Identifying and cultivating your personal design aesthetic is essential before designing your collection. Find design inspiration by observing your surroundings. Through our fashion design course, students learn about the importance of a design journal – a personal notebook used for sketching and collaging, capturing ideas, documenting information, and recording anything else that inspires you.

A mood board serves as a visual summary of the design ideas for your collection. Developing a mood board is essential to refining your initial concept and turning it into a formal draft. Learn about the process of building a mood board, modern mood board tools, and how to get creative with the items, textiles, and images you decide to include.

Every design begins with an initial rough sketch. Study the evolution of sketching in fashion and go deeper into the overall modern process to build this important skill set. Learn how to draw a basic silhouette, refine your sketching techniques, and render fabrics to illustrate your ideas.

A great designer understands their target audience. Learn how to research and analyze your market before making your final designs to determine materials and set your price points. Get an introduction to the concept of a ‘collection statement’ – an elevator pitch for your collection that explains your inspiration, logic, and vision to others.

When it’s time to finalize your collection, pare down your designs and select the strongest pieces to tell the story of your collection. Learn how to identify the common thread across your designs to ensure its cohesion. Study the differences between a ‘look’ and a ‘piece,’ and how to create various ‘looks’ with a few pieces from your collection.