Work by Li Yichen
Fashion Design
Fashion Design Department
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago's (SAIC) Department of Fashion Design provides a unique, interdisciplinary experience that challenges students to bring an artistic and theoretical approach to the work, and benefit from rigorous artistic and professionally oriented training.
Graduate Programs Application Deadline: January 10
Apply to SAIC's Graduate and Post-Bacc programs by January 10 for fall 2025 admission.
Undergraduate Merit Scholarship Deadline: December 15
Submit your application and portfolio by December 15 for fall 2025 admission and merit scholarship.
File Your FAFSA
In order to be eligible for need-based aid such as SAIC, state and federal grants, loans and work study you need to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at fafsa.gov.
In its 89th year, the Fashion department has evolved into a unique place to train the next generation of designers, artists, and thinkers. Our mission is to develop and alarm our graduate's voices to participate in the global discourse. Our multidisciplinary approach to fashion is grounded in teaching technical, digital, artisanal, and visceral ways of making, pairing artistic exploration with concept development and skill-building.
The faculty’s national and international professional experience offers unique opportunities for student learning, travel, and global internships.
The Department of Fashion Design supports the following degree programs:
Bachelor of Fine Arts: Fashion Design
Master of Design in Fashion, Body and Garment
SAIC’s Fashion department offers one of the most intense, interdisciplinary fashion design programs in Chicago. You emerge not only as a skilled designer, but with an awareness of the social, political, and technological forces shaping the 21st century.
Within our Fashion program, you will explore the most progressive achievements in the world of dress and fashion through our Fashion Resource Center, a hands-on collection of late 20th- and 21st-century designer garments representing extreme innovation. The world-renowned art exhibitions and research facilities of The Art Institute of Chicago are located one block from campus.
Fashion Design Students Exhibit Internationally
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Department of Fashion Design
Sullivan Center
36 S Wabash Ave., Floor 7
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: 312.629.6713
Fashion Service Center (FSC)
Sullivan Center
36 S Wabash Ave., Room 713
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: 312.629.6720
Sage Foundation Chair in Fashion Design
Abigail Glaum-Lathbury aglaumlathbury@saic.edu
Graduate Coordinator
Katrin Schnabl kschna@saic.edu
Assistant Director of Fashion Design Facilities
Dolly Robertson drober2@saic.edu
Fashion Design Technical Facility Manager
Triston Antoine tantoine@saic.edu