Fashion Design

Seven mannequins wearing colorful garments against a white backdrop

Work by Li Yichen

Fashion Design Department

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago's (SAIC) Department of Fashion Design provides a unique, interdisciplinary experience that challenges students to bring an artistic and theoretical approach to the work, and benefit from rigorous artistic and professionally oriented training.

Elnaz Javani, If I'd Known That Beforehand, Detail, 2015

Undergraduate Admission Deadline: January 1

Submit your application and portfolio by January 1 for priority fall 2025 merit scholarship consideration.

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Graduate Programs Application Deadline: January 10

Apply to SAIC's Graduate and Post-Bacc programs by January 10 for fall 2025 admission.

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File Your FAFSA

In order to be eligible for need-based aid such as SAIC, state and federal grants, loans and work study you need to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at fafsa.gov.

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In its 89th year, the Fashion department has evolved into a unique place to train the next generation of designers, artists, and thinkers. Our mission is to develop and alarm our graduate's voices to participate in the global discourse. Our multidisciplinary approach to fashion is grounded in teaching technical, digital, artisanal, and visceral ways of making, pairing artistic exploration with concept development and skill-building.

The faculty’s national and international professional experience offers unique opportunities for student learning, travel, and global internships.

The Department of Fashion Design supports the following degree programs:

Bachelor of Fine Arts: Fashion Design
Master of Fine Arts in Fashion, Body and Garment

SAIC’s Fashion department offers one of the most intense, interdisciplinary fashion design programs in Chicago. You emerge not only as a skilled designer, but with an awareness of the social, political, and technological forces shaping the 21st century.

Within our Fashion program, you will explore the most progressive achievements in the world of dress and fashion through our Fashion Resource Center, a hands-on collection of late 20th- and 21st-century designer garments representing extreme innovation. The world-renowned art exhibitions and research facilities of The Art Institute of Chicago are located one block from campus.

Fashion Design Students Exhibit Internationally

Isabel Weiss

Isabel Weiss showed her junior collection as part of the Arts Thread Global Fashion Graduate fashion show in Mexico City. Weiss was part of a group of students from 16 schools from around the world, including Milan, New York, Mexico City, São Paulo, and Rome, who showed their collections at CENTRO University.

A model wears structured pants and a gauzy, abstract shirt

Jules Gourley

Jules Gourley showcased their designs as part of the Supima Design Competition in Paris, which was hosted by internationally acclaimed fashion designer Phillip Lim. Gourley was among six finalists competing for the $10,000 prize.