The Reality of Going to Fashion Design School

For anyone who loves fashion, working with clothes, color stories, and fabrics on a daily basis may seem like an absolute dream. I’m here to tell you: it is! But what they don’t tell you is that a fashion design degree is not for the faint of heart.

I have a unique perspective on being a fashion design student because I am pursuing my degree as my second degree, after working in the fashion industry for 2 years. In 2016, I graduated with a B.A. in English from Rhodes College. I always knew I loved fashion and originally I planned on being a fashion journalist - but after an unsuccessful few months of job searching for fashion journalism, I ended landing an internship in fashion merchandising.

I worked my butt off for 6 months at my first internship. I stayed at the office from 8am to 7pm almost everyday, and did everything from drafting replenishment orders to moving racks and boxes (sometimes for an entire day). After I was hired, I worked for 1.5 years in merchandising and learned a ton about the fashion industry. However, my biggest takeaway was that I yearned to be in a different department: design. I would jealously watch the sourcing associate flip through books of fabric and the assistant designer curate mood boards for upcoming collections. I wanted to be a fashion designer.

I started at O’More School of Design at Belmont University in the fall of 2018. I honestly expected it to be a little bit of a breeze for me - I was 25 while other freshman were 18, and already had one degree under my belt. However, by second semester I realized that in order to succeed in this degree you must be willing to devote your life to fashion. Almost half of my years fashion design students didn’t make it past the first semester - it’s a program that really weeds out who really wants to be there. The 5 of us left are extremely bonded because of all the late nights (often weekend nights) spent in the studio, and we all value each other’s critiques and work.

I have put my blood, sweat, and tears into this degree (quite literally - I can’t count the number of times I’ve stabbed myself with sewing needles or broken down after sewing a seam wrong for the 5th time). Even so, I have never been excited to do schoolwork before this program. Everything I do feels so relevant to my career (especially because I have seen designers in action), and I respect my professors opinions and advice immensely. Even though I will be entering one of the worst job markets for my field, I know that I have the drive and passion to stand out and work as a designer.