Fashion Merchandising and Design Program

The Stratford fashion merchandising & design schools program brings to life the exciting world of fashion through an in-depth look at how the fashion industries work. It will open your eyes to the many ways in which you can find career opportunities related to these fashion and apparel industries, including entrepreneurship.

By enrolling in the Stratford fashion merchandising & design diploma program, you can study at home, in your free time, and prepare yourself for a career in the fashion industry.
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The fashion industry both reflects and helps to shape our culture. Everyone selects and buys clothing, and we all have preferences and opinions about it. Although relatively few people are able to participate in the world of high fashion, most people are fascinated by it, as can be seen from the astounding success of fashion magazines. In good economic times and in bad, the world of fashion responds to our practical needs, and also offers a pleasing escape into a creative world of fantasy and sensuality.

If fashion is important to you, chances are you have imagined what it might be like to earn your living in this field. For those fortunate enough to do so, the excitement that others find only in the pages of the fashion magazine becomes the reality of their working life. It actually becomes fun to go to work, when you care about the work you are doing.

You will learn the art and technique of fashion design. The science side requires a detailed knowledge of garment styles and parts, yarns, textile fibers, patterns, stitching, dyes and finishes. The art side is concerned with coordinating the elements of color, style, design elements, and particular clothing consumers.

Once you have mastered the elements of the fashion designer's craft, you are ready to explore the apparel industry itself, and the specific career opportunities which it offers. You will learn about a broad range of careers from research and design, to manufacturing and sales, display, publicity, and numerous other job opportunities. Whether you wish to work as a marketing specialist for a clothing manufacturer, a buyer for a department store or fashion boutique, a staff member for a fashion magazine or modeling agency, or just create a positive impression upon prime employers and important contacts, the Stratford Fashion Merchandising & Design Diploma Program will provide you with the training you need.

Training is all the more important in today's competitive job market. Why not train for a career that you can really get excited about? With Stratford, you can start right away and work at your own pace. If you have a job right now, you can keep it while you train for a better one. If you are presently out of work, you can study full time and get your diploma much more quickly than you might have expected.

Stratford is a career institute dedicated to the training needs of today's adults, striving to gain a competitive edge in their chosen career. Your Stratford diploma will give you that edge. It has proven to be a powerful tool toward securing a promising future in the fashion industry.

The overall goal of this program is to help you gain knowledge that will be valuable to you in becoming an integral part of the fashion world.

Stratford's fashion merchandising and design schools training program covers:

Clothes and Fashion

Introduction: The Utility of Clothing:

Protection; Adornment; Identification; Modesty; Status;

Factors Influencing Clothing Choices; Values and Attitudes;

Conformity Versus Individuality.

Knowing about Fashion:

Fashion Terms; Clothing Construction Terms; Clothing Business Terms; Price Markets; Fashion Cycles; Silhouettes of Fashion Cycles; Social, Economic and Political Influences on Fashion.

Garment Styles and Parts:

Basic Dress Styles; Necklines; Collars; Sleeves;

Skirts; Pants; Coats and Jackets.

FASHION INDUSTRIES

The Development of Fashion:

Scope of Apparel Industries; Haute Couture; Designer Ready to Wear.

The Textile and Pattern Making Industries:

Fabric Production and Distribution; Textile Corporations; Textile Technology, Fashion and Marketing; Textiles Worldwide; Future of Textiles; Commercial Patterns; Pattern Companies; Designing Patterns; Perfecting and Finishing Patterns; Patterns in the Future.

Fashion Production:

The Business of Clothing Production; Inside and Outside Shops; Merchandising Plans; The Design Process; Preparing for Production; Computer-Aided Design; Making and Using Samples; Factory Production; Cutting; Piece Work System; Tailor System; Finishing; Selling the Apparel; Overseas Manufacturing; Competition of International Trades; Labelling Country of Origin; Future of Apparel Production; Computer Automation;

Reducing Lead and Response Times.

Fashion Promotion and Sales:

Promotion; Advertising; Publicity; Visual Merchandising; Retail Terms; Buying and Selling Procedures; Timing and Pricing for Demand; Private Label Brands; Retail Business Considerations;

Types of Apparel Retail Outlets; Retail Imports; Retail's Future.

Textiles: the “Science” of FASHION

Textile Fibers and Yarns:

Natural Fibers; Cotton; Linen; Wool; Silk; Manufactured Fibers; Categories of Manufactured Fibers; Production; Characteristics; Yarns. Fabric Construction and Finishes:

Weaving; Types of Weaves; Knitting; Types of Knits; Fabric Coloring and Printing; Mechanical Finishes; Chemical Finishes.

Design: The “Art” of FASHION

The Element of Color:

Color as a Design Element; Color Symbolism; Color Terms; Color Wheel; Color Schemes; Color in Apparel;

Enhancing Personal Coloring.

More Elements of Design:

Shape; Line Types; Line Directions; Line Applications; Illusions with Lines; Texture; Structural Texture; Visual Texture.

Principles of Design:

Types of Balance; Proportion and Apparel; Emphasis; Rhythm; Harmony; Design for all Figure Types; Tall and Thin; Tall and Heavy; Short and Thin; Short and Heavy; Top Heavy; Thick Middle; Hip Heavy.

Clothing and the Consumer Fashion Careers

Careers in the Textile Industry:

Textile Research and Development; Textile Design; Textile Production; Textile Marketing and Sales; Textile Administration.

Careers in Apparel Design and Production:

Apparel Design; Apparel Manufacturing; Production Management; Sales and Distribution; Top Management; Administrative Employees.

Fashion Merchandising and Other Retail Industry Careers:

Retail Job Generalities; Qualifications for Retail Work; Merchandise Planning and Buying; Direct Selling; Other Stores Operations; Retail Management.

Careers in Fashion Promotion:

Fashion Advertising; Fashion Display; Other Fashion Promotion Careers; Fashion Publicity.

Other Careers and Entrepreneurial Opportunities:

Educators; Textile and Clothing Historians; Theatrical Costumers; Clothing Care; Entrepreneurs.

A Career For You:

Opportunities and Rewards; Choosing a Career; Landing the Job; Preparing your Resume; Writing a Cover Letter; Interviewing; Applications and Tests; Positive Personal Traits; Being Successful.

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