With notable alumni like Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, and Nina Garcia, the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a famous and prestigious college in New York City, specializing in art, design, business, and technology connected to the fashion industry. The institution offers different programs – including associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees; majors in fashion design, fashion business management and marketing; and also continuing education, with non-degree programs for those looking to enhance their skills or make a career change in fashion and related areas. And speaking of the non-degree programs, one of their most popular options is the ESL/Fashion Certificate – specially tailored for international students.
From the moment I learned I was going to live in New York – and this was back in 2013 – studying at FIT was one of the certainties I had. At the end of the day, New York City streets are runways; the city emerges with new trends; it’s also the stage of a FAMOUS Fashion Week and is home to a lot of designers and exciting fashion stores. In short, anyone who works in the Fashion Industry – or simply loves this field – knows that it’s a great destination to enhance their knowledge! I took their ESL/Fashion Certificate, and although it has been a while – it was back in 2014 – I decided to share more about it in this post since it was one of the best experiences I could have had in the city as someone who had just moved here.
What is the FIT ESL/Fashion Certificate?
As I previously mentioned, FIT offers many non-degree courses, that are part of the Continuing Education program – and, at first, my intention was to choose one of these courses. But after some research – and also because of a schedule conflict – I discovered the ESL/Fashion Certificate – at that time, it was called Fashion Business Program – and I thought it would be a good fit for me.
The ESL/Fashion Certificate is specially tailored for international students – so if English is not your second language and you would also love the opportunity to study Fashion-related topics in one of the most renowned Fashion institutions in the world, this program is probably perfect for you! The ESL/Fashion Certificate includes ESL classes, which are perfect for improving your English skills, activities related to fashion, and field trips around New York City. Attendees meet a variety of fashion-related industry experts and can earn a Certificate of Achievement from FIT.
My colleagues and I during a field trip to the MET.
How long is the FIT ESL/Fashion Certificate?
The FIT ESL/Fashion Certificate is a pretty intensive program: it runs for 3 weeks with classes every day! The schedule looks like this:
- In the morning, you attend an English as a Second Language (ESL) course, from 9:30 am-12:30 pm. Every student is placed into the appropriate level.
- In the afternoon, you attend a Fashion Related Topics course, from 1:30 pm-4:30 pm. You can choose one of the offered topics to learn. When I enrolled, they had five course options, but in 2024, they offered two options: Fashion Styling & Visual Merchandising and Fashion Design.
- You can check more details about each Fashion course on their official page – but whichever is your option, there’s a final project to be presented on the final day.
FIT ESL/Fashion Certificate – My experience
I did a lot of research about FIT before enrolling, and I’ve only heard good things from people who have studied at the institution. Everyone said that the courses were rich in knowledge, the teachers were great – in short, a wonderful experience!
The first day of class was more like an intro and preparatory event: there was an welcome “ceremony”, general instructions and also English placement test, in addition to receiving our schedules, topics that would be covered and the field trips.
Each ESL class had, on average, 15 students – the entire program included more than 150 people from all over the world, most of them from Taiwan, but many Brazilians. To be honest, I expected more from the English classes. Our teacher explored all the skills: speaking, writing, reading, and listening. He was nice and funny, but, overall, I found the classes, perhaps, too “light”? I didn’t feel challenged.
Field trips and lectures
On the other hand, considering all the work we had during the fashion classes, maybe it was for the best that the morning classes were not that difficult. Anyway, between the English classes I was taking at the New York Public Library and the ones at FIT, I think I preferred the NYPL ones. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying the ESL classes at FIT were bad: we watched fashion-related videos, we wrote a lot, we read… I just expected something more challenging.
Now, moving on to the fashion course. The classes were simply fantastic! At that time, they were offering a Fashion Trend Forecasting course option, and that was my choice. We had classes on research tools and learned about all the resources that Cool Hunters use when conducting their research, from trend websites to printed publications. The FIT library is incredibly rich, and as a student, I had access to services like WGSN (a global reference for trend research and subscription-only) and Women’s Wear Daily, a fashion business newspaper with the latest news. We also had classes about trends in New York City, the process involved in fashion trend forecasting, colors, blogs and social media, important designers… All the teachers were great; there wasn’t one I didn’t like. And we also had our top teacher and advisor, Agustina Cattaneo, an Argentine with extensive experience in trend research, who shared all her experiences and explained in detail how to work in this area.
But what kept me up at night over those three weeks was the final project! It was challenging and demanding, but I got that unique sense of accomplishment at the end. Our small class was divided into two groups. Our group was assigned the brand Monki, which is part of the H&M group. Our mission was to present a complete research project to bring the brand to NYC. That meant we had to analyze the competition, find the best location to open the store, and suggest how the store would look and the strategy behind it, like special events, grand opening events, brand ambassadors, etc.
Our final project
For the project, our professor wanted us on the streets, like real cool hunters, observing and photographing everything and always getting inspiration from what we saw out there. The idea could come from our minds, but we had to find something similar to prove our concept, you know? For example, we implemented a DIY area in our project where customers could customize jeans and t-shirts. At the same time, we identified that this was a strong trend going on in New York City: there were stores to customize lipstick, belts, and sneakers. Our project also involved researching trends in New York City – through tools like WGSN – and hitting the streets to identify them. We also created a mood board for a future collection, and we even suggested some key clothing pieces. It was a lot of work.
I have to highlight that all the classes focused on the project as well to boost our creativity and the conception of ideas. We also had visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Westfield Garden State Plaza (New Jersey), Premiere Vision (a Fashion trade show featuring six major industries supplying materials and services to the global fashion industry), and the FIT Museum – which is free and open to the public, and always features really cool exhibitions – where we saw several fashion relics up close, like Chanel, Valentino, Dior, and so on.
Is the FIT ESL/Fashion Certificate worth it?
For me, yes. When I finished the course, I was 100% sure that I had made a good investment! Those three weeks of learning have opened my mind, brought me more inspiration a different view of the world, helped to change my perspective, and my way of looking at things. I must say that I took the course very seriously, I tried to took advantage of all the resources and didn’t miss one single class. I wanted to make my time worth it.
If you are open to learn, I’m sure you will also have an amazing opportunity. Also, if you are looking to improve your English and you love fashion, a program like this is such a fun way to put yourself out there and practice your skills while in contact with a topic you enjoy.
- Check the official page to learn more.
- For additional information: esl@fitnyc.edu
Content creator and journalist in New York City. Here, I share lifestyle, beauty, NYC tips, thoughts, and the struggles about living in the most amazing city in the world! I’m not gonna pretend to be another person: I’m a Brazilian immigrant and I think this is my soul, it is part of who I am. I hope you enjoy my content! Follow me on Instagram!
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