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Arizona State University said on Monday that the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in downtown Los Angeles will be part of the expansion of fashion education at ASU’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.
ASU’s fashion program will now be called ASU FIDM, incorporating both the FIDM community and campus, and will operate in both Los Angeles and Phoenix.
FIDM will continue to operate as a separate educational institution from ASU with an increased focus on business-related academic programs in the creative industries.
“Leveraging FIDM and ASU’s expertise and innovation in the fashion and creative industries will create vastly improved opportunities for students,” said Steven Tepper, dean and director of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at ASU. “Offering aspiring creative professionals the chance to study at a global research university greatly expands their choices and their ability to contribute to a rapidly growing industry. I am confident that ASU FIDM can lead the world in educating for the future of an inclusive, sustainable and socially responsible fashion industry.”
ASU has already begun working with FIDM students to share available ASU degree offerings as a result of the expansion. Students in the FIDM fashion and design program will be briefed on opportunities to complete their programs at FIDM or continue at ASU.
“We are so proud of FIDM’s history and legacy,” said Barbara Bundy, vice president of education at FIDM. “What began as a dream five decades ago has grown into a globally recognized creative institution that has served more than 70,000 graduates. Our legacy of excellence and inspiration will continue to thrive as a part of Arizona State University with students having expanded access to world-class facilities, faculty, and programs to ensure they are prepared for a highly demanding, increasingly competitive, and ever-changing industry. evolution.
Additionally, ASU FIDM students will continue to benefit from FIDM’s relationships with leading companies and brands. The ASU expansion will also allow students to benefit from the FIDM Museum and other resources.
In recent years, ASU students have embraced expanded offerings in Los Angeles as the university has become a hub for educational opportunities in Southern California, centered in its headquarters at the ASU California Center at the Herald Examiner Building . The university’s presence includes its Cronkite News Los Angeles office, where digital and broadcast students create news and sports content; Sidney Poitier New American Film School, which trains the next generation of diverse filmmakers and storytellers, and Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, which offers students the opportunity to take classes while exploring experiential learning offerings and opportunities networking in Los Angeles
ASU has more than 62,000 alumni living in California and 20,000 California residents as degree-seeking students, and 13% of its graduates work in California.
ASU’s fashion program was launched in 2017, and its fashion degree offers courses that include pattern making, digital pattern making, technical design, garment construction, merchandising, supply chain management, retail management, and branding.
As of Spring 2023, ASU has more than 500 graduate or minor students in fashion, with hundreds more taking one-to-one classes. The ASU Fashion program also offers studio spaces and recording studios, digital media labs, performance spaces, and an interdisciplinary makers space with laser cutters, 3D printers, felts, and industrial knitting machines.
FIDM was founded in 1969 by Toni Hohberg, CEO and President, and offers graduate programs in fashion design and business. FIDM Partners and Classroom Contributors have included brands such as Disney, Nike, Netflix, PacSun, Levi’s and Converse.
ASU’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, created in 2009 as a merger of two existing academic units, the Katherine K. Herberger College of the Arts and the College of Design, is the largest comprehensive school of design and the arts in the country, which includes the art schools; Arts, Media and Engineering; Music, Dance and Theater; The School of Design; The Sidney Poitier New American Film School and the ASU Art Museum.
