Apparel Design
Harness your creativity and gain skills to turn your creative concepts into consumer-ready apparel products.
Overview
Turn your creative passion into a career; as an apparel design student, you’ll develop skills essential to moving an idea from concept to creation, including ideation, hand and digital sketching, fabric print design, paper and digital pattern making, draping, garment construction, fit evaluation, the development of factory specifications, along with creating samples and prototypes.
Throughout this process, you’ll consider the aesthetic and functional needs of specific target consumers and apply design strategies for inclusivity and sustainability, all while using the latest 2D and 3D design technologies. Because of the apparel design program’s partnership with Browzwear, an industry leader in design software, you’ll have access to advanced 3D design tools that leading apparel brands use.
You’ll also develop foundational business skills that will prepare you for exciting career opportunities as an entrepreneur, within a small business or at a major apparel brand.
Many of our students also choose to double major in merchandising management to gain complimentary skills centered around apparel assortment planning for apparel brands and retailers.
What you’ll learn
Describe the roles and functions of industry sectors involved in the planning, creation, production, merchandising, distribution, and consumption of textiles, apparel and footwear products.
Explain how social, environmental, political, cultural and economic systems as well as geography relate to the planning, creation, production, merchandising, distribution, consumption and resulting company performance of textile, apparel and footwear products.
Explain consumer behavior theory as it applies to the pre-acquisition through to consumption of textile, apparel and footwear products.
Assess the suitability of and recommend viable materials, trims, construction, coloration and finishes for specific end-uses.
Apply creative, analytical, and technical skills in a collaborative environment that includes calendar development, research, line planning and development, costing, product creation, evaluation/testing and merchandising.
Apply consumer behavior theory and research throughout the product creation process to design and develop products that are in-line with users' needs.
degrees and areas of focus
of classes have fewer than 50 students
companies recruit our students each year
Options
Once you enroll in the apparel program, you can select an area of focus from the following options:
Apparel design opportunities
Study abroad
Florence, Italy: Accademia Italiana
London, England: London College of Fashion
Seoul, South Korea: Hanyang University
Associated clubs
American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists
National Retail Federation
Entrepreneurship Club
Sports Product Development Club
Scholarships
Cecelia T. Shuttleworth
Columbia HEHC Scholarship
Gladys Whipple Goode Scholarship
N Marie Ledbetter Memorial Scholarship
Ways to attend
We offer class in the modalities that work for you and your schedule.
Attend classes in Austin Hall, the $50 million, 100,000-square-foot building with five research centers, a marketing research suite, 10 classrooms, 23 computer- and teleconference-equipped project rooms, a 250-seat auditorium, a café and faculty offices.
Request more information
Ready to take the next steps? Complete the form to receive detailed information about our programs and how they might work for you.
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