The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) is a private college in downtown Los Angeles. It offers degree programs in majors including

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

beauty Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordi ...

, and graphic design. The college was founded in 1969 by Tonian Hohberg, the institute's president and CEO.

Academics

The college offers 26 associate of arts degree programs; a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

business management Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of managemen ...

, which is also available via

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

; and nine

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree programs. The college also offers a master in business administration degree. The college is accredited by the

WASC Senior College and University Commission The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Sam ...

. Due to a commission review finding problems in sustainability and faculty oversight in 2019, status has changed from "Accredited" to "Accredited with Notice of Concern". It is also an accredited institutional member of the

National Association of Schools of Art and Design The National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), founded in 1944, is an accrediting organization of colleges, schools and universities in the United States. The organization establishes standards for graduate and undergraduate degrees ...

(NASAD).Accredited Institutional Members
. National Association of Schools of Art and Design. Accessed 2014.

Campuses

The college has one campus in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. The campus features the modern architecture of Clive Wilkinson. FIDM's main campus in Los Angeles features innovative study spaces, a design studio, and the FIDM Museum and Galleries. The San Francisco campus is located in Union Square. The award-winning Orange County campus is a visual experience with lofts, an indoor/outdoor student lounge, bright colors, and a unique audiovisual igloo. Students can take their first year of classes at the Orange County and San Francisco campuses, but have to transfer to the Los Angeles campus for their second year.

In popular culture

FIDM served as the location of Lifetime's ''

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, mater ...

'' season six, '' Project Runway: Under the Gunn'', '' Project Runway: Threads'', and '' Project Runway: Junior''. Several FIDM alumni, including Santino Rice, Daniel Franco, Guadalupe Vidal, Kelli Martin, and Leann Marshall, were contestants on the original ''Project Runway'' show. FIDM was also featured in the MTV show '' The Hills'', which shows the life of upcoming fashion designer, Lauren Conrad, who comes from

Laguna Beach Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...

and wants to become famous for her designs.

FIDM Museum

The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum, located at the Los Angeles Campus, is home to a large collection of fashion and costume pieces from the 1800s to today. The museum features permanent and temporary exhibits, including costumes and designs from early 20th-century Hollywood, theater, and current television shows and films. Currently, the art of costume design in television is being displayed until the start of November of 2022. The FIDM Museum Permanent Collection features more than 15,000 objects representing over 200 years of fashion, spanning haute couture, ready-to-wear, international ensembles, film costumes, and fragrance. Highlights of the collection include the Lilli Ann, Michael Arnaud, Damask Cecil Beaton, Nancy Dinsmore,

Rudi Gernreich Rudolf "Rudi" Gernreich (August 8, 1922 April 21, 1985) was an Austrian-born American fashion designer whose avant-garde clothing designs are generally regarded as the most innovative and dynamic fashion of the 1960s. He purposefully used fashio ...

, Stella Hanania, Helen Larson,

Tina Leser Tina Leser (December 12, 1910 – January 23, 1986) was an American fashion designer. Part of a generation of pioneering sportswear designers, Leser was particularly known for her global influences. Personal life Tina Leser was born Christine B ...

, Maurice Levin, and

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-u ...

Menswear archives. Due to COVID-19 concerns, the FIDM Museum Los Angeles and Orange County galleries are now closed. It is possible to browse the FIDM online collections.

Notable people

Alumni

* Rajwa Al Saif, Saudi designer and the fiancée of

Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan Hussein bin Abdullah ( ar, الحسين بن عبدالله, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbdullāh''; born 28 June 1994) is Crown Prince of Jordan as the son of King Abdullah II. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1 ...

* Marina Toybina, costume designer * Lubov Azria, fashion designer * Katie Bender, filmmaker * Gessica Brooke, fashion and accessories designer *

Amanda Bynes Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress, known for her work in television and film throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Bynes began her career as a child actress, working on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' ( ...

, fashion designer, actress * Lauren Conrad, author and fashion designer * Cris Crotz,

Miss Nevada The Miss Nevada competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Nevada in the Miss America competition, and the name of the title held by that winner. The first Nevadan to compete at Miss America was Carol Lampe in 1 ...

2010 * Candice Cuoco, fashion designer, ''Project Runway 14'' finalist * Kyra Davis, novelist *

Lil Debbie Jordan Mary Capozzi (born February 2, 1990), better known by her stage name Lil Debbie, is an American rapper, model and fashion designer. Debbie started her career in 2011 as part of the now-defunct group The White Girl Mob, with rappers Kreaysh ...

, rapper, model, and fashion designer * Nikita Dragun, Beauty YouTuber *

Mario Hollands Mario Eduardo Lemus Hollands (born August 26, 1988) is an American former professional baseball left-handed relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies in . Hollands played college baseball for the UC ...

, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies * Sassa Jimenez, fashion designer, Philippines *

Karen Kane Karen Kane is an American fashion designer. Her designs are known for their relaxed, California-inspired feeling. Biography Kane was born in the Akron suburb Barberton, Ohio, the youngest of three children. At the age of 9, her family moved fro ...

, fashion designer *

Lisa Kristine Lisa Kristine (born September 2, 1965) is an American humanitarian photographer, activist, and speaker. Her photography has documented indigenous cultures and social causes, such as modern slavery, in more than 100 countries. Through her work, ...

, fine art photographer * Michael Kuluva, fashion designer, professional figure skater, owner of Tumbler and Tipsy * Masiela Lusha, Albanian-American actress, poet, and humanitarian *

Leanne Marshall Leanne Marshall (born October 10, 1980 in Yuba City, California) is a fashion designer in Portland, Oregon. She was the winner of Project Runway (season 5), season 5 of ''Project Runway''. Project Runway Leanne Marshall and Wesley Nault were the ...

, fashion designer, ''Project Runway'' 5 winner * Thai Nguyen, fashion designer and television personality *

Trish Summerville Trish Summerville is an American costume designer. She is best known for her work on Francis Lawrence's dystopian science fiction film '' The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'' (2013), as well as her collaborations with David Fincher including his p ...

, costume designer *

Santino Rice Santino Quinto Rice (born 20 August 1974) is an American fashion designer and television personality. He is best known for his appearances on the reality television programs ''Project Runway'', ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and '' On the Road with Aus ...

, fashion designer, ''Project Runway'' 2 finalist * Yotam Solomon, fashion designer * Marlene Stewart, costume designer * Edwin Bodney, poet * Gottmik, drag performer, make-up artist

Faculty and staff

Kevin Reagan Kevin Reagan is a three-time Grammy Award-winning graphic designer/art director, also honored by the AIGA, ''Print'', and ''Communication Arts''. He has created artwork for critically and commercially acclaimed albums by Madonna, The Foo Fig ...

, graphic designer and author * Bradford Shellhammer, entrepreneur and designer, founding editor of '' Queerty'' * Nick Verreos, fashion designer

References

External links

*
FIDM Museum and galleries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Fashion schools in the United States Business schools in California For-profit universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges in Los Angeles Universities and colleges in Orange County, California Universities and colleges in San Diego Universities and colleges in San Francisco Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges California people in fashion Private universities and colleges in California