<p>First of all Im not sure if this is the right forum I apologize if it isnt. Im sure now after two years of dabbling in community college as a liberal arts major that I would like to pursue a degree in coustume designing. Im not big fan of what’s hip and new in fashion but I realize that coustume design is in a way obscure so I will settle for a fashion major since I know that the same basics of making a coustumes(since they are both clothing). I would prefer if it was in new jersey pennsylvania or new york. Please dont worry about the price Im just concern about finding the major and I really just need a extra hand in the search. If you have any questions please ask and thank you for reading this.</p>
<p>[Fashion</a> Institute of Technology - Home Page](<a href=“http://www.fitnyc.edu/]Fashion”>http://www.fitnyc.edu/)</p>
<p>You also could ask this question here: [Theater/Drama</a> Majors - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/]Theater/Drama”>Theater/Drama Majors - College Confidential Forums) Look for specific threads on Costume Design, as well as general threads on Theater Tech.</p>
<p>[Fashion</a> design | Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts](<a href=“http://vpa.syr.edu/art-design/design/undergraduate/fashion-design]Fashion”>http://vpa.syr.edu/art-design/design/undergraduate/fashion-design)</p>
<p>Syracuse University (NY)</p>
<p>I know of some people who go to FIT for fashion design. They post pics of clothes they made and designed on their blogs, it’s craaaazy what kind of materials and designs you can make into clothing.</p>
<p>Good luck with this! Although my paid career is something entirely different, I’ve had the privilege of being a costume designer for a number of school plays, and one big nonprofit production with professional actors. I think costume design is something entirely separate from fashion design - the historical research, the construction techniques, working with the director to bring life to the director’s vision of the play, working with the actors to make their costumes bring out their visions their visions of their roles, coordinating with the set and lighting designers on colors and textures - the list is endless. Costume design is taught in a number of schools, and you should look into them carefully. An excellent way to start learning about the profession is to go to [The</a> Costumer’s Manifesto: Your Free One-stop Site for Costume Information & Images](<a href=“http://www.costumes.org%5DThe”>http://www.costumes.org), the site of The Costumer’s Manifesto, created by by Tara Maginnis, Ph.D - through it you can find links to almost anything you could ever dream of, including schools. Her statement of what a costume designer does is the best I have ever seen, and I think is a good explanation of why costume design is not fashion design. Here it is: </p>
<p>The Costumer’s Manifesto: (A statement of Purpose and Ethics for Costumers)</p>
<p>“I am a Costumer, I make clothes for imaginary people.” —Celestine Ranney, 1982</p>
<p>I. When I costume, I am not a fashion designer nor a clothing manufacturer, but a builder of character, concept, and physical movement.</p>
<p>II. I, above all, work with Actors: I help them build their character from without, even as they build it from within. I do not complain about the shape of their bodies. I create the shape we need, and/or build a visual representation of the character that suits the existing body. I am aware of their movement needs and I facilitate them.</p>
<p>III. I work under the guidance of Directors: I help them visually represent their conceptual ideas in physical form. I create clothes for the inhabitants of the world they envision.</p>
<p>IV. I am inspired by the words of Playwrights and Scriptwriters: I try to bring alive the script by transforming the words of the text into visual metaphors. Words, especially poetry in the text, need a visual equivalent that supports the mood of the script without distracting from it.</p>
<p>V. I collaborate with the other Designers, seeking to bring our collective vision together so it works in harmony. Costumes do not exist in a vacuum, but on a set, among properties and furniture, sound, and light, as part of a consistent visual representation of an invented world.</p>
<p>VI. Whether I am in the position of stitcher, cutter, dyer, crafts worker or designer, I remember that what I am doing is contributing to the greater whole of the production, and must be done with an aesthetic sense in keeping with the performance, not merely my own whims. Designers, therefore, need to communicate the shows design to all the other costumers involved in the process as clearly as possible, so that when design decisions are made at any level of the process, from buttons to butt padding, they reflect the needs of the show or film as a whole. </p>
<p>VII. I assist the Audience in understanding the story and characters. In performances where spectacle is required, I make the costumes astonish and entertain, but when the audience should be more aware of the other elements of the performance, I will try to make the costumes recede to the background, without personal vanity.</p>
<p>VIII. I study the history of fashion and dress, no matter what my position in a costume studio, so that I can better replicate the styles of clothing of the past when needed. However, I will remember to avoid mindlessly copying old fashion plates, but instead keep in mind the key elements of character and concept, and select or adapt those fashions to suit the individual production.</p>
<p>IX. I am aware that my work consists primarily of adapting and reinventing pre-existing styles to do a functional purpose: cover a body. I know then that what I build is not legally subject to copyright law, and I will not winge and whine if another designer is, in turn, inspired to reuse elements, even a majority of those elements, from one of my designs in their work. I will accept this as flattery if anyone does so. </p>
<p>X. Costuming is a fun profession, and I endeavor at all times to keep it that way by remembering the feelings of all my collaborators. At no time should actors feel their bodies are being criticized in a fitting, nor should a student, worker or volunteer be treated as slave labor, nor should a director or another designer be bullied into an unwanted design decision. A desire for excellence is good, but the desire should never be pursued to any degree that ignores labor law, common courtesy or civilized collaboration.</p>
<p>-----Tara Maginnis, 8/18/2002</p>