How do I start a fashion portfolio for college?

How should I start a portfolio for a Fashion Design college?

• Im a sophmore in highschool, I was origanally going to be an artist, but once I hit middle school I got fashion fever. I sew well, and I consider myself origanal. What are the steps I need to take to plan a portfolio? How many designs should I have ready to show? How many design boards should I have? Should I make an actual outfit/dress to bring in and show, or wear? Thanks in advanced!

• Answer:

  It varies by the school. This is coming from someone who actually majors in fashion design at one of the top 3 schools in the US for fashion Design and who applied to all 3 top schools in the US for fashion design.. The only top fashion design school that will want to see your fashion design work or sewing work will be Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. But even then they'll send you a home assignment and you can submit additional work for admissions. It is the cheapest Fashion school in the US, at a price tag of like $8000 for out of state students, and like 3K in state. But in general schools like Parsons School of Design or Otis College of Art & Design(which are the other top 2 schools for fashion design in the US), will want to see a portfolio of your skills, which primarily will be of drawings of still life or life drawing. They don't want to see anything major specific(such as fashion) because you're applying to the Foundation year which is basically freshman year(not major specific)/ After your first year, you then declare your major and enter it. I personally thought I would dread foundation, but it really helps you decide and give you more time to think whether what you planned on majoring is really what you want. I know plenty of people who came to my school thinking they were going to do fashion but ended up realizing that they were just attracted to the idea of it, and ended up majoring in other fields. I would just advice to take as many drawing classes(but not a must) or even a portfolio preparation class, and that's it. Don't take fashion classes or fashion illustration classes, because that's not what is required or asked for by these institutions. If you're serious about a career in fashion design the ONLY places you should be considering applying or going to is either Parsons http://www.parsons.edu Otis http://www.otis.edu FIT http://www.fitnyc.edu Back ups who have strong fashion design programs but are not as great as the schools above are Pratt Institute http://www.pratt.edu Savannah College of Art & Design http://www.scad.edu Rhode Island College of Art & Design http://www.risd.edu BTW regardless of what people say, FIDM in Cali, is not a good school, it is also not related to FIT which is a good school. Just check the admissions requirements of the schools listed above on their websites and you'll see what the portfolio requirements are. Savannah College of ARt & Design is the only school that doesn't require a portfolio. It's optional. A community college that is strong in los angeles which also has a fashion program is Los Angeles Trade Tech at www.lattc.edu They are a really cheap option for someone on a budget, and still reputable.