Stella McCartney. Marc Jacobs. Anna Sui. Lazaro Hernandez. Jack McCullough. All of these outrageously popular fashion designers made important contacts and landed powerful jobs with the help of fashion school.
Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney, daughter of Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Linda, studied fashion design at London's prestigious Central St. Martin College of Art and Design. Only two collections after her 1995 graduation, McCartney became creative director of the Parisian couture house Chloe. In 2001, she launched her own fashion house and showed her first mainstream collection in Paris. McCartney is a staunch advocate for animal rights--her designs don't include leather or fur--and has become a respected authority on the issue.
Fashion design tip: Even if you have a famous dad, fashion school can help bring your work the attention it deserves. And as a well-known designer, you can even support your favorite cause in the process.Marc Jacobs
In the early 1980s, native New Yorker Marc Jacobs was a fashion school student at the Big Apple's Parsons The New School for Design. At his senior show in fashion school, fashion guru Robert Duffy spotted the talented Jacobs and snagged him for his company Ruben Thomas, Inc. To this day, Jacobs remains Duffy's business partner, and has been vice president of women's design at Perry Ellis, created Louis Vuitton's first ready-to-wear line, and is the designer of choice for actresses Julianne Moore and Hilary Swank.
Fashion design tip: Fashion schools attract fashion design talent scouts. Marc Jacobs got a rewarding long-term partnership and a fast track to stardom due in large part to his fashion school senior design show.Anna Sui
Anna Sui hails from the suburbs of Detroit, but has more than 330 boutiques and stores in over 30 countries. She attended Parsons for two years and captured the attention of successful fashion photographer Steven Meisel. Partnered with Meisel, Sui designed for several sportswear companies and then launched her first collection in 1980. She premiered her first runway show in 1991, and has created her own designer cosmetic, fragrance, shoe, and accessory lines.
Fashion design tip: No matter where you're from, even a year or two in fashion school can help generate a lucrative international career by introducing you to noted professionals in your field.Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCullough
The story of Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCullough is well known throughout the fashion industry. They met as students in 1999 and became instant friends. Because of a note Hernandez had sent American Vogue editor Anna Wintour, she helped him land an internship with Michael Kors, and helped McCullough intern with Marc Jacobs. For their team thesis, Hernandez and McCullough created the name Proenza Schouler from their mothers' maiden names. In 2003, at the ripe old age of 25, both Hernandez and McCullough received the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Perry Ellis Award for New Talent.
Fashion design tip: Don't be afraid to contact fashion designers you admire; they're often happy to help talented beginners. And by all means partner up if you meet someone who shares your goals: it could be an avenue to success.