Learn about the top fashion schools in Singapore so that you can hone your skills and prepare yourself for an exciting career in this competitive field.
In this article, we’ll discuss which design programs each school offers and how they compare to other institutions of higher education worldwide.
We also explain each school’s admission requirements, tuition fees (if applicable), and facilities available to students including libraries or laboratories where they can research on their own time outside class hours.
What is a Fashion School?
What exactly is a fashion school? A fashion school teaches people about the latest trends in fashion and how to design clothing, and other related topics.
Students interested in these types of careers can choose from many different schools and universities depending on their personal interests, financial situation, and learning style.
A good fashion school in Singapore will have facilities for students to use when they are designing clothes on campus.
They should also provide courses that help students learn all aspects of the industry including working with suppliers and customers, business management skills, marketing techniques, conducting research on consumer trends, etc.
How Long Does It Take to Become a Fashion Designer in Singapore?
The length of time it takes to become a fashion designer in Singapore depends on several factors:
- the type of program you choose,
- whether you study full-time or part-time, and
- your own rate of learning.
For example, students who take the Diploma in Fashion Design at Temasek Polytechnic can expect to complete their course in 2.5 years.
However, local fashion schools in Singapore also offer not just diplomas, but graduate diplomas and master’s degrees as well—these require more time for completion.
Remember that some programs will also require that you find an internship or work-study placement, which could extend your course by another semester or so.
Additionally, Singapore has been known to be the balance between the Eastern and Western styles of fashion.
Learning the craft in any of these fashion schools in Singapore may be a good decision for you, as you may find yourself working in both regions, and showing off your knowledge of the fashion taste of both of these regions.
Without further ado, here at the top 15 fashion schools in Singapore.
The List of Top Fashion Schools in Singapore
- LASALLE College of the Arts
- School of the Arts Singapore
- Fashion Makerspace
- Raffles College of Higher Education
- Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA)
- Textile and Fashion Industry Training Centre
- MDIS School of Fashion & Design
- Jewelry Design and Management International School (JDMIS)
- Alisha Fashion & Dressmaking School
- Temasek Design School
LASALLE College of the Arts
Tuition fees: $5,440 – $25,000. Learn more.
As a student, you’d be privileged to learn from leading fashion and design educators in the industry. Your final year would also include an extended period of real-world practice at a company, giving you vital experience in the industry.
Some notable alumni of LASALLE College of the Arts include Thomas Wee, founder of fashion brand In Good Company, and Yeo Wee Kiong who has dressed celebrities such as pop star Gwen Stefani.
School of the Arts Singapore
Tuition fees: $350 – $2,470 monthly. Learn more.
The School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA) is Singapore’s first national pre-tertiary specialized art institution offering a six-year Integrated Program leading to the International Baccalaureate Diploma. It is one of the popular fashion schools in Singapore.
The fashion school aims to inspire and develop the next generation of artists and creative thinkers. Students at SOTA have access to professional-level facilities, such as a fully equipped dance studio, two drama studios, and three music studios.
There are also visual arts studios for drawing, painting, and photography, as well as digital arts studios for gaming, animation, and 3D modeling.
Fashion Makerspace
Tuition fees: Varies, depending on what course you select.
Fashion Makerspace is a fashion school in Singapore that offers a variety of courses, including:
- Fashion Design: You’ll learn how to bring your fashion design ideas to life through sketching, patternmaking, and draping.
These skills will be the foundation for your future designs. Coursework also includes fabric selection and color combination.
- Menswear Sewing: This course introduces you to menswear design principles and concepts in fashion drawing, as well as technical elements such as pattern construction and garment drafting.
You’ll be able to craft professional-level men’s wear designs by the end of the program.
- Womenswear Sewing: Based on your creative vision, you’ll learn about the fundamentals of designing women’s garments from scratch using traditional sewing methods (no machines here), practical design principles such as volume shaping, line-and-shape manipulation, fabric properties, and finishing techniques.
You’ll also create a portfolio that showcases your work by the end of this course.
Raffles College of Higher Education
Tuition fees: $5,350 for Singaporean students, and $16,050 for international students.
Raffles College of Higher Education is a private institution located in Singapore, right by the Central Business District.
With an emphasis on creativity and innovation, Raffles offers courses in fashion design, interior design, graphic design, multimedia design, photography, product design, and jewelry design.
The fashion design diploma course teaches students how to visualize ideas into tangible products through color theory, drawing techniques, and conceptualization.
The curriculum includes pattern-making skills while providing a strong foundation in garment construction as well as an overview of the fashion industry ecosystem. Successful graduates will be awarded a Diploma in Fashion Design from Raffles College of Higher Education.
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA)
Tuition fees: $5,210 – $20,000. Learn more.
One of Singapore’s leading arts institutions is the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). NAFA may as well be the most popular fashion school in Singapore.
The school offers a variety of courses in fashion, including an undergraduate-level Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion & Textile Design that prepares students for the industry.
This four-year program includes a year-long internship to help students gain real-world experience.
Textile and Fashion Industry Training Centre
Tuition fees: Begins at $1,240. Depends on what course(s) you select.
TaF.tc Fashion school is a fashion school in Singapore that needs no introduction. Popularly known as TaF.tc, this has remained one of the fashion schools in Singapore that have consistently been committed to teaching its students what “fashion design” truly is. TaF.tc contains so many programs and curricula prepared to show you various apparel design styles to put into your sewing trade.
In addition, they teach you the business side of fashion design and guide you through setting up your shop upon your completion of their course.
However, you may find it difficult to select a fashion niche course in this school (because they are so many), but the friendly instructors will give you an orientation on the various aspects of fashion that they talk about.
This will help you (and them) find out what you truly want, and set you up for success in the fashion industry.
MDIS School of Fashion & Design
Tuition fees: $7,120.
MDIS School of Fashion & Design is located in the country’s main city, which also happens to be home to several other top fashion schools in Singapore. MDIS offers three programs related to this field:
- Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in Fashion Business and Technology Management.
- Bachelor of Art (Honors) in Fashion Design and Marketing.
- Diploma in Fashion and Lifestyle Enterprise Management.
The school was the first institution to offer a program focusing on the business side of the fashion industry.
A Bachelor’s degree in any program in this school is a four-year course. Its curriculum has a heavy focus on entrepreneurship, from making your business plan as part of an introductory course through classes on jewelry design and production management during senior year.
Graduates can step directly into entry-level management positions or become self-employed entrepreneurs within their chosen field.
Courses at MDIS cover topics like drawing techniques for fashion illustration, textiles and materials science, fundamentals of web development, and e-commerce marketing strategies for apparel firms.
The school has a 1:10 faculty/student ratio with professors who come from places like Italy, France, and Korea as well as local professionals with a wide range of experience in tailoring and costuming among other areas.
Jewelry Design and Management International School (JDMIS)
Tuition fees: $8,200.85 for a Diploma in Fashion Jewelry Arts.
Here, we take a bit of a turn from what we’ve been talking about fashion schools in Singapore.
This is because JDMIS is not exactly focused on apparel design. JDMIS is a fashion school in Singapore intent on making its students the best jewelry-makers in the world.
And when you think about it, pieces of jewelry make up an important aspect of fashion. Ornaments like earrings, necklaces, bracelets, amulets, and bangles have been known throughout time to give a complementary look and feel to our esthetics.
JDMIS provides different courses in this regard, that train its students to become better jewelry-makers. You will be taught how to identify precious metals and stones, reshape them, and make beautiful ornaments with them.
This fashion school is considered to be one of the best fashion schools in Singapore. So, you will find this school worth your time and money, if you want to learn jewelry-making, rather than sew dresses.
Alisha Fashion & Dressmaking School
Tuition fees: Not specified.
If you’re new to fashion design, sewing, and dressmaking, a good place to start is with Alisha Fashion & Dressmaking School. This fashion school in Singapore offers a variety of courses including ones in fashion design, pattern making, sewing and dressmaking, alteration, and more. You also have the option of taking private classes if you prefer one-on-one learning.
The basic sewing lessons are affordable to start at $350 for a course that runs for 12 hours over six weeks. For this course, you’ll learn about basic patterns and how to create them from scratch as well as how to use the machine properly and make alterations to your project.
You can even sign up your little ones for courses here too. Children’s courses are designed especially for kids aged between four and 15 years old.
Temasek Design School
Tuition fees: $2,987.50 for Singaporeans, $6,117.50 for Singapore permanent residents, and $11,150.70 for international students.
Temasek Design School is a polytechnic that offers a three-year program in Apparel Design and Textile. The course prepares students for jobs in the fashion industry by covering subjects such as pattern making and garment construction, fabric development, textile technology, visual merchandising, branding, and marketing.
The curriculum includes two field trips to fashion weeks in London or Paris to give you first-hand exposure to the latest trends in fashion. The school also runs an optional study trip to Europe during the second year of the program.
The school promises that graduates of this course will be able to design fashionable products while meeting safety requirements and sustainability considerations.
Choosing the Right Fashion School for You
There are many fashion schools in Singapore with fashion design programs. If you’re interested in studying fashion design in Singapore, there are several things you should consider before making a decision. The most important considerations to make include public versus private schools, and whether the school is on this list of the best fashion schools in Singapore.
Public schools are funded by the government while private schools rely on student tuition and donations. Public schools often have lower tuition, but some of these institutions may not offer as much support for their students.
Private institutions often have better facilities, more individualized attention from teachers, and an emphasis on making sure students succeed after graduation; but this comes at a cost that many cannot afford.
While it’s true that some of these private schools will give financial aid packages to qualifying students, others only provide merit-based scholarships without considering the need when awarding them so keep this in mind when looking at all your options.
Wrapping It Up
Now that you’ve learned about some of the top fashion schools in Singapore, it’s time to get started. Fashion design is one of the most lucrative careers out there, so we know that you’ll be able to find success no matter where you start your journey.
We hope that this article has helped you understand what it takes to attend a fashion school in Singapore and become a designer. We’ve outlined which fashion schools in Singapore to consider and how they can help you achieve your goals in this exciting field.