Online Course Reveals Core Skills of Designing a Collection
The leading online education provider Yellowbrick has teamed up with WWD and the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising to launch “Designing the Collection,” which is a program aimed at helping designers build a cohesive fashion apparel or accessory collection. The course is also ideal for anyone looking to shift their career path.
The course features faculty and professionals from FIDM, the industry and WWD who guide learners through various assignments while helping students build an understanding of the modern tools and methods of fashion apparel design.
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Here, Nick Verreos and David Paul, FIDM Fashion Design co-chairs, discuss the goals of the course and who would benefit from it as well as how FIDM differentiates itself from other colleges.
WWD: What sets FIDM from other fashion/merchandising colleges and universities?
Nick Verreos and David Paul: What sets FIDM apart from other fashion and merchandising colleges is our unique access to the industry through in-classroom brand collaborations and mentorship from faculty who are actively working in the fields of fashion and entertainment.
[Click here to learn more about “Designing the Collection” online course]
Students have countless opportunities to collaborate with companies not only during their college experience but also as alumni. FIDM graduates who’ve participated in said collaborations have received job offers from brands including Nike, Guess [and] Gap Inc., and beauty brands such as Fresh, NYX, ColourPop Cosmetics and more. The FIDM Career Center has nearly 30,000 employers in its database and more than 5,000 annual job postings.
Furthermore, our location in the heart of downtown Los Angeles allows us unique access to the entertainment industry, the athleisure and sports apparel industry, and the West Coast’s key design and manufacturing centers.
WWD: What was the impetus behind launching the online course in partnership with WWD and delivered by Yellowbrick, “Designing the Collection?”
N.V. and D.P.: Launching this online course with WWD and Yellowbrick provided an exceptional opportunity to share the unique learning experience of FIDM and make it accessible to a broader audience who might benefit from it and be inspired by it.
WWD: What are some of the key learnings? And what are some of the expected outcomes?
N.V. and D.P.: For this FIDM x WWD “Designing the Collection” course, the key learnings involve all the fundamentals that we felt were necessary for creating a fashion collection: These range from Finding Inspiration, The Importance of a Muse, Creating a Mood Board, Fashion Illustration and the principals of categories and markets. All of these are key components in creating a fashion collection.
The expected outcomes for a student taking this course are to receive a strong understanding of creating a collection with valuable insight from top industry professionals and fashion designers. Students receive tactile assignments, including creating a mood board, finding their inspiration through photography, and even fashion sketching lessons from one of our fabulous FIDM instructors.
WWD: Who would benefit from taking this course?
N.V. and D.P.: With this course, we pull back the drapes of the fashion industry and provide insight into an often-elusive industry as well as essential knowledge and valuable information that would help someone succeed in this very competitive business. This course would benefit anyone who has an interest in fashion and a passion for following their dreams of becoming a designer. In addition, with all the valuable information we give in this course, it is a perfect conduit for any person who has an entrepreneurial vision to start their own line.
WWD: How does this course empower people who are looking to change their career path?
N.V. and D.P.: This course allows you to pursue a passion that you have always dreamt about but never had the ability to fulfill. The online modules give you the flexibility to receive insightful knowledge and learn a new craft at your own pace with the flexibility to calibrate the course to your own schedule.
“Designing the Collection” provides people who are thinking about shifting their career to something maybe they’ve always dreamt of but weren’t sure how to pursue with an entry point to exploring their interest before potentially making a deeper commitment or change.
