zones in Milan and given lists of places to go and see out of lesson times.

After completing this course you can decide to continue with an exploration of the fundamentals of Luxury Accessory Brand collections in the “Fashion Accessories Design Studio” course from July 14th to July 24th.

The first part of the course is devoted to explore and identify the main European Luxury Accessory Brands: their strategies on the luxury market; the product development in terms of image; the communication strategy; the Italian-specific making methods.

Students will acquire the main basics skills to coordinate and develop a new luxury accessory brand.

During the course students will be introduced to the Italian Luxury Accessory Districts: they will visit handcraft shoe ateliers and the luxury shoe museum in Vigevano, manufacturing companies producing high luxury shoes in Riviera del Brenta, a leather library that is unique in Milan, as well as multi-brand show-rooms in Milan.

The second part of the course is focused on developing a project to create a new Brand of Luxury Accessories. From image design to the final presentation on the market.

Introduction level courses are aimed at whoever wants to start exploring the world of Fashion, Graphics and Design, whereas Studio level and Advanced level courses are meant for 1st, 2nd and 3rd  year university students and for professionals who would like to have a refreshing experience in a young international environment. Do not forget that you can attend Introduction + Intermediate level courses and take the 4-week Combined Session!

If you want to take part in our summer courses, don’t loose time and get in touch with us. We are about to close enrolments!

For any further information please have a look at our Summer Programs website:

www.design-summer-courses.com

Any questions? Write to summer@naba.it