Fashion design requires looking into the future to innovate for today. However, to see the future, you need to understand the foundation of the design process. Moreover, it is pivotal for you to build your personalized fashion and style as a fashion designer.
This is what should set you apart from others. Therefore, understanding your individualistic style is quintessential to the success of your brand. As you may know, several brands come and go. Hence, you need to build a solid foundation and a unique style, which you can call your own.
For this, you have to work hard and train well. The former is in your hands, but for the latter, you can enroll in one of the best courses to learn fashion designing online.
When you search online, you will be flooded with options of online fashion designing classes, but segregating from amongst them can be quite a pain. So, we did the work and have found the list of some of the best online fashion designing courses.
Now, let us get started and address these courses one by one.
Top Courses for Fashion Designing
- Pattern Making for Fashion Design – Beginner Course (Part 1) – [Udemy]
- Sketching for Fashion Design ~ Beginner Course for Designers – [Udemy]
- How To Create A Fashion Collection and Launch Your Own Brand – [Udemy]
- Fashion Design – Offered by Parsons School of Design, The New School – [Coursera]
- Sustainable Fashion – Offered by Copenhagen Business School (CBS)– [Coursera]
- Transforming the Fashion Business Specialization – Offered by Parsons School of Design, The New School – [Coursera]
- Draping for Fashion Design – Creative Techniques Made Simple – [Udemy]
- Pattern Making for Fashion Design – PART 2 (Yokes, Stripes,) – [Udemy]
- Online Fashion Classes – [Skillshare]
- Fashion Courses – [FutureLearn]
- Fashion Designing Online Courses Free – [Oxford Home Study]
- Costume Design – [Manish Malhotra]
- Online Fashion Design Course – [Shaw Academy]
- Online Fashion Degree [Academy of Art University]
14 Best Online Fashion Designing Courses for Beginners & Experts
1. Pattern Making for Fashion Design – Beginner Course (Part 1) – [Udemy]
| Enrolled | 5,065 students |
| Rating | 4.5 |
| Duration | 41 mins on-demand video |
| Instructor | Nino Via |
| Paid | Yes |
| Certification | Yes |
| Return or refund policy | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee |
| Cons | The instructor assumes that the learner already knows quite a lot. This is an unhealthy expectation for a beginner-level course. |
For a fashion designer, pattern making is a vital skill. It helps you understand how the garments are created and put together. So, to be a good designer, you must understand this art.
With this course, you will learn the drill to be more creative, understand the vitalities of a successful brand, and boost the popularity of your brand. There are multiple videos and demos in the course, which help you learn better.
Learning Outcomes
A few things you can expect to learn in this online fashion designing course with certificate are:
- Pattern making techniques or pattern drafting
- Methods and techniques taught in top fashion universities
- Foundational principles of fashion design
- Principals of Pattern Drafting which covers Dart Manipulation, Added Fullness, and Contour.
- Fashion terminology that you ought to know, such as Slopers and Blocks and Darts, Pleats, Tucks, Yokes, Princess Seams, Shirring, Apex, Notches
- Trueing Darts
- Drafting an A-Line Skirt
- Techniques such as Pivoting and Slash-and-Spread
- Manipulating darts
- How the garments are created and put together
- What are Grainlines
- Drafting Skirt Yokes
- How to add plump to a skirt design
- Drafting Princess Seams
- Learning where patterns come from
- Drafting Pleats and Tucks
- Pattern Labeling, including Notches and Seam Allowance
- Tools necessary for drafting patterns.
- Draping process
Prerequisites
These online fashion designing classes are meant for beginner and intermediate-level students. Hence, there are no prerequisites as such for this course.
Who should take this course?
This is a good course for:
- Students with a strong interest in Fashion Design
- Students who wish to learn to draft patterns
- Students who aspire to cut, design, and sew their clothes someday.
Review Shanti Applegate:
He explains the principles very well with clear steps and examples. This has added to my knowledge and skills. I love pattern-cutting and the creativity it generates in me.
2. Sketching for Fashion Design ~ Beginner Course for Designers – [Udemy]
| Enrolled | 4,773 students |
| Rating | 4.4 |
| Duration | 32 mins on-demand video |
| Instructor | Nino Via |
| Paid | Yes |
| Certification | Yes |
| Return or refund policy | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee |
| Cons | It is a very brief course, which does not feel right for the price. |
When you practice sketching time and again, you can create designs and styles in your head and produce them on paper. This makes you eligible to create something new every time.
Further, knowing how to sketch and practicing it routinely will give you the necessary confidence and amplify your morale. This also betters your ability to showcase your ideas.
Hence, in a way, sketching can be quite empowering for a designer to express the possibilities and ideas in your mind. This makes it one of the best online fashion designing courses.
Learning Outcomes
In this online fashion design training, a few things you can learn are:
- Learning to sketch a “9-heads Croqui.”
- Understand body movements – establishing balance, how a body moves, and knowledge of the plumb line
- Pencil techniques to create shading, shirring or gathers
- Ideally using the color pencils
- Difference between womenswear and menswear button closure
- Utilizing Croqui as a template when you start sketching
- Using the fashion journal or a diary as an inspiration
- Creating an “S-shaped” silhouette
- Using the Plumb line
- Creating your own style
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites associated with this Udemy fashion design course.
Who should take this course?
This is a great course to learn fashion designing online for students aspiring to learn sketches for fashion designing. People of all age groups will find the course useful.
Review Astrid Seter:
Another inspiring course, with easy to-do steps and explaining of why. I’m enjoying my journey and looking forward to finding my style. Thank you, Nino!
3. How To Create A Fashion Collection and Launch Your Own Brand – [Udemy]
| Rating | 4.7 |
| Enrolled | 2,959 students |
| Duration | 39 mins on-demand video |
| Instructor | Nino Via |
| Certification | Yes |
| Paid | Yes |
| Return or refund policy | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee |
| Cons | Again, this was way, too, basic. Students will barely find something massive to learn with this course. |
Launching your fashion collection or line is not easy. It is a complicated and highly challenging process, which is supposed to be executed in sequential order.
These online fashion designing classes start with inspiration, mood boards, sketching ideas, and so on. Further, the produced line goes into the manufacturing and production process. This is followed by the use of social media to promote the produced line.
It is a great course to learn fashion designing online, which will provide useful information for everyone who decides to enter into the world of designing. Overall, the course intends to cover the A-to-Z, into discovering who you are as a designer. Hence, this is an excellent course for anyone aspiring to be a fashion designer.
In this Udemy fashion design, there are a bunch of things for you to learn. Some of them are:
- Understanding the vital steps to develop and create a fashion collection or line
- Fashion terminology, such as Slopers, Mood Boards, Draping process, Pattern drafting, Cost Sheets, Tech Packs.
- Sketching your ideas
- Understanding of the shapes and silhouettes
- Draping and Pattern Drafting
- Identifying the different kinds of fabrics and textiles – knits vs. woven
- Understanding the infinite shades of a color
- Identifying your target customer
- Sizing and grading
- Exploring the importance of social media to sell your brand
- Know what inspires you and where your inspiration lies
- Observing and saving visual pictures and images
- Using fashion journal as a resource
- Using the Croque
- Understand types of fabrics, colors, and multiple textures
- Knowing the methods and techniques used to create a pattern
- Using Tech Packs and Cost Sheets
- Materials covered in the course will help you decide which area of the industry is best suited for you
Who should take this course?
This is one of the best online fashion designing courses for anyone who is interested in creating their fashion design collection. So, anyone who aspires to launch their fashion line will find the course useful.
Review Abigail Miner:
Easy to follow, clear steps and exactly in line with what I was looking for in terms of direction to start my fashion brand. So happy with this course!
4. Fashion Design – Offered by Parsons School of Design, The New School – [Coursera]
| Offered by | Parsons School of Design, The New School |
| Enrolled | 3,855 students |
| Rating | 4.6 |
| Duration | Approx. 10 hours to complete |
| Instructor | Keanan Duffty |
| Certification | Yes |
| Paid | Yes |
| Return or refund policy | 14 days from the date of payment |
| Cons | Unfortunately, it seems as if the lecturer is reading from the book in parts around the course. This should have been avoided to boost the concentration of the students. |
Next, we have the Coursera fashion design course. It is the Course 2 of 3 in the Transforming the Fashion Business Specialization. The course comes with flexible deadlines. So, you can start and proceed with your timeline. It is a 100% online course.
Learning Outcomes
Through this online fashion designing course with certificate you will learn:
- 3D and digital printing
- Technological developments in fashion design
- New design process techniques based on your research
- Artisanal design and craftsmanship
- How to brand through design aesthetics, materials, silhouettes and fit
- Importance of collaboration with other designers
- The vitality of new modes of thinking and inspiration
- Forecasting the future of fashion
- Observing social movements, trends, environmentalism, politics, and pop culture to build your brand
- Creating environmentally friendly designs
- Assessing the socio-cultural relationship between society and fashion
Prerequisites for Coursera fashion design course
This is an intermediate-level online fashion designing course. So, you need a minimum of least two years of experience in fashion design or other creative industries to take the course.
Review SF:
Had sooo much fun learning !!! One of the best designing courses I’ve ever done.
5. Sustainable Fashion – Offered by Copenhagen Business School (CBS)– [Coursera]
| Offered by | Copenhagen Business School (CBS) |
| Enrolled | 40,432 students |
| Rating | 4.8 |
| Duration | Approx. 5 hours to complete |
| Instructor | Kirsti Reitan Andersen, Ana Lucia Diaz Schiavon, Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen, |
| Certification | Yes |
| Paid | Yes |
| Return or refund policy | 14 days from the date of payment |
| Cons | Multiple students have experienced technical issues around the course. |
Often people use the term ‘sustainable fashion,’ but is it possible for something like fashion to be sustainable?
Well, if you have your doubts, so do we, because the fact of the matter is, in the past one decade or so, the fashion industry has only become more and more unsustainable by utilizing the natural resources at a burgeoning rate.
This results in enormous waste production. However, with this course, your instructors have dared to do something different. They will provide you with an overview of the business model theory. Further, you will study business models as essential tools in the transformation towards building a sustainable business.
So, across these online fashion designing classes, you will research business model theory as your base to understand how different fashion brands are moving towards sustainable fashion. You will learn to examine their efforts and consider the strategies for your organization.
Learning Outcomes
In these online fashion design courses for beginners,there is a lot for you to learn:
- Broaden your understanding of sustainable fashion
- Challenges and opportunities, which goes in implementing circular business models
- Understand the circular economy and related concepts
- Different tools used by the companies to report and measure sustainability
- Understand the business model theory in a new way
- Apply the strategies to manage business model innovation towards sustainable practices.
- Basic terminology and tools used in the sustainable business model
- Case studies of the actual instances form the fashion world
Prerequisites
This is a beginner-level course to learn fashion designing online. The course is conducted 100% online. So, you can study at your timeline. As such, there are no prerequisites associated with the course.
Review RJ:
Very interesting and insightful course. Easy to follow and understand the concepts discussed in the course even with no Fashion background. Thank you very much for offering this course.
6. Transforming the Fashion Business Specialization – Offered by Parsons School of Design, The New School – [Coursera]
| Offered by | Parsons School of Design, The New School |
| Enrolled | 2,004 students |
| Rating | 4.7 |
| Duration | Approximately 3 months to complete with a dedication of 3 hours/week |
| Instructor | Keanan Duffty |
| Certification | Yes |
| Paid | Yes |
| Return or refund policy | 7-days free trial |
| Cons | At multiple points, the course feels a little too bland. |
This specialization is a cluster of three online fashion designing classes. In this specialization, you will understand a fashion business and how it can evolve into a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable manifestation of itself.
Learning Outcomes
These classes have an array of things for you to learn. These include:
- Developing a fashion business model, which incorporates experiential methods, sustainability, and serves underrepresented groups
- Integrating systems with an idea of advancing fashion
- Studying the slow fashion movement
- Developing a holistic product lifecycle
- How to stay relevant despite an evolving fashion
- Analytical and statistical trend forecasting
- How can you create memorable experiences with retail fashion
- Implementing new techniques into your design
- Articulating the predominant design techniques within the fashion system
Prerequisites
This is an intermediate-level Coursera fashion design course with online fashion design training. You need a minimum of two years of experience in the field of fashion, or a related design degree in similar domain.
7. Draping for Fashion Design – Creative Techniques Made Simple – [Udemy]
| Enrolled | 1,291 students |
| Rating | 4.8 |
| Duration | 1 hour on-demand video |
| Instructor | Nino Via |
| Certification | Yes |
| Paid | Yes |
| Return or refund policy | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee |
| Cons | Despite being short, the course feels repetitive. |
Draping is a creative and innovative technique that motivates you to be more innovative and creative and have more fun in the process. Learning to drape is a spontaneous and intuitive way to build new designs and launch the latest ideas.
This course to learn fashion designing online begins with the basics and moves to advanced concepts around draping. Overall, the course motivates you to be a great fashion designer. Whether making clothes is your hobby or a medium of income generation, this online fashion designing course can feel empowering. So, whether you are building a fashion website or starting your online store or line, the course will serve you right.
Prerequisites
These online fashion design courses for beginners have no prerequisites or requirements. However, you can take the Pattern Making Course, and this Draping Course from the instructor as both courses work in conjunction with one another.
Learning Outcomes
Some things to learn in this online fashion design training program are:
- Techniques and skills in positioning and pinning fabric on a dress
- Manipulating muslin
- Marking muslin
- Creating darts
- Draping a basic or circle skirt
- Creating pleats, darts, and tucks
- Draping a 1-dart bodice
- Draping a 2-dart bodice
- Draping a simple basic dress
- Fundamental draping skills
- Working with a dress form
- Creating shirring or gathers
- Draping a basic dress
- Knowledge of the tools needed in draping
- The terminology used in the Dress Form, such as Princess Seam, Side Seam, Center Front, Waistline, Apex, etc
Who should take this course?
These online fashion designing classes are suitable for students interested in developing draping skills as the tools and techniques to make a mark in the fashion world.
Review Claire Sutton:
Really inspired to have a go at this. Clear instructions and some great ideas to take forward on starting out with draping!
8. Pattern Making for Fashion Design – PART 2 (Yokes, Stripes,) – [Udemy]
| Enrolled | 938 students |
| Rating | 4.7 |
| Duration | 39 mins on-demand video |
| Instructor | Nino Via |
| Certification | Yes |
| Paid | Yes |
| Return or refund policy | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee |
| Cons | There is very little content in the course. |
Pattern making is a vital tool necessary for you to execute your ideas and bring them to life. However, learning pattern making is a superior and ongoing skill, where you have to constantly learn new skills and techniques, which can make you a better designer.
Be it a beginner or a professional; there can always be a thing or two to learn. So, this online fashion designing course can be your repertoire as a fashion designer. Since you are at the early stages of the learning curve, this course can inspire and empower you to be a fantastic designer. Overall, this course aims to teach you to be a better designer, regardless of whether you are a beginner or a professional.
Learning Outcomes
A few things you will learn via these online fashion designing classes are:
- Using pattern making and draping together for creating fashion design
- Introducing and working with a Yoke
- Learning to turn a dart into gathers or shirring
- “Slash-and-Spread” technique to add meaning to a design
- Modifying and changing a pattern
- Using seams to separate panels and creating a new design
- Learning the use of labeling, grainlines, and notches
- Using stripes
- How the stripes and grainlines affect the design element
- Eliminating the dart
- Creating the Princess Seam
- Dart Manipulation
- Elements of Design
- Everything you ought to know about notches and controlling notches
- Pinning muslin into a dress
- Using muslin to drape
- Working with 1-Dart and a 2-Dart sloper/pattern
Prerequisites
To learn fashion designing online with this course, you must have a fundamental understanding of draping and pattern making.
Who should take this course?
The students who wish to expand and grow their knowledge further will find this one of the best online fashion designing classes.
Review Katrina Idczak:
I really like how the teacher explains everything. I understand everything very well. Well done course!
Bonus Courses
1. Online Fashion Classes – [Skillshare]
Skillshare has a bunch of online fashion designing classes. Based on their duration and skill level, you can segregate their available online fashion design training programs and find one that best fits your needs.
In addition, you can find both free and paid courses to learn fashion designing online with Skillshare. So, go ahead, browse through the available online fashion designing courses, and make your pick.
A few courses that immensely appealed to us are:
- Product Marketing: Creating Compelling Brand Imagery
- Painting with Watercolors: From Inspiration to Fashion Illustration
- Pattern Drafting: The First Step of Garment Production
2. Fashion Courses – [FutureLearn]
On FutureLearn, there is an array of online fashion design training programs wherein you can learn to successfully build your fashion brand and understand the importance of sustainability.
Expert Tracks
There are two expert online fashion designing courses also available with FutureLearn. These equip you to specialize your skills. You can begin with a seven-day trial, subscribe, and learn at your pace. Then, as and when desired, you can cancel your subscription.
Their expert tracks include:
- Fashion Management: Create Your Own Sustainable Brand
- The Future of Fashion and Media with Condé Nast
A few other online fashion designing classes that you can take with FutureLearn are:
- Innovation: the Fashion Industry
- Compassion in Fashion: Sustainability and the Global Fur Trade ?????:????????????
- Understanding Fashion: From Business to Culture
3. Fashion Designing Online Courses Free – [Oxford Home Study]
Oxford Home Study College has an array of online fashion designing courses, which are absolutely free. Each of their course provides you with world-class content. In addition, industry leaders and respected academics impart the courses.
So, if you need the best starting point to enter into the world of fashion design, this could be your go-to course. Another good thing is that there are no deadlines or restrictions to complete the course.
Learning Outcomes
In these online fashion designing classes, you will get an:
- Overview of the contemporary fashion design industry
- Key design elements
- Vital design principles
Prerequisites
No prior knowledge or experience is needed to take this course.
4. Costume Design – [Manish Malhotra]
Manish Malhotra presents this costume design course. It is one of the best online fashion designing courses to learn:
- Creative, practical, and theoretical approaches within fashion design for womenswear as well as menswear
- Research to foresee advancements in the world of fashion
- Development of different fashion products
- The value-added function of the selling environment
- Evaluation of the design cycle
- Role and responsibility of the costume designer
- Knowing how to apply the apt fashion drawing techniques
- Developing new ideas
- Designing a costume scheme with sketches
- Mastering wardrobe fittings and rehearsals
- Understanding of different fashion products
- Learning or analyzing why consumers buy fashion products and
- Understanding the life cycle of fashion design – market research, product/service augmentation, advertising, and promotion
- Analyzing, interpreting, and presenting financial and numerical information
- Reading the scripts or screenplay and interpreting the costume requirements
- Pre-production processes and production processes
- The art of make-up, hair, and wigs
5. Online Fashion Design Course – [Shaw Academy]
Next on our best online fashion designing courses list, we have a course by Shaw Academy. The course is certified by Austin Peay State University. It is a four-week course, which comprises eight lessons plus assessments. More so, the course will fetch you a globally recognized certification.
Learning Outcomes
In this course by Shaw Academy to learn fashion designing online, you will grasp the following information:
- Understanding of the fashion design process
- Basics of fashion drawing and illustration
- Building a fashion design collection
- Knowledge and practical skills to create a basic garment
- Foundation of basic pattern making techniques and pattern drafting
Related: Fashion illustration classes
6. Online Fashion Degree [Academy of Art University]
Academy of Art University’s School of Fashion teaches you to design, pattern, and create a professional career in the industry, which fits your style. The university has a well-established program, which provides the students the similar expert instructors who teach on the campus.
All the lessons in this online fashion design training are highly interactive and intuitive, making you immerse yourself in the curriculum from the base-up. Across the course, the instructor follows a tailored learning management system, which provides you with everything that you possibly need to earn your online fashion degree.
Related: Best Jewelry Making Courses, Top Nail Tech Classes, Embroidery Classes Online
Conclusion
So, these are the top 14 online fashion designing courses with certificates – from Udemy fashion design to Manish Malhotra – you have it all here. We hope you enjoyed reading about these courses. Now, get going and enroll in these classes to create some breathtaking masterpieces for your collection.
