Fashion Design Schools in Montana

Whether people have $50 or $50,000 to spend on clothes each year, everyone deserves to wear clothes that make them look and feel good! That’s why the field of fashion design is so important. Fashion designers design everything from swimwear and formalwear to accessories and shoes. If you have a strong sense of style and you want to put your sense of creativity to use, look into fashion design programs in Montana.

State License Requirements

If you’re ready to get started in your career in this industry, consider whether you want to earn an Associate’s degree or a Bachelor’s degree. A Bachelor’s degree may give you experience in a variety of fashion specialties, but both degree options offer you the chance to build your artistic skills and develop a solid fashion portfolio.

Education Details

As you work through your curriculum and develop your fashion intuition, you may take a wide variety of courses. Some of these classes focus on theory, while others focus on practical skills.

Classes you may take include

• Color Theory
• Fashion Industry
• Sewing and Draping
• Pattern making
• Fashion History
• Design in the Fashion Industry
• Digital Fashion Design

Toward the end of your education, you may complete a practicum course or an internship. This type of experience can put you in touch with accomplished professionals in your area and give you the opportunity to start building a professional network. The work you do at this stage of your education may lead to career opportunities after graduation, so be prepared to work hard.

License Renewal

Montana Fashion Design Careers

Completing your education in fashion design may give you the chance to start a variety of exciting careers in this industry. It can be difficult to pin down the job outlook in a field like this, since fashion design tends to be a big field in urban areas and slightly smaller in rural and suburban areas. However, by building a strong portfolio and gaining contacts in the fashion industry, you may be able to create a strong job outlook for yourself and shape your career. Salaries earned in this profession differ quite a bit from person to person. If you have a unique sense of style or skills that are in particularly high demand, you may be able to command a higher salary. O*Net (2016) indicates that the average salary for a fashion designer in Montana is $64,030 per year. Of course, your salary also depends on whether you’re self-employed, a freelancer, or employed by a fashion designer.

Working as a fashion professional can be extremely rewarding, exciting, and challenging. This field requires flexibility—very few designers keep typical 9-to-5 hours. Rather, you must be willing to change up your schedule to meet deadlines, meet clients’ needs, prepare for fashion shows, and make sure that new lines come out on time. This is especially true in the early days of your career, when you must prove yourself, often by coming in early and staying late. As a fashion designer, you may get the chance to attend a variety of exciting professional events. Every year, Montana Fashion Week showcases the best of Montana fashion design and brings new designers into the limelight. Even if you do not have anything in these fashion shows, you may attend to network with other designers and learn about the biggest trends in your industry. Working as a fashion designer also gives you the opportunity to give back to your community. A recent fashion show doubled as a fundraiser for a child with a rare type of cancer. Designers who donated their designs, time, and expertise raised over $8,000 for the child and her family.

Contact the Montana State Board of Fashion Design