Abuja is hands-down one of your best destinations for learning fashion design in Nigeria, as it hosts some of the best fashion schools in the country. However, that doesn’t mean all fashion schools in Abuja are automatically good; there are even some relatively terrible ones.
If you’re looking to learn fashion design around Abuja, we can help you find an excellent place. This article will show you at least ten excellent fashion schools in Abuja, but before then, let’s take a look at what you should expect going into one of them.
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What Do You Learn at Fashion Schools in Abuja?
The fashion education industry is very loosely regulated, leading to significant differences between the programs they offer, but the general idea of a fashion school is largely the same at most fashion schools in Abuja, and perhaps throughout Nigeria.
Understanding what you’ll learn at a fashion school is easier when you know the differences between tailoring and fashion design. While tailors produce (join), repair, and alter fabrics, fashion designers are responsible for coming up with the patterns you see on fabrics and the sewing styles that tailors model clothes after.
So, while apprenticing at a tailor’s workshop qualifies you to become a tailor, a fashion school will teach you how to become a fashion designer. With that said, it’s essential to note that not all fashion design programs are the same, as the profession itself has different aspects that we’ve hinted at earlier.
You can learn about outfit 3D modeling, pattern making, brand development, and merch design, among other categories. Understanding these categories and choosing one you’d like to learn about is essential to helping you decide what fashion school you’ll eventually attend. Helping you understand the different aspects of fashion design, however, is well beyond the scope of this article.
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Best Fashion Schools in Abuja
As stated earlier, there are numerous fashion schools in Abuja, but here are the few we think are worth your time and money.
1. The Fashion Academy
The Fashion Academy has a pretty straightforward name: they’re a fashion academy that offers a wide range of marketable courses to aspiring fashion designers. Courses available at the academy include digital illustration and pattern making, fashion branding, pro sewing techniques, fashion design and illustration, and pattern making.
If you’re looking to go from beginner to expert without using a single, consolidated bundle, The Fashion Academy offers that through its Fashionpreneur courses. The six-month bundle makes you an intermediate-level fashion designer, while the one-year Fashionpreneur course takes you from beginner to proficiency.
The school’s state-of-the-art fashion equipment and impressive portfolio undoubtedly earn it a place among the best fashion schools in Abuja.
2. LegsApparel Fashion School
LegsApparel is one of the leading fashion schools in Abuja, promising world-class fashion training with state-of-the-art equipment and software to keep you up to speed with the latest advancements in the world of fashion design. The school isn’t only available in Abuja; there are branches in Rivers and Lagos for aspiring students living outside Nigeria’s northern regions.
LegsApparel’s courses are divided into broad categories: there’s the basic program that covers the fundamentals, from measurement to sewing techniques. The intermediate program introduces you to more complicated concepts of design, while the advanced programs introduce you to fashion CAD complex details of the fashion business.
Since the academy has different courses in each of these categories, they run specialized programs that only teach you specific courses. For instance, you can learn only computer-aided designs (CAD) in fashion or fashion entrepreneurship without having to take the full advanced program.
Thanks to this academy’s spread and the qualitative course contents, it’s not a mistake to include it among the best fashion schools in Abuja.
3. ISME Couture and Fashion Training School
ISME Couture and Fashion Training School is an Abuja-based academy that has been in operation since 2014, training youth to become professionals in fashion design. While the school focuses more on the technical aspects of the trade like cutting and sewing, theoretical topics also form a crucial part of its curriculum.
The school runs five programs concurrently and admits new students to all of them monthly. Available programs at ISME Fashion Training School include the Sandwich, Certificate, Diploma, Certificate and Diploma, and Advanced Diploma programs. The course durations range from four weeks to 12 months, and fees range from N20,000 to N150,000.
ISME Couture and Fashion Training School is active on both Facebook and Instagram, posting fashion-related content, from concise tips to updates about their coming programs. If you’re not into learning in groups, the academy offers private lessons, but at special and undisclosed rates.
4. Abuja College of Fashion
Abuja College of Fashion has one aim: to take you from a beginner to a professional fashion designer in the shortest possible time, and that’s exactly what its curriculum does. It offers three programs, simply named the Basic Certificate Course, the Advanced Certificate Course, and the Diploma Course.
The Basic course runs for three months and costs N200,000; the Advanced program has the same duration, but costs N50,000 more; and the Diploma course runs for six months and costs N400,000. Regardless of the course you’re taking, Abuja College of Fashion will provide you with a brand-new electric sewing machine, training textbooks, and a starter kit, as soon as you make your payment.
The core topics in all of the courses are the same. You learn the design process of fashion design, fashion illustration, pattern drafting, sewing techniques, and the entrepreneurial aspect. However, the intensity of the courses will differ depending on what program you’re taking.
5. L’amirah Fashion Academy
L’amirah is an innovative fashion academy in the FCT with a mission of imparting useful fashion design knowledge to students. The academy offers a variety of courses that aspiring students can choose from based on their previous experience in fashion design.
Complete beginners can start with L’amirah’s foundation course that introduces them to the business of fashion. The school’s intermediate program improves on what the students have learned from the foundation course, while the advanced program solidifies their fashion skills, readying them for a career in the field.
Students who wish to go even further can take the Master’s course that lasts for four weeks and shows them the intricate details of working in the fashion industry. The academy offers both weekend and online courses for learners who can’t show up in person, making it one of the best fashion schools in Abuja.
6. Evelyn Tailor School of Fashion Design
Evelyn Tailor School of Fashion Design aims to take students from complete beginners in fashion design to skilled experts capable of working in the industry and even delving into fashion entrepreneurship.
Like most other fashion schools in Abuja, Evelyn Tailor School offers several courses with different durations and costs. However, it offers optional accommodation for students planning to move to Abuja to start their fashion career, a unique service that most competitors don’t even consider.
In addition, the schools offer free Wi-Fi to all students, free e-books, and basic tools to start practicing the fashion design skills you’re learning. Since all of these benefits come at a price that’s not outrageous compared to what competitors charge, Evelyn Tailor qualifies as one of the best fashion schools in Abuja.
7. Ella Bernard Online Design School
The Ella Bernard Online Design School was initially a physical Abuja-based fashion school that has now transitioned completely online, offering students several courses in fashion design to set them up for a fruitful career in the field.
Ella Bernard courses come in the form of concise, project-based snippets designed to teach you skills you’ll need in your fashion design career. For instance, the Tonia Skirt course teaches the basic design techniques required to make the Tonia Skirt, showing you some essential fashion designing skills in the process.
The school’s courses have a price range of N15,000 to N150,000, which is low compared to what physical fashion schools in Abuja charge. Most of the courses available have a recommended learning time of three to six months, but the complete fashion design beginners course bundle takes nine months to complete.
8. Springfield Fashion Academy
Springfield Fashion Academy is an Abuja-based fashion training school that teaches aspiring fashion designers in Nigeria and beyond. With classes for learners of all ages and experience levels, Springfield Fashion Academy is easily one of the best fashion schools in Abuja.
The school’s programs are divided into four: basic, intermediate, advanced, and single. Look at a single course as one unit that teaches something specific, like how to make a ball wedding dress. The basic, intermediate, and advanced programs are simply collections of single courses the school thinks are sufficient to take you from beginner to professional level in fashion design.
If you’re starting your fashion design journey from scratch, you should go with the basic course, then the intermediate course, and then the advanced program. However, if you believe you already have a solid grasp of the trade but have a certain weakness, you can patch it up with a corresponding single course.
9. Kaffy Fashion Academy
Kaffy Fashion Academy is an innovative fashion school owned and run by veteran fashion educator, Adedoyin Kaffy Babalola. With the vision to make fashion ‘simple,’ Kaffy may have succeeded in building a platform that competes with the best fashion schools in Abuja.
The academy has three programs: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. A newbie looking to break into the industry will have to start from the beginner course and work their way up from there. However, if you already have some kind of experience, you may need to discuss with representatives from the academy to see what program you can fit into.
Each of the academy’s courses costs N150,000 each, so going from beginner to advanced will cost you N450,000 in total. For Kaffy Fashion Academy to price its courses this competitively, it must offer something close to what you can get at bigger-sized fashion schools in Abuja.
10. Vientriel School of Beauty and Style
Vientriel started as a training school for embroidery, fashion designing, and dressmaking, but it quickly outgrew that mission, causing the school to also offer courses in holistic therapy and massage. Unlike most other fashion schools in Abuja, Vientriel focuses more on the tailoring aspect of fashion design than the illustration and design aspect.
The entirety of Vientriel’s tailoring courses and fashion masterclasses will take you eight months, but you’re free to skip those you don’t think you need. If you’re a complete beginner with no learning or practice experience, however, you should probably not skip anything.
As hinted earlier, Vientriel has several other courses in make-up, catering, massage therapy, painting, interior decoration, and several holistic therapy techniques. Vientriel’s laser-focused fashion designing curriculum makes it a difficult entry in a list of the best fashion schools in Nigeria, but then, is there anyone better out there?
Note: Amount written on this post is the actual amount at the time of this publication
FAQs
Does Uniabuja Offer Fashion and Design?
Quick checks with the JAMB Integrated Brochure and Syllabus System (IBASS) showed that the University of Abuja doesn’t offer any degree or certificate programs in fashion design or any related course. If you’re passionate about fashion design, you may have to find alternate fashion schools in Abuja.
Conclusion
Fashion design is an increasingly popular and lucrative trade in Nigeria, and high-quality fashion schools are in high demand. To help you avoid the possibility of choosing a lackluster learning destination, this article lists the best fashion schools in Abuja that you should consider attending.
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