This school has the passion for fashion
Say the words “fashion school” and several images come to mind: Project Runway workrooms and sewing machines, pin- thin models, artistic ingénues scrounging for inspiration, show- stopping yet basically unwearable, shock-value runway clothes. Just 20 years ago, children telling their parents that they were considering going to fashion school were met with, at best, bemused indulgence, and at worst, active discouragement. Like so many careers that are founded on the arts, fashion just seems so ephemeral and unstable— is it a good enough industry on which to base a career? The answer is a resounding yes. Today’s world of OotD selfies ( that’s “Outfit of the Day” pictures), behind- the- scenes fashion blogs, the rise of the stylist as celebrity ( just look at Liz Uy and Alyanna Martinez), documentaries such as The September Issue and even reality shows such as Project Runway Philippines and the MEGA Young Designers Competition have helped demystify the world of fashion to a new generation of upbeat and in- the- know kids. The famous “cerulean” speech in the 2006 movie The Devil Wears Prada also defined how fashion is anything but frivolous. To paraphrase one of the movies characters: fashion is more than art, because you live your life in it.
As such, many college-bound kids are doing just what their parents’ parents feared. They are taking fashion seriously.
Olrica Claire Flores is one of those kids. A student of fashion design and dressmaking at Slim’s School of Fashion and the Arts, she actually indulged her parents’ wish for her to study business first before going into fashion. But design has always been in her blood. She relates the typical childhood stories of collecting paper dolls and playing with Barbies and, as she grew up, dreamed of opening a boutique.
Now that she’s been exposed to the reality of the industry, her goals have shifted. “I’m thinking of manufacturing clothes and developing fabric for big labels,” she shares.
Indeed, there are many careers that can spring from a fashion education. It’s not just making dresses. James Imperial, a fashion design instructor at the Fashion Institute of the Philippines, rattles off a few: “Fashion designer, stylist, hair and make- up artist, visual merchandiser, conceptual photographer, fashion illustrator,” he says. There’s also supplying raw materials, working with models as a modeling agent or booker with a reputable agency, fashion writing and editing, or even producing and managing events such as fashion shows, product launches and store openings. “There are many job options in the industry; the greatest challenge is balancing things out such as art with business. A lot of people think that fashion is all about making clothes, wearing them, then that’s done. But only a few know how this multi- billion industry circulates.”
While it’s true that some respected fashion industry tastemakers had their start elsewhere— Preview magazine’s editor- in- chief Pauline SuacoJuan, for example, actually holds a postgraduate degree in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics— there is still a certain depth of knowledge and intensive preparation that students can only get from fashion school.
James gives an example. “When we create a certain design, we need to consider how everyone will react to it. Will this sell? How can I make this marketable? Who would buy this? These are the common questions that arise to designers and entrepreneurs after a product is made. Here is where the course Fashion Merchandising comes in. Students learn how to set selling price, how store visuals heightens buying interest, managing business expenses and how to run a boutique internally and externally.”
That fashion is, at the end of the day, a business, concerned with the many intricacies of any business— capital, profits, supply chains, talent management, product cycles and marketing—should suffice to convince those on the fence as to its suitability as a career. “The world of fashion is not all about the glitz and glamour,” James warns. “Great amount of time, effort, conceptualization, computation, and artistry are put into every piece of clothing we see on the catwalk and in stores.”
Olrica agrees. “Fashion is not as easy as planning your OotD or playing dress up. It's a lot of hard work and sleepless nights if you take it seriously.”
If your child is looking into fashion school, James says there are two things you should keep in mind: “Know how established the school is and remember that a fashion school doesn’t need to be expensive to be effective.”