Fashion Design provides professional, in-depth training which includes hand and machine sewing, pattern making, draping, textiles, accessories, fashion illustration, fashion history, fashion photography, and conceptual design.
Students’ designs are modeled in the Winter and Spring Fashions shows, which are highlights of the year at Idyllwild Arts Academy.
In addition to designing for the twice yearly fashion shows, Upper level Fashion students are expected to develop their own interdisciplinary project. Fashion students are encouraged to collaborate with other departments, for example in designing and fabricating costumes for the Dance department, or to develop an extended conceptual collection for their Senior year Spring Fashion show.
Fashion Design students receive in-depth, pre-professional training ranging from the basics of hand-sewing to the heights of visionary design. This multidisciplinary field includes the study of textiles and fabrics, figure drawing, color theory and rendering, body movement, performance, and visual communication. Students create and assemble garments from the ground up, mastering basic techniques and learning to represent their ideas in original patterns, designs, and ultimately, a themed Senior Collection.
Awareness of sustainability, the repurposing of materials, and ecological awareness drive many of our group projects, field trips, Masterclasses, and individual designs.
- Internships at Palm Springs Fashion Week, working with designers like Trina Turk, Michael Costello and Edwin Oudshoorn
- Spring and Summer fashion industry internships in Palm Springs and New York
- Academy Winter and Spring Fashion Shows
- Exhibiting Junior and Senior work in the Parks Exhibition Center on campus
- Masterclasses in the fashion industry: hat, shoe, and jewelry-making; knitting and felting, and fashion illustration for portfolio
- Collaborating with a charitable organization to apply design skills to helping others
- Eligible for Mt. San Jacinto College’s Recycled Art and Fashion Show
- Beginning Fashion Design and Construction
- Intermediate Fashion Design
- Advanced Fashion Design
- Fashion Illustration including Digital Textiles
- Fashion Portfolio
- Fashion History
- Fashion Photography
- Senior Seminar
- Access to Visual Arts classes
- ArtCenter College of Design
- Emily Carr University of Art + Design
- Fashion Institute of Technology
- NYU
- Parsons School of Design
- School of the Art Institute Chicago (SAIC)
- Syracuse University
- University of the Arts London
- University of Oregon
Your examples of artwork must include:
- Creative personal artwork in any artform, although Visual Art is preferred.
- Three to five design sketches.
- At least one original design. This could be a garment you have made or something you have designed that someone else made for you. Examples could include street wear and/or any design of yours that has ever been on stage: costuming, fashion, school mascot, something for an event, etc.
For specific questions regarding the Fashion Design admission process contact:
Dr. Amalia Gardner
951-659-2171 x2341
Cell: 951-223-1499
agardner@idyllwildarts.org
The Idyllwild Arts Academy Fashion Design faculty features professionals who have spent many years honing their skills in every area, and at every level of the fashion industry. Idyllwild Arts Fashion teachers have designed for Anne Klein, for Friends costumer Debra McGuire, and also worked as costumers for Santa Fe Opera, Tulsa Ballet Theatre, and the Pasadena Shakespeare Company Film Festival. They are not only film professionals, but professional teachers, having brought their industry experience to film schools such as Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), have developed and taught courses in screenwriting, cinematography, and other key subjects.
Joshua Mann ‘92
Design Director for
Women’s Clothing at Theory
Quoi Alexander ‘09
Fashion designer living in Paris
Paul Burgo ‘11
Fashion Intern at Elizabeth Saltzman
Samara Liu ‘11
Owner of 1893 Boutique
fashion store, Taiwan