Fashion Design/ Merchantisng Board?

Question

Is there any Nantinal accreiting organzation for fashion desgin/merchantising programs. Lke FIDER in interior desgin. I want to get a degree in the fashion industry, but i want to be sure that the program i choose is one that will pay off.


p.s is it true that companies wil hire students from New York schools over other states? What about L.A?

Answer 1

Companies hire students from some of the NY schools over those in other states for a few reasons:

1) the best design schools are in NY
2) the center of the fashion world is in NYC

So if you want to work for a top house, you'll likely work in NYC. If you want to go to a top school, you'll go to one in NYC. Of coursde there are exceptions, but the bulk of the US business is in NY. However, there's a lot of work in Los Angeles, and some in many other cities.

The top schools in this field are the Fashion Insitute of Technology and the Parsons School of Design. The Rhode Island School of Design also has a good rep.

This is a highly competitive field. There are a lot of students out there, and a lot of bad programs. Try to attend the best reputed program that you can. But no matter what, when you graduate, you should make sure you have:

- Contacts in the field
- A very strong portfolio
- Applicable co-ops and/or internships in the field

Happily, Parsons and FIT also have very, very strong interior design programs. I believe RISD also offers this. So if you can get into one of these schools, even if you change your mind about your field, you may be able to switch majors.