Fascinating Facts on Fashion Designers
Most people who watch the American fashion industry recognize certain familiar names of fashion designers. People know the work of Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Liz Claiborne, Donna Karan and so on. All have or have had fashion design careers that really took them places and essentially steered the course of American fashion for much of the past century. But one fact is pretty clear, as you look back. The vast majority of these people are either a sort of generic white, or sometimes Jewish, but almost never is there any publicity about designers from clear visible minorities.
That has finally changed in recent years. On September 18, 2009, the Wall Street Journal wrote a feature article about Asian American fashion designers who have taken the world by storm. Vera Wang was the first to begin making a big splash, in the last couple of decades of the twentieth century, when she didn't join her father's petroleum or pharmaceutical businesses but opted instead for a career in fashion design. For awhile she was the only major Asian American designer making headlines, but now she is joined by such designers as Thakoon Panichgul and Phillip Lim, Thailand-born Americans whose work has become well known.
The same sort of recognition has gradually come to black Americans in the fashion industry as well. Fashion designers like Tracy Reese and Patrick Robinson, both of whom have fashion degrees from Parsons School of Design, have achieved considerable success. Reese has two women's designer labels that have been selling at upscale stores in New York and elsewhere for over a decade. Robinson has his own collection and was also hired as head designer for Gap, Inc. in 2007.
It's about time that the accomplishments of fashion designers from visible minorities are recognized. Partly because they are minorities, they have had to fight some degree of racism and even family expectations to get where they are. But even more than that, they should be recognized for their own fashion design careers, and not just because they come from a minority group. All great designers should be acknowledged for their accomplishments, no matter who they are.
Related topics about fashion designers
Do You Need a Degree to Be a Fashion Designer?
Usually, whether it's art, language or another discipline, you can't really "break the rules" until you know what they are, and understand them thoroughly. A fashion design school will teach you the underlying principles of good design, so that if you break them and do something different, you'll understand why it works in some cases and doesn't work in others. If you don't have that intrinsic grounding, your innovation will be very "hit and miss," and not likely to make you a successful designer.
Can You Learn Fashion Designing Online?
It might take a bit of tweaking to launch your fashion design career through online programs. You will undoubtedly still need to arrange some in-person internships at a studio somewhere, since that simply can't be done online. You might also have the added expense of getting your own industrial sewing machine, which would otherwise have been provided on campus.
Design School: More Than Fashion
There are many instances of this sort of design school. For example, take Parsons The New School for Design, in New York. This institution is a venerable academy, having been established in 1906.