Fashion Studio at Cornell
In this interactive studio program, you'll develop fashion design skills, deepen your knowledge of fashion tools and trends, and build a professional-grade design portfolio at Cornell's Department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design, the only department of its kind in the Ivy League. Through hands-on projects, discussions, guest lecturers, and critiques, you'll explore basic fashion design concepts, processes, and research.
You'll experiment with innovative technology such as laser cutters and Cornell's 3D body scanner, fill a sketchbook with ideas, and learn to use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create two-dimensional designs. In addition, you'll work with objects from Cornell museums and learn more about possible career paths from guest speakers currently working in the fashion industry. Finally, you'll assemble your portfolio and display it in the Jill Stuart Gallery at Cornell's Department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design. No prior experience with fashion design is necessary, and no sewing is involved in the program.
How long will this take? This is a three-week program and it is pricey - $6750!
How do I get started? Go to their website and apply.
How do I expand on this narrative arc? Engage in other activities and summer programs relating to fashion and ideally the intersection of fashion, technology and/or the environment such as:
Enter a national fashion up cycling challenge sponsored by Mary Kay cosmetics.
Do a Halt Fast Fashion impact project in your local community.
Go Vintage! Organize a clothes swap at your school or in your home town.
Design your own clothes and explore using original or recycled materials.
HOT TIP: If you are seriously considering fashion and or art for your college studies and/or career this could be an amazing experience, and a great way to expand (or start building) your portfolio for college admissions. Experience is not a pre-requisite, which suggests that admissions standards may not be rigorous. Nevertheless, if you can afford the program and are serious about the subject this is potentially a great way to get your feet wet! See below for more information about summer programs in general.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SUMMER PROGRAMS: College admissions officers are very adept at identifying “resume padders”: expensive, one-off programs paid for by your parents which do not mesh with your narrative arc. Therefore, make sure any summer program or course you consider falls into one (or more) of these four buckets:
Highly selective/competitive
Totally unique + linked to your narrative arc
Evidence of adulthood (long hours, multi-year commitment or simply hard work)
A jumping off point or expansion for an authentic narrative arc.
If none of the above apply, a program could still have value to you if it allows you to test a potential interest. However, if it does not end up being a jumping off point for further interests, then you may not want to mention it in your high school resume