Textile/ Surface Design

<p>My daughter is in the process of deciding which program is a good fit for her. She is interested in fashion design. There is a lot of info on this board about Fashion Design not so much info on Textile and Surface Design. What are the top schools in Textile and Surface Design. I know that MICA, KCAI and RISD have good programs. How do they rank against each other and what are other good programs.</p>

<p>james, Textile and surface design is a relatively narrow and limiting field. Her choice of schools would depend on how she sees using her interest/talent: Does she want to be a textile artist and weave or knit works of art? Does she want to design textiles for furniture, floor and wall coverings as part of an architecture or interior design team. Does she want to design fabric that would ultimately be used in apparel?</p>

<p>If the first then I would go for the school that offers the most creative environment. In my mind this would be RISD but a lot could be said for others on her list. If she's interested in environmental design then I'd go for Pratt. For anything to do with fashion or apparel I'd choose Parsons or FIT.
(I'm not so familiar with KCAI and MICA so I leave comments on those two to those who know more than I.)</p>

<p>Textile design requires a lot of technical know how -- again, the range of technology is great from knitting needles to high speed knitting machines. It also involves color theory and understanding of raw materials. But most importantly it requires a good balance of creativity and market awareness, a vision of translating an idea into an end product. A feeling for trend analysis and a sense of how to tranlate trends into products.</p>

<p>As I say about all design related work, the ability to communicate, present and "sell" your ideas is tantamount as are connections whether you're looking for a dealer or a corporation. So look closely at the school's non-design based academic offerings and delve deeply into their career placement and internship programs.</p>

<p>Good luck and let us know how she does.</p>

<p>Thanks Momrath. My d has an interest in apparel/ fashion design and has applied to FIT as a textile/ surface design major and has applied to Pratt for entry into the Fashion Program and has applied to Parsons. All seem to have great internship and career possibilities. Her prefernce would be Parsons as she attended the summer program last summer. My concern is that both fashion and textile design seem technical to me. She has a strong creative fine arts background and would do well in a fine arts program but she has concerns about future job prospects. No matter where she ends up I think that your advice on salesmanship is excellent and my daughter has wanted to get a retail job this summer to work on those skills. I asked about MICA and KCAI because they have a strong reputation in Fiber but I think they are more conceptually based. RISD is too close to home. We are from Boston and she would love to be in New York. We also looked at CCA and Otis in CA but I think that they are just too far for her at this point in her life. I will keep you posted.</p>

<p>james, I've worked in the apparel industry for decades mostly for fortune 500 companies, both wholesale and retail, in the middle price range level. I find it a fascinating field that allows you to use all of your skills -- creative, intellectual, problem solving, interpersonal etc. </p>

<p>All of the corporations that manufacture or retail brand names from Liz Claiborne to Gap to Dolce & Gabbana have fabric departments often closely tied into fashion direction and product design. The fabric manager/designer is the link between the fabric and yarn mills and the people who design the clothes. They're involved in developing the color story for the season, establishing the trends, selecting the prints or patterns. On an entry level you would shop the market -- which means going to stores allover the world, visiting mills (also all over the world), sitting in on color and trend presentations, helping reinterpret and present the same information to your brand organization and generally being in the know in the world of art, design, fashion. Ideas are everywhere and a fine arts background is invaluable.</p>

<p>Product development for large brand houses is a collaborative effort so it's critical to be able to work well with others and to articulate your ideas. So much of the business is now international and communication is heavily e-mail based, thus the most successful designers are those who can also express themselves clearly in writing.</p>

<p>Technical knowledge is important as you have to know what's possible from a performance point of view, but unless you want to specialize in fabric technology a general understanding is sufficient. The mills all have technical specialists and the role of the fabric manager at a brand house is to translate what the technicians are saying into "design speak." </p>

<p>Once your daughter is in school she'll learn of internship opportunities and one thing will lead to another.</p>

<p>Now having said all that I would also add that if your daughter really wants a career in fine arts, then fashion may not be the right direction. It's an incredibly arduous and competitive field. There are certainly rewards but you have to work your tail off to enjoy them so it's definitely not a career path for the faint hearted.</p>