Oregon Fashion Design Programs
With its strong student population and eclectic mix of fashion styles, Oregon may well be one of the best places for new fashion designers to make their mark. With design schools that are recognized across the country, Oregon may have opportunities for you if you’re ready to start a career in fashion design.
Find Programs in Oregon
You must attend a school that is approved by your state to provide training in the discipline you want to practice. Check with the school and the state board to be sure that your program of study will prepare you for any applicable state licensure.
To seriously pursue a career in this field, it’s important to bring your best skills to the table. Your creativity may be tested and stretched at every step of a fashion design program. You may also learn a lot about what consumers want from their fashion options and tweak your designs to fit critiques from peers and instructors. It can be a rigorous experience, but at the end, you can come out a better designer!
Ready to take the next step toward a new career? By using our list of fashion design in Oregon schools, you can find a program near you that suits your career goals.
Studying Fashion Design in Oregon
You may be surprised at the variety of skills you can learn in a fashion design program in Oregon. The typical curriculum covers a wide set of topics, from fashion artistry to the history of design and clothing around the world. Keep reading to find out what you can learn as an Oregon fashion student!
Before you can start learning specific techniques and tricks for fashion design, you have to have a fairly solid understanding of the field as a whole. You may take courses like Introduction to Fashion Design and History of Fashion Design. These courses can help you develop an understanding of what the fashion design field has become in recent decades.
From there, you may start learning how to develop practical fashion design skills in a variety of areas. For example, you may take classes like Fashion Sketching for Design, Applied Draping Techniques, and Industry Sewing. These courses give you real hands-on experience in the fashion industry, allowing you to work with fabrics, different types of patterns, and the drawn designs on which you base your designs.
On top of studio experience and work, you also need experience that can be applied to the workplace. This is why many Oregon schools require or at least encourage you to complete a semester-long internship with a local fashion design company. Through this experience, you can use your newly-developed fashion skills and connect with others in your industry.
Beginning a Career in Fashion Design
Oregon has a fairly prominent fashion community, so you may be able to take advantage of many professional opportunities as you begin your career. Many fashion design schools in this area have student design associations that you may be able to join if you are an alumni of that school.
There are also quite a few large fashion design shows in this state. Portland Fashion Week is hosted by the Portland Fashion Council, giving opportunities to those who live in the Portland area and those who design all throughout Oregon. Also in the Portland area is FashioNXT Portland, which features high-end designers from Oregon. One of Oregon’s largest fashion shows is Eugene Fashion Week.
Oregon has an extremely promising job outlook for fashion designers! From 2012 to 2022, O*Net anticipates a 22% increase in fashion design jobs in Oregon. This job growth is far superior to the national average, which estimates an overall decline in fashion design jobs in America (O*Net, 2012).
Salaries in this state vary widely. Per O*Net, most fashion designers in Oregon earn between $33,600 and $95,000 per year. The overall average salary in this state is $60,600 per year (O*Net, 2013).
Becoming a fashion designer may wake up your inner creative genius and help you start an exciting, rewarding career. Let’s get started by contacting fashion design schools in Oregon!