Lorenzo de’ Medici Certificates for Visual Merchandising Design
Available during the spring semester for juniors studying Visual Merchandising Design or Fashion Merchandising who have completed and passed all courses required for the major by the December prior to departure. Students completing one of these certificates receive credit for VMD 3200 Studio V.
Visual Communication for Fashion
The core courses of this certificate provide an overview to facilitate the understanding of design and visual communication in the fashion industry. The diverse fields of study offer students insight into the areas of communicating fashion through illustration, retail merchandising displays, fashion reviews, blogs, and through the lens of fashion photography.
Students learn to understand fashion as a significant cultural expression, and to use brand positioning strategies to convey fashion identity through both traditional and digital channels. Students are taught the basics of drawing and rendering fashion figures, harmonic proportions, color contrasts, and spatial relations of shapes. They also effectively analyze artworks and styles as a source of creativity, and develop a personal approach through visits to couturiers, design fairs, and exhibits.
Core Courses:
- Introduction to the Fashion Industry
- Fashion Communication *
- Fashion Illustration I
- Principles of Fashion Photography
- History of Italian Fashion
* Highly recommended prerequisite: VMD 2235 History of Fashion and Visual Merchandising
Fashion Design
The LdM Fashion Design Certificate offers students the opportunity to work in a variety of career disciplines: Fashion Designer, Fashion Editor, Stylist, Illustrator, Patternmaker, Quality Manager, Fashion Critic, Product Developer, Technical Drawer, Show Room Manager, Personal Shopper and many more. Students are given an overview of the industry, as well as a solid foundation of costume history and textile science. Draping, pattern making, construction, and illustration are taught, allowing each student to execute a collection which will later be displayed during a fashion show or an exhibit at the end of the year.
Core Courses:
- Construction Techniques
- Fashion Illustration I
- CAD for Fashion Design
- Trend Forecasting
Required Elective: (choose one)
- Knitwear I
- History of Italian Fashion
- Principles of Fashion Photography