Problems in Fashion Schools

Hi! I am a Fashion and Textile Design student. And I am here to share some tea with y’all about Fashion schools.

Be alarmed. Not all fashion schools have these problems. But some definitely do. And it really counts.

Before I get started I wanted to give a quick intro about me. I, just like half of the people joining fashion, surrounded myself around fashion and style and beauty since a very tender age. To that 8 year old child, fashion was glamourous and expressive and just a dream life to acheive. The 15 year teen saw hard work and passion behind fashion. And finally when this kid turned 18 she had to select her college/uni to study fashion.

These problems can seem a bit odd to some and you can be taken offgaurd and to some it can create fear inside. The point of me sharing these is not to do either of those things to you. The point is to make you aware of these problems so that you can help yourself while facing these.

I did not have anyone to tell me these so I just wanted to share it.

Problem 1: Expenses apart from tuition

Usually in a typical college/uni the expenses apart from staying is only limited to travelling, food and sometimes accomodation if you move to another city. But in Fashion schools there are a lot more things to consider. Fabrics, sewing tools, pattern tools, digital programs, printing costs and much more. And these ‘little’ things add up. They add up to be a big amount.

Problem 2: Many people will treat you as competition

There is absolutely nothing wrong with competing with others, provided it’s healthy competition. In fashion schools, sometimes, it can get tricky and messy very easily. I get it, when you are fresh out of school, you want to build friendships and wanna find new friends. In my experience, I was taken more as a competition before I was taken as a person so I would say that just try to be aware of how people see you (as a part in their life) than blindly trusting them.

I can understand that friendships sometime don’t work out and that’s okay. But the wounds cut a little deeper when you are new to building relationships.

Problem 3: Coping mechanism

For some of us, fashion was a coping mechanism for when we were at school. What happens when you are doing fashion and you need a coping mechanism? And yes, it does get very tiring and yes you will need a solid form of a coping mechanism which can keep you sane. You can love fashion and have extreme passion for fashion all you want, but there is going to be a breaking point. You will start seeing your passion drain and see the work as a task rather than as a learning process.

One tip I can give you is that have friends outside of the industry that you work for. And this goes for all of us. Having friends outside of your industry can keep you sane in a way you can’t even imagine. Networking is one thing and friendships are another. And it’s something that I can’t really explain to you without you experiencing it firsthand.

Via this post I am not in anyway trying to tell you to not opt for fashion or I am not in any way trying to instil fear in your brain about fashion school. It happens. It happens everywhere. Just be mindful and be open to learning from mistakes of yourself and others. It can be very easy to get lost in the glitz and glamour of the fashion industry so try to be mindful (not red alert or it will drain you).

Thank you so much for reading this. Let me know what you think of this post and whether I should do more of these. Have you faced something of this sort? Let me know in the comments.