The Higher Education Review

Renowned for its fashion and trade fairs, Düsseldorf is an international business and financial center with supposedly a higher living standard than Berlin. A vibrant city in western Germany celebrated for its fashion industry and art scene, Düsseldorf is home to Fashion Design Institute (FDI), a promising institute ensuring excellent networking and a well-equipped portfolio for its students.

Established in 2008 by the graduate fashion designer and historian Inna Thomas and her husband, FDI has been always a desirable platform among the international student community for earning an education in the field of design owing to its unparalleled offerings to future fashion aspirants. Aligning education with research tasks, which require developing ideas and projects based on real-life situations with real-life critique relevant to the current demands of the fashion industry, FDI hosts a good proportion of international students with a proven track record of achieving the route to the right career track.

A Diversified Fashion Community
Owing to its outstanding quality of the lecturers, extensive education, quality of the graduates produced and so on, FDI has managed to create a niche for itself in the design sphere. Students who decide to study at FDI are acknowledged to choose their desired course from a wide array of programs which includes International Fashion Designer, International Fashion Journalist & Stylist, Fashion Marketing/Management, B.A. Fashion Design, B.A. Fashion Journalism & Styling, B.A. Fashion Marketing/Management, Master courses in Fashion Design, PR &Styling and Fashion Marketing.

“Our degree programs prepare all the students for a great career in the fashion business. This opens up many job opportunities for them on an international level.

Whether it’s Giambattista Valli Paris, Roberto Cavalli Milan, Marchesa NY, Peter Pilot to London, Victor & Rolf Amsterdam, Balmain Paris, everywhere our students feel well prepared and indispensable.

Through established instructors and the artistic atmosphere in our bright rooms, we enable our students to not only live and breathe creativity every day but also help them develop their own style. Offering them a gamut of opportunities, in the international fashion industry, the students are bequeathed with numerous distinctive opportunities starting from developing their own collection or publishing their own fashion magazine”, says Harald Thomas, CFO, FDI.

“Apart from being recognized as the only German fashion school among the top 50 schools in the world since 2016 by Business of Fashion (BOF), CEO World, and Forbes Magazine (USA), FDI is well validated by the appreciations, it has gathered from numerous stakeholders of design education”

Apart from being recognized as the only German fashion school among the top 50 schools in the world since 2016 by Business of Fashion (BOF), CEO World, and Forbes Magazine (USA), FDI is well validated by the appreciations, it has gathered from numerous stakeholders of design education. Backed by a qualified and experienced team of teaching staff who have previously worked at a range of leading companies including Hermès, Vetements, Acne, and Central Saint Martins, the institute vouches to abide by the concept of ‘learning through independent development'.

Striving to develop an artistic atmosphere where creative minds can create unique styles and work towards their respective portfolios, the institute offers them many projects that are supported by esteemed fashion houses such as Swarovski, Vogue and Michael Michalsky, to name a few. Enabling its students to work backstage at the world fashion weeks while letting the chosen students present their collections during the fashion week in Paris, the FDI students are represented in renowned competitions every year and attend tradeshows.

A Glimpse into the Real World
The students are not only guided

by the in-house faculty members, but FDI also invites guest lecturers such as Santo Versace, the head of the Haute Couture Atelier of Chanel and so on, regularly to the campus for sharing important insights and useful insider knowledge with the tomorrow' fashion designers. Further, for exposing the students to real-world situations in the fashion industry, FDI motivates them to undergo the internship program with top-notch firms. “Through Harvard USA, some subjects are conducted and thus our students get the knowledge from the best in the world.

During the training, each one is promoted exactly according to his/her personal abilities and can specialize in what he needs for later which ensures that all graduates are at the highest level. So far, all graduates have received a paid employment contract within 6 months in the fashion industry and thus every student can always benefit from the latest knowledge.

Working closely with the fashion industry, our students have the opportunity to visit studios of well-known houses such as Diar, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Chanel and even the top designers, such as Versace, Philipp, Plein, Missoni, Fendi, to meet in person. Meeting and interacting with top-notch fashion icons like Kim Kardashian, Virgel Abloh, Bella Hadid and Tilta Swinton, the students of FDI have taken a closer look at the world of fashion and design,” avers Harald Thomas.

Upholding the authenticity of the courses offered by the institution to be true as per the industry demand, FDI has remained true to its roots since its inception and emerged as a premium hub for fashion and design education. The institute besides focusing on rendering a comprehensive creative education also puts efforts in giving priority to students' personal and professional advancement.

The students at FDI are encouraged to work on their personal aesthetic and individual creative direction, alongside developing an awareness of the realities of the job market. Remitting the essence of fashion in a global periphery and priding on strong international relationships, FDI nourishes the common love for fashion and innovation to reach.