Becoming a fashion designer in Hawaii starts with attending one of Hawaii’s three schools that offer fashion design programs. The average cost of tuition in Hawaii is $4,803, making your education affordable. For most students, scholarship and financial aid awards at all three schools total about 50% of the cost of tuition. The average class size in Hawaii is 16 students, giving you the chance to interact more closely with your professors.
There are fashion design schools that offer certificates, Associate’s degrees in fashion design, Bachelor’s degrees, and Master’s degrees. A certificate, available at Honolulu Community College, may take you one year to complete. An Associate’s degree, which encompasses 60 credits, may take you two years of full-time study. You need four years to complete a Bachelor’s degree, which requires 120 to 130 credits. In all three programs, you spend plenty of time working on designs, sewing mock-ups of your designs, and learning new design technology. Some of the courses involved include Textiles, Fashion Illustration, and Fashion Forecasting.
As a fashion professional, you may want to join the Hawaii Fashion Incubator. This community promotes the work of local fashion designers and helps you network with other fashion professionals in the state.