The fashion industry has proven to always be a competitive one and to succeed you have to combine creativity, discipline, courage and passion.
Above all, you need professional design skills and knowledge to conquer the industry.
Such design knowledge and skill are such you get by attending any of the fashion design schools in South Africa. Before I continue to the list of fashion design schools in South Africa, here are the things we will cover:
When it comes to fashion, south Africans and the entire Africa at large have a great taste in fashion. Africans, in general, will always make an impact in the industry.
There are a lot of fashion designers, from Cape Town to Johannesburg to the other smaller communities in South Africa.
South Africa is such that has a mix of nationalities and ethnic groups and this accounts for differences in people’s taste for fashion.
what do I need to study Fashion in any of the Fashion design schools in South Africa?
I have outlined some requirements that I consider best for you, but first, we will consider these needs in terms of entrance requirements.
But do not panic, some of the fashion design schools in South Africa might not need them except you plan to obtain a fashion degree from a university.
So these requirements are for those planning to obtain a fashion degree from the Universities in South Africa that offer fashion designing as a course.
Entrance requirements
Under entrance requirements, I will take it bit by bit to capture all there is to be captured.
Bachelor’s in fashion degree
The minimum admission for this degree is a National Senior Certificate or equivalent certification. This will mean at least a 30% pass for English with a 50-59% in four other subjects.
Diploma in fashion degree
To obtain a diploma in fashion, you require a National senior certificate in or its equivalent with at least a 30% pass in English and 40 to 49% in the other four subjects.
Non degree courses
You equally need a National Senior Certificate or its equivalent to be able to apply for that also.
These non-degree courses are for individuals who are looking for something they can build their cv or personal skills on.
Although more rampant in Universities, in most fashion design schools in South Africa, you might not need them.
Fashion short courses
Most fashion institutions and fashion design schools in South Africa require applicants who are interested in the fashion short courses to have a grade 7 completion and some basic skill sets.
Subject requirements
Here are some subjects you need to be good at to be able to do well in those fashion design schools in South Africa:
English
English Language can’t be overlooked no matter how hard you try. Therefore you must understand the importance of brushing up your English language skills.
Communication is key and the use of good English is very essential. Therefore a quick piece of advice, learn how to use your words correctly.
History
It is believed that there is a story behind the fashion of a group of people. Fashion trends can be linked to historic events.
If you can understand the cultural, social, political, economic and artistic events behind every fashion, you will fully understand what influence fashion has in the future.
Mathematics
No matter what area of fashion you have chosen to embark or succeed in then mathematics is one of the subjects you have to be good at.
This is because there is a lot of buying and selling involved. Therefore understanding numbers and calculations as well as predicting the market is very vital to a fashion designer.
Accounting
If you have the interest in becoming not just a fashion designer but someone who will be owning his or her own business, then trust me you need at least a basic understanding of accounting.
Business and Economics
Becoming a fashion designer definitely implies that you have to have some level of business acumen to succeed. This is because everything right from retail to fashion requires some form of business sense if you really want to be established in the industry.
Art
Fashion is art. In arts, you get the opportunity to learn the historical impact of fashion in our society. You get to create perspective and contrast as well as the high impact of colour and texture.
How to start a career in Fashion
There is no formal education or special certification required to become a fashion designer, but getting either of those will place you ahead in the industry.
To become a successful fashion designer, you will have a combination of sewing, drawing and design skills. You need a good knowledge of the industry to succeed as well. Here are a few steps to take to start a career in fashion.
Hone your fashion skills
You need to develop your fashion skills because successful fashion designers have a wide array of skills including a good knowledge of drawing, a good knowledge of texture and above all, you need to have the ability to visualize concepts in 3D dimensions.
Understand how fabrics work, how they drape and react when worn. Having a deep knowledge of fashion is essential. This will enable you to know how to use it properly when making your designs.
Learn from existing designers; not just who they are but also their signature styles and the learning processes which they undertook to get where they are.
Be prepared to develop hours of your time to perfect your skills, learning a little every day will give you a deep understanding of fashion and fashion career in general.
Learn More
Getting a diploma or a degree in fashion is equally worth it. At fashion design schools in South Africa, you will learn a great deal, make excellent contacts and then have ample opportunity to show off your skills.
Apply for internships or apprenticeships. Internships are very essential if you want real-world experience, then find fashion internships.
You will build your portfolio and get to build connections through working with industry professionals.
Decide which designing field is your principal interest
You have a clear idea of your fashion goals and know the advantages and disadvantages of the career interests you chose. A few subset areas for your fashion design career includes:
Women’s wear
Men’s wear
Outdoor, adventure, outerwear outfits
Bridal wears
Accessories etc.
Maintain a good customer relationship
From time to time ask your customers what they want. Look around, what do people need and want? Keep your designs simple and realistic. Extravagant sketches are nice, but great simple great tops and jeans will definitely sell out more.
Get inspiration from your competitors
Apart from fashions design schools in South Africa, your competitors are another group of individuals from whom you can get inspiration from. Observe and note the fabric they are using; its comfort, impermeability, etc. Observe the colors that sell well for them.
All these processes of observation will make you understand what a “favourite piece of clothing is for your customers”.
Your passion will equally play a role here, your passion and skills are the most important part of the equation. Then the second part of the equation is matching your passion with what the market wants.
Set yourself up for success
You can set yourself apart for success by getting yourself educated on the business side of fashion. Sound knowledge of the business will help you in handling the affairs of the business as well as the marketing aspects of the fashion world.
Learn beyond design, learn marketing and financial aspects of the fashion industry and you do this by attending any of the fashion design schools in South Africa or taking some fashion design programs in any fashion school of your choice.
Look for fashion design jobs
One of the reasons for attending fashion design schools in South Africa is to have fashion design jobs beckoning. There are various ways in which you can get fashion design jobs and it sorely depends on the type of design you are interested in.
Just know that getting these jobs might not come so easily but be persistent is all you need. Apply to different places and if you are a starter, some of the places you can apply and work as a designer include:
Fashion houses and designers.
Costume positions with theatres and studios.
online advertisement through online job agencies etc.
Fashion tips for you
You might not be taught some of these tips in any of the fashion design schools in South Africa but they are necessary.
Wear your own fashion as much as you can. This is the best way to promote your clothing than to wear it. You will be asked questions most time. Get ready to have them answered.
Learn to take advice from friends as well as insults but in all, don’t give up because you don’t give up.
if you are running your own fashion label, then you have to develop a good logo for your brand. This goes a long way to define your style. If you have to get a professional fashion designer then I think you should.
When you start getting jobs after attending fashion design schools in South Africa, hours can be very long and sometimes leaving your creativity zone might be difficult.
So remembering to have your healthy lunch with you is a good way to have yourself sustained during the process.
Read widely. You can look for the biographies of fashion designers and learn their ins and outs. You can use their experiences to make yours better. The experiences of trailblazers in the fashion industry often are documented.
Design all the time. This will further inspire you and widen your scope. In turn, people see how much you have developed and learned.
A few things in fashion to take note of
Working as a fashion designer can be strenuous. You must be ready to go hours working if you must succeed.
In as much as you attended any of the fashion design schools in South Africa, there are challenging aspects to the industry.
Designing for catwalks and designing for high-end fashion can bring you to the most difficult aspects of fashion. Using underweight models for fitting as well.
if you are not an assertive person already, building your communication skills will be highly advisable. Read on to see the list of fashion design schools in South Africa.
List of fashion design schools in South Africa
Here is a list of the fashion design schools in South Africa
- Villioti Fashion Institute
- London International School of Fashion
- Spero Villiote Elite Design Academy
- Uberglam Fashion Design School
- FEDISA Fashion School Cape Town
- Design Academy of Fashion (Pty) Ltd
- STADIO School of Fashion
- Studio 05 Institute Of Fashion
- FEDISA Fashion School Sandton
- Elizabeth Galloway Academy of Fashion Design
- Cape Town College of Fashion Design (CTCFD)
- SEWAFRICA Fashion College
- North West School of Design
- Jabu’s Academy of Fashion Design
- School of Fashion Design
- Bloemfontein FASHION academy
- Tlhabologang Fashion Designing Knit-N-Stitch School
- The Design School Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd
- Lindiwe Kuzwayo
- Parsons School of Design
Villioti Fashion Institute
3rd Floor, South Wing (Office Tower), Hyde Park Corner Shopping Centre Corner Jan Smuts Avenue and, 6th Rd, Johannesburg, 2196, South Africa. This is one of the fashion design schools in Johannesburg.
FEDISA Fashion School Cape Town
81 Church St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8001, South
Design Academy of Fashion (Pty) Ltd
This is one of the fashion design schools in Capetown. They are located at, The Old Biscuit Mill, 375 Albert Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7925.
Design Academy of Fashion (Pty) Ltd
The Old Biscuit Mill, 375 Albert Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7925,
STADIO School of Fashion
Geneva Road &, Eileen Rd, Blairgowrie, Randburg, 2194, South
Studio 05 Institute Of Fashion
96 Jorissen St, Johannesburg, Braamfontein, 2000, South Africa
FEDISA Fashion School Sandton
50 Wierda Rd W, Wierda Valley, Sandton, 2196, South Africa
Elizabeth Galloway Academy of Fashion Design
Techno Road, 26 Techno Ave, Techno Park, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa
Cape Town College of Fashion Design (CTCFD)
Unit 16, Waverley Business Park, Wyecroft Rd, Mowbray, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa
SEWAFRICA Fashion College
109 Pritchard St, Hillbrow, Johannesburg, 2001, South Africa
North West School of Design
Shop 3 & 4, Lienir Building, 1B Jo, Joe Slovo Rd, Oudorp, Klerksdorp, 2570, South Africa
Jabu’s Academy of Fashion Design
16 Bertha Mkhize Street Room 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, Central, Durban, 4001, South Africa
School of Fashion Design
192 Retief St, Pietermaritzburg, 3201, South Africa
Bloemfontein FASHION academy
89 Aliwal St, Arboretum, Bloemfontein, 9301, South Africa
Tlhabologang Fashion Designing Knit-N-Stitch School
London House, 21 Loveday St, Marshalltown, Johannesburg, 2001, South Africa
The Design School Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd
This is one of the fashion schools in Pretoria. They are located at 34 Ingersol Rd, Menlyn, Pretoria, 0181, South Africa
London International School of Fashion
Geneva Road &, Eileen Rd, Blairgowrie, Randburg, 2194, South Africa
Spero Villiote Elite Design Academy
3rd Floor, South Wing (Office Tower), Hyde Park Corner Shopping Centre Corner Jan Smuts Avenue and, 6th Rd, Johannesburg, 2196, South Africa
Uberglam Fashion Design School
178 Smit St, Fairland, Randburg, 2030, South Africa
Lindiwe Kuzwayo
This is one of the fashion design schools in Durban. They are located at, 385 Anton Lambede Street: Nandos Building, 385 Anton Lembede St, Durban Central, Durban, 4001, South Africa
5 of the Best fashion schools in the World
Apart from fashion design schools in South Africa, let us consider the best fashion schools in the world.
Parsons School of Design
This New York-based fashion school was established in the year 1896.
This American art and design school within the university – The New School. Their programs are focused on training, interdisciplinary inquiry, practice-based and collaborative learning.
Villioti Fashion Institute
This Johannesburg-based fashion school boasts of creating the extraordinary out of the ordinary.
This accredited tertiary educational institute for over 30 years is led by the renowned Spero Villioti, who has run a successful fashion brand and has international affiliations with schools like Parsons School of Design, New York and London College of Fashion.
Villioti Fashion Institute through its global connections exposes students to a vast network within the fashion industry and ensure they are at the forefront of the fast-paced world of fashion.
London College of Fashion
Over the years, this college has been training and nurturing creative talent, using fashion to shape lives while driving economic and social transformation.
London College of Fashion offers more than 70 undergraduate fashion degrees and postgraduate fashion degrees as well as 165 fashion short courses.
That means there is a specialization for aspiring fashion designers. This fashion school is one of the best in the world not just in its area.
Instituto Marangoni
The heart of fashion in Milan. It is also home to one of the world’s most influential fashion schools. The fashion school was established by a designer whose clothes were worn by the Italian aristocracy.
This Italian aristocracy quest was to train professionals and technicians specializing in the fashion industry.
The institute has expanded into many places such as London, Paris, China, India and America where students meet, exchange ideas as well as projects and visions.
Ecole de la Chambe Syndicale de la Couture
Close on the heels of Milan is the Parisienne fashion industry and the city’s most popular fashion school which is the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture.
This fashion school was founded in 1927.
The school sought to craft highly-skilled fashion professionals who would define tomorrow’s fashion industry.
The courses in these fashion schools are run by professionals who are still active within the fashion industry, making this an exclusive institution.
How much does fashion schools in South Africa cost?
This estimate was made based on one of the fees charged by one of the fashion design schools in South Africa.
This fee is by no means the standard fee charged by fashion design schools in South Africa.
It can be either more or less than this sometimes. It all depends on your institution of choice. Contact any of the fashion design schools in South Africa of your choice and make the necessary enquiries.
Application fees for domestic students–R420
Application fees for international students –R2,600
Registration fees for domestic students —R10,250
Registration fees for international students–R15,840
Tuition fees —R76,500
Resource fees –R6,250
Source: designacademyoffashion.com. This is one of the fashion design schools in South Africa.
Fashion design schools in South Africa recommendations
Having seen the list of fashion design schools in South Africa, you should consider the following:
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Conclusion on fashion design schools in South Africa
The fashion industry is a very competitive one and it’s not just about attending the fashion design schools in South Africa, you must be devoted to the field to succeed.
Of course, the design does not have an age limit, all that is required is your passion. You might not need to work for someone to succeed or show who you are.
Get inspired by the world and what you see, trust me you must succeed in any of those fashion schools you finally pick.
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