Fashion Design Schools: What to Compare Before You Apply, with RISD Apparel Design as an Example

Start with what the school says about the degree itself

When you weigh fashion design schools, the first thing to pin down is what a program says its degree actually does. RISD describes its Apparel Design offering as a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program. In the Apparel Design BFA, according to RISD, you establish unique approaches to clothing the body, integrating the foundational skills of garment construction with experimental processes and materials. RISD also states that Apparel Design at RISD prepares fashion design students for creative longevity.

What to compare beyond the degree name

Read a program's own wording on three points, then hold every school to the same questions.

• Degree type and structure. Is the named award a BFA, and how does the school describe what students do inside it? RISD frames its Apparel Design BFA around establishing unique approaches to clothing the body, with garment construction as a foundation and experimental processes and materials alongside it.
• The skills the school names. Look for the specific skills a program puts in writing rather than general promises. RISD names garment construction as a foundational skill and pairs it with experimental processes and materials.
• What the school claims the program is for. RISD says Apparel Design prepares fashion design students for creative longevity. A claim like this tells you what the program says it optimizes for; treat it as the school's stated aim.
• Where graduates go and what they say. Alumni descriptions add a second kind of information, separate from the curriculum copy.

An alumni example: what one graduate said about fit

RISD points to an alumnus who is now editor in chief of Interview magazine and who helped relaunch it in 2018. He says RISD suited him well because he needed a bit of distance from the intensity of the NYC fashion world. That is one graduate's account of why the setting worked for him.

RISD also lists Apparel Design's COLLECTION 2026 as a featured story, which is a way to see the work a program puts forward publicly.

FAQ

What degree does RISD's Apparel Design program award? RISD describes Apparel Design as a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree program.

What does RISD say students do in the Apparel Design BFA? RISD says students in the Apparel Design BFA establish unique approaches to clothing the body, integrating the foundational skills of garment construction with experimental processes and materials.

What does RISD say the program prepares students for? RISD states that Apparel Design at RISD prepares fashion design students for creative longevity.

What did the RISD alumnus quoted by the school say about his experience? He is now editor in chief of Interview magazine and helped relaunch it in 2018; he says RISD suited him well because he needed a bit of distance from the intensity of the NYC fashion world.