Do you have a passion for fashion?

Do you think that you need to be an artist or know how to sew to go into this field?

Do you wonder where you can study, and how the job market looks? Which area of fashion should you study?

Best place to study fashion

At the forefront of technology, the U.S.A. is the leader in educating fashion designers and business leaders in this exciting industry. Here you can learn it all, from adapting a sixteenth century gown for a 21st century film, to computerized stitching techniques, to promoting a new line of apparel.

While Paris may be the capital of the couture market, the U.S.A. is the center of the Ready-To-Wear market and New York is the fashion capital of the world. All the resources are here. The stores, the top designers, textile firms, fashion magazines and more! All major designers-whether they come from France, Italy, Japan or Spain-have a presence in New York.

The U.S.A. is a country that embraces change, and fashion is ever changing. What does this mean for a student studying fashion? It doesn't get any better.

Streets, not textbooks

Fashion is something that you learn. You are not born with good taste. At Berkeley College, we do not rely on textbooks only. Textbooks are written over a year ago but fashion changes every season. When we discuss window design "visual merchandising" we just walk down the street and look at the windows in Saks Fifth Avenue or Macy's.

Evaluating programs

What should you look for when choosing a fashion marketing and management program?

1. Is the program designed with significant input from industry insiders?

2. Does the program offer business courses as well as fashion courses? It is important to remember that fashion is big business and that students must be able to understand the business world too. At Berkeley, we combine cutting-edge fashion courses with a solid background in business. We emphasize fashion Marketing and Management, as well as design. This prepares the student to "hit the ground running" in the fashion industry.

3. Here are some of the technical courses that students should look for in a program:

• Product Lifecycle planning
• Advanced Textiles-fabrics
• Global Sources-Where do buttons come from? What country produces the best silk?

4. Most important, does the program offer an internship? Work experience is essential to your fashion career.

Where does it lead?

Most students ask, "What kind of job will this type of program prepare me for?" When you consider fashion as a business and are not just dealing with design, you become more flexible and open to a number of positions. There are too many to list but here are a few of the careers that will be available to you:

1. Merchandising positions in buying offices (buying offices usually purchase for a variety of stores).

2. Product Development Specialist (product development deals with the birth of the product all the way to the consumer).

3. Executive trainee positions with fashion retailers.

What it Takes

What qualities do students need to be successful in the fashion industry? Creativity, ambition, flexibility and knowledge.

The U.S.A., with its wonderful distinctive mix of people from all over the world, is the true destination of people who have a passion for fashion. This adds an exciting dimension to all of our programs, but none more than Fashion, where cultural diversity can give rise to unique perspectives on fashion trends and the future of the industry.

The high-tech facilities at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia include sewing studios equipped with customized dress forms, cutting tables, industrial sewing machines and sergers. The computer lab offers Internet access and individual workstations that support computer-aided design software programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Fashion majors in the Savannah program may "double major" in both fashion and a related field such as fibers or photography, or choose a minor field such as accessory design.

Through the annual fashion show, selected undergraduate and graduate students have an opportunity to showcase their work in a major production. Fashion majors in the Savannah program may also gain practical work experiences through a variety of internships that have included Marc Jacobs, Vivienne Westwood, Neiman Marcus, Nautica, DKNY, Betsey Johnson, Anna Sui, Nike and others.

California is another major fashion state, by number of apparel companies, employees hired and dollars spent, and the world sportswear center. It is also home of Hollywood and the movie/TV theater industry that includes the field of costuming, ideal for students who thrive on creative challenges.

Universal Studios and Western Costumers are two major costume houses, together with the Walt Disney Company, that along with other firms such as Jones New York, Bugle Boy and Nordstrom, provide internships and jobs to students from Santa Ana College south of Los Angeles.

The A.A. and certificate programs include courses in design, sketching and advanced clothing construction techniques for custom-designed theatrical costumes, as well as color and wardrobe consulting.

By Robert Woods

Chairperson of the Fashion Department at Berkeley College's campus in New York City.