Our Fashion Design program is for aspiring designers who want to tell stories and be voices for change in the industry. You’ll make work focused on ethics, inclusivity, and sustainability and explore traditional and digital practices in our specialized studios.
Fashion Design Studios
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360° view of the Fashion Studios | California College of the Arts
About BFA Fashion Design
Dedicated studio spaces
✂️ About BFA Fashion Design
Sustainability is at the core of what we do in our Fashion Design program, so you'll take courses on zero waste production and go on field trips to cotton and wool farms. You’ll learn to integrate digital practices and technology into your practice, too, by sketching in Clo 3D or 3D scanning your garment into augmented reality. And, compared to other programs, we’re smaller in size, so faculty will know you (and your work) well.
Cutting-edge skills
Our studio courses go beyond fashion design and theory, emphasizing topics like bio-design, industrial design, interaction design, and more. Graduating seniors present their thesis collections at the Fashion Experience—a runway event like no other—to our community and industry professionals. Your design practice will be socially and environmentally engaged, technically versatile, and tech-savvy, whether you pursue a career as an independent designer or work at a major brand.
🛠️ Dedicated studio spaces
You’ll find studio spaces for sewing, material research, and garment production in our 80 Carolina building. Students tend to get experimental with materials and techniques (which we love!), dipping fabrics into gelatin or melting down metal scraps to make sustainable boots. Digital technologies are also at your fingertips, so you could laser cut intricate patterns into fabric, for instance.
Soft Lab
The Soft Lab is the place for sewing and fabricating soft goods or textiles. Work with fibers, yarns, and fabrics to create cushy and functional objects, like backpacks, hats, or pillows. In this space, get your hands on a heavy-duty press machine, a lockstitch machine, a walking stitch machine, and a leather skiving machine.
Hybrid Lab \(○<>○)/
The Hybrid Lab is an interdisciplinary space for making with technology that is built around the principles of being open, fast, and inspiring. Here, Fashion Design students can experiment with interactivity and wearable tech, using digital fabrication tools, electronic knitting machines, sensors, motors, and more.
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