Last Updated on August 2, 2023
Fashion Design is indeed a good career. However, achieving success takes a lot of effort and perseverance, and the ability to be successful depends on the type of training you receive. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best Fashion Schools in New York to help you discover your true potential in a renowned industry.
Fashion generally is very important to people living in New York. The long history of the City makes it one of the fashion capitals of the world.
One of the reasons why New York is one of the fashion capitals of the world is because of its fashion district which basically a place where people from all over the world search for sources for all kinds of fashion products that are in demand all over the globe.
This same fashion district in New York equally has sample sales equally where you can find so many products from renowned and expensive designers at a low price and of course directly from the showroom.
Not just having the fashion district and being the fashion capital of the United States, it is most importantly available for so many high-end fashion brands.
Away from that, while New York City is one of the top cities to study fashion you have to equally put other factors into consideration such as affordability.
New York, as we all know is a very expensive city to live in and in this introduction, I would like to say that, If you have been considering making fashion a career path then you are in for a challenging path.
Education in the fashion industry is not a bad idea; this is because it will get you well prepared and makes you fit into the fashion industry perfectly.
They basically prepare you through focused curricula that eventually help you take on the challenging and exciting fashion design world.
Before we proceed to the list of Fashion Schools in New York, it will be good if we know what exactly a fashion designer is.
Table of Contents
Who are Fashion Designers?
Fashion designers understand the fact that clothes are more than just some form of protection.
They understand that fashion can make you feel confident enough and powerful.
They understand that clothes can be artistic expressions; that which projects the image which you want the world to see.
To be a successful fashion designer, you must have some of these.
- Great deductive reasoning.
- You must have good decision-making skills.
- You must have good communication skills.
- Your coordination must be good enough.
- You must know how to pay excellent attention to details.
- You must be organized and dependable.
- You must be Original, innovative, enterprising etc.
What are the available Fashion Career paths for me?
Fashion education in any of the fashion schools in New York prepares you for an exciting career in the fashion industry.
There are so many fashion career paths for you ranging from the designers down to trend researchers are all important.
Here are some available careers just for you.
Fabric Cutters
This group of persons focus on cutting patterns or fabrics. They can do this manually or by using computerized machines.
They prepare materials for sewing by measuring, placing marks, and then cutting the fabric or textile to the required specifications.
Sketchers/fashion Illustrators
The main job of sketchers is sketching new designs. They create sketches, drawings and other works of art that are related to the fashion industry.
They make good use of their drawing, graphics and digital skills. Sometimes they don’t just work with designers, they equally work with editors and as freelancers as well.
Their contents can be used in print, television, social media and advertisement platforms.
Assistant designers
The assistant designers work hand in glove with the lead designers in handling various tasks.
Oftentimes retail companies are always on the lookout for assistant designers. They can occupy entry-level positions in many sides of the fashion industry.
To be successful in this career path, you must have the ability to multitask.
Design directors
The design directors make very creative decisions and sometimes supervise the support staff.
It is a job suitable for people who have a very creative sense of style. They always stay up to date with the latest trends in the fashion industry.
They supervise photoshoots, and above all produce fashionable outfits for department stores, clothing brands and magazines.
Pattern Graders and pattern Makers
The pattern graders take patterns and adjust them to required sizes or adjust them to different sizes of clothing.
Sewers
The sewers do the production work which oftentimes is through the use of sewing machines.
Before now, sewers usually carry out their tasks by hand but in recent times, sewers are now automated.
Hand sewing is invaluable in many applications such as embroidery, beading as well as bespoke clothing creation.
Trend researchers
The trend researchers basically go all out to gather information about the fashion market or the fashion industry, thereby helping the designers plan their fashion collections.
Apart from the career paths listed above, there are career specialities. Here are some career specialities to consider.
What are Career specialties in the Fashion Industry?
In any of the career paths you have chosen, you can decide to customize your fashion career; that is focusing on a particular style or kind of garment.
- Costume design
- Footwear design
- Accessory design
- Children’s clothing design
- Costume design
- Lingerie design
- Women’s wear design
- Men’s wear design
- Sportswear design
- Swimwear design
- Uniform design
List of Fashion Schools in New York
Here is a list of Top fashion schools in New York.
NB: Most of the fashion schools in New York listed below have financial aids for their students, to make up for high costs.
- Parsons New School of Fashion Design
- New York School of Design
- LIM College
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Esaie Couture Design School
- The New York Sewing Center
- Cazenovia College
- Cornell University
- CUNY Kingsborough Community College
- Fashion Institute of Technology
- SUNY Westchester Community College
- The Art Institute of New York City
- Marist College
- Nassau Community College
- Syracuse University
- Wood Tobe-Coburn School
- Pratt Institute-Main
- Villa Maria College
1. Parsons New School of Fashion Design
- Small Campus
- Small classes
- Scholarships and Financial Aids available
This is one of the best fashion schools in New York that has over the years educated generations of successful designers.
They lead the fashion industry through their innovative and rigorous programs.
They engage the spectrum of fashion design and marketing practices which enables them to competitively situating graduates academically and professionally.
It is one of the fashion schools in New York that weaves project-based methodology.
In their studios and seminars, you learn specialized techniques and very important innovative approaches to fashion-related work.
Their programs include:
- Fashion Design(AAS)
- Fashion design(BFA)
- Fashion design and society(MFA)
- Fashion Management(MPS)
- Fashion Management Online(MPS)
- Fashion Marketing and Communication(AAS)
- Textiles(MFA)
They help you develop financial plans as well as help you apply for financial aids.
Full-time Tuition at Parson’s is about $24,990 per semester and in terms of per-credit tuition, it is about $1,743.
2. New York School of Design
This is one of the fashion schools in New York that is focused on fashion career education. It does not matter what career path you intend to delve into. The New York school is sure to meet your expectations.
Their fashion design programs unlike most fashion schools in New York gives you vital entry points at the foundation, certificate as well as professional levels.
Their Curriculum tracks the following:
- Fashion design foundation —13 weeks–Tuition: $2,500
- Fashion Technical design—26 weeks –Tuition $7,700
- Fashion design Certificate–26 weeks–Tuition $7,900
- Fashion design professional—15 weeks–Tuition $8,100
- Menswear Tailoring–13 weeks–Tuition $5,100
- Couture design—13 weeks –Tuition $5,100
There is an application fee of $100 and for your tuition, an initial payment of $2,400 must be made regardless of the program which you have chosen.
3. LIM College
This is one of the fashion schools in New York where you don’t just graduate with a degree but will have the needed experience and connections to launch properly into your career.
One of the things that differentiate this fashion school from other fashion schools in New York is the fact that about 800 companies related to the fashion industry provide opportunities for graduates from this fashion school.
Here are some degrees you can obtain at LIM College:
- Business of Fashion, BBA
- Fashion Media, BS
- Fashion Merchandising and Management, AAS
- International Business, BS
- Management, BBA
- Marketing, BBA
- Visual Studies, BBA
LIM College helps connect you to internships, helping you make important connections.
LIM College students have received internship opportunities almost in all aspects of fashion. ranging from e-commerce to production, up to trend forecasting.
3. Fashion Institute of Technology
Fashion Institute of Technology is one of the fashion schools in New York that is internationally recognized for its expertise in fashion design, arts, business etc.
They prepare students for professional excellence in design and in business in general.
Some fashion related programs in this fashion school include:
- Fashion Business Management
- Fabric styling
- Fashion design
- Illustration
- Menswear etc
4. Rochester Institute of Technology
This institution was founded in the year 1829. They have very diverse and collaborative individuals who are engaged and intellectually curious.
Being not just one of the fashion schools in New York, they are very much diverse with over 19,000 students and 135,000 graduates already.
Fashion design is found under the College of Arts and design. In fact, it was named among the Top 10 design schools in the country. In fact, they are known for creativity and professionalism.
5. Esaie Couture Design School
This can equally be considered as one of the best fashion schools in New York where you have the opportunity to learn at your own pace.
You have access to online fashion design and sewing courses at any time. There are in-house workshops where once you register to get to be exposed to beginner sewing, Draping as well as pattern making.
Their online courses are a lot and some of them include but are not limited to the following:
- Fashion design
- Sewing courses
- Technical design
- Pattern making
- Draping
- Fashion merchandising
- Sew Simple
- Embroidery
- Men’s tailoring
- Adobe Illustration etc.
6. The New York Sewing Center
The founder of The New York Sewing Center is Kristine Frailing who is a women’s wear designer and instructor that graduated from Missouri State University with an education in fashion design and merchandising.
They offer their student’s one on one attention as well. Their lessons can be taken either at home or in their studio.
Private lessons cost $60 per hour.
There are so many classes for you to choose from and this distinguishes it from other fashion schools in New York.
Some of these classes include:
- sewing 101—$375
- Sewing machine basics –$90
- Kids after school—$450
- Fashion Sketching–$200
- Gift Certificate–$60 etc
7. Cazenovia College
- Small campus
- Tuition: $27,550
- Financial aids and scholarships are available, up to $17,461
Cazenovia College is one of the best fashion schools in New York offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fashion which is a program that prepares students to succeed in the fashion industry.
They help develop the technical skills of students as well as their creative skills in order to be able to create patterns, develop a strong fashion concept and above all be able to use advanced digital technology to present their own fashion line.
There are fashion internships as well which is an integral part of the program. To qualify for internships, students have to complete the required number of credit hours.
8. Cornell University
- Large campus
- Scholarships and Financial aids are available up to $33,006
- Small class sizes
The fashion design option at Cornell University is unique and focuses basically on the fashion design process.
They can be referred to as one of the best fashion schools in New York because of their ability to integrate conceptual design thinking with skills and design methods.
The first of all start with three semesters of apparel and textile foundation courses, followed by a collections studio sequence which helps students develop their vision as regards fashion.
Students do internships as well in order to have the opportunity to explore aspects of the industry and gain much-needed experience.
9. CUNY Kingsborough Community College
- Large Campus
- Tuition $3,900
- Financial Aids available
Kingsborough Community College can be said to be one of the best fashion schools in New York as well because they are good at what they do.
Their programs prepare you for a wonderful career as a fashion designer or as an assistant designer. Here are a few things you get to learn:
1. You get to learn the four basic ways that designers create their collections which are:
- Draping
- Flat pattern making
- Sketching
- Computer-assisted design
2. You also learn the Aesthetics and style trends that are aimed at providing you with Artistic and commercial perspective on the current fashion.
- SUNY Westchester Community College
- Financial Aid and student’s loans available up to $348
- Large Campus
The Fashion Design and Technology program enables students to understand how apparel are produced. Especially for various markets.
Graduates are trained towards becoming experts in patternmaking, technical designs and design in general while considering the technical, creative and cost factors.
It has an office set aside for Student’s financial assistance and this sets the institution aside from other fashion schools in New York.
10. The Art Institute of New York City
- Small Campus
- Scholarships and Financial Aids available for students
This is one of the top fashion schools in New York that offers fashion design degree programs that helps you learn computer-generated techniques required in making very stylish apparel. You equally get to be equipped with the entrepreneurial and creative skills needed to promote your design.