Southern California Fashion Schools Include Accessories in the Mix

For many fashion companies, accessories are a crucial part of their brand-building efforts.

Several design schools in Southern California—including Fashion Careers International, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Art Center College of Design and Woodbury University—are training their students in the techniques and the craftsmanship that go into making handbags and footwear and incorporating the students’ designs into graduate projects and runway shows.

Founded in 2001, FCI recently added a handbag-design program to its fast-track curriculum. Handbag and footwear designer and professor Sita Fischer started teaching the three-month course this month. She said there’s a void in fashion-school study for accessories and the art of handbag design.

FCI’s handbag classes start with the basic craft of leather goods and include the history of handbags and an overview of different brands and what makes them successful. The students will work primarily with leather, which they will purchase after the second week, and they will be encouraged to incorporate other fabrics such as denim into their projects. The course is designed to allow students to gain a thorough understanding of the three-dimensional handbag design process, eventually graduating into producing their own handbag. Fischer will introduce cutting techniques, handbag machinery and how to send out designs to factories. Students will start out with small projects such as making coin purses and learning how to incorporate zippers and adjustable straps and selecting appropriate hardware according to bag sizes, shapes and use. The students will be encouraged to explore their own style. “They will have the freedom to make their own designs and sketches,” Fischer said.

Fischer, who has an extensive background in wardrobe, handbag and footwear design, studied the craft from all angles. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in Belgium with a master of arts degree in shoemaking and leather goods. She tackles design from a technical standpoint, researching trend forecasting, as well. Her previous work included studying new technological advancements in medical garments, but she currently works on specialty handbags for film and photography. “It is best to be knowledgeable in different fields of the industry because it gives you a competitive edge,” she said.

Serious business

Jared Gold, creative director at Woodbury University,joined the university’s fashion department to build the accessories tract because the staff recognized that accessories are an important profit center for fashion brands.

“It seems to be the largest disparity in training right now,” Gold said. “But when you walk into a department store, you see what’s serious—it is the bags and shoes.”

The university’s fashion department has about 90 students, who are trained in all aspects of fashion design. In their freshman year, students work on a handbag project and progress into illustration, pattern making and learning different types of equipment according to their design project.

Los Angeles–based designer Rik Villa is working with students to create black-and-white silkscreen designs to incorporate into their handbag designs. Shoe design instructor Sal Castillo is teaching shoemaking from the very basics to fine finishes.

“In the end, we want our students to get a job as specialists in their field,” Gold said. “As far as training, they work with the machines themselves. I am a big proponent that they understand the making of design. It seems so intrinsic in handbags. Complex sewing and different materials are involved, so being hands-on is key,” he said.

It’s not unusual for prospective FIDM students to already be thinking about accessories before they apply to the program, said Mary Stephens, FIDM’s fashion design director. “Student talents and consumer desire often meet when we are interviewing students applying to study at FIDM,” she said. “Portfolios of potential students will include various design disciplines from head to toe. Also, in conversation, a student will identify a love for a particular design avenue. Since all forms of adornment illuminate and complement fashions [actual garments], it is only natural that developing these multiple design programs take place.”

Art Center students have an industrial design foundation, and many opt to focus on performance footwear. Handbag design tends to be utilitarian backpacks or unisex bags styles, said Justine Parish, associate professor in the product design department. Parish specializes in primarily developing the wearables and soft-goods area, a final-year specialization track for students.

The students also look at sports apparel and its relationship to fashion. “There is this whole new area of smart fabrics and new technology, and we are very collaborative with students at Caltech on [handbag] projects,” Parish said. “Our students spend a lot of time with brand development and work with sample makers and contractors, as well. So they are not training to be fashion designers [per se] but [to be] project managers and creative directors who are very tech heavy and knowledgeable in all facets of design, including accessories.”