Dubai is known for lots of luxurious, and ground-breaking creations, whether it’s building the tallest freestanding skyscraper, Burj Khalifa, or having one of the most extravagant hotels. They are also known for fashion, that’s why Statista reported that UAE’s fashion market will increase to US$6.64bn in 2025, and this is one of the best reasons to consider these fashion schools in Dubai.
Dubai is popularly known as the capital of fashion in the Arab world, and you and I know that this State wants to become the king in all significant sectors in the Middle East, and fashion is just one of those sectors. The city is also known for luxury companies, so there is a certainty that you will make a lot of money after graduation, their average salary is AED 26,500 according to Glassdoor.
You should also understand that Dubai has the largest retail shopping mall in the world, and the state is hosting a lot of popular fashion brands like GUESS, Lacoste, Gucci, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Dior, and many more.
One of the most interesting things about these fashion schools in Dubai is that these luxurious fashion conglomerates will be visiting to enlighten their students on some lessons from their companies. Likewise, during your internship, you will be opportune to do your industrial training in one of these companies.
Also, you won’t only be taught how to create a spectacular design, but you will be taught how to market, how to brand a product, how to use technology to improve the demand for fashion, and the list goes on and on. These schools also have some of the best makeup courses, that can help you to reap from the multi-billion cosmetics market.
Before we list these fashion schools in Dubai, let’s see if this state is a brilliant place to study fashion.
Is Dubai a Good Place to Study Fashion?
Over 3 decades, Dubai has attracted lots of grand fashion brands from all over the world, whether it’s brands that focus on vintage collections or those that go all out to the trending luxurious apparel. Also, the Government of Dubai has amazing policies that have made it easier for lots of local fashion brands to progress and invite more foreign retail companies.
Furthermore, the state hosts lots of fashion festivals in a single year, even the Arab Fashion Week holds 4 times a year, plus other fashion festivals hosted by other companies in Dubai.
I’m telling you all of these to see how Dubai values fashion, and for you to understand that if you do your best to graduate successfully in these fashion schools in Dubai, then you will always be proud of your career.
There is no need to pursue a master’s in fashion, in fact, most of these schools don’t even offer them, if you’re interested in a master’s (which would be nice) I would advise you to go for an MBA. A Master’s in Business Administration will help you to get higher positions in any company, and you will make more money through it.
Average Cost of Fashion School in Dubai?
A lot of factors determine the cost of studies in these fashion designing schools in Dubai, one of the major things is the citizenship of the student. If you’re a citizen of the UAE and a resident in Dubai, you will likely pay lesser than an international student, especially when they are not from the Arabian country.
Other things that also determine the cost is the kind of program you are offering, the school, and the length of the program or course. So if you’re planning to enroll in one of the short courses in fashion design, then you won’t pay so much when compared to someone applying for an undergraduate program.
Therefore, the average cost of studying for an undergraduate fashion degree in Dubai is 23,341 AED per semester.
How to get into a Fashion School in Dubai
If you want to study just a simple short fashion design course in any of these schools, then you only need to pay and start your class. But if you intend to study for a diploma or undergraduate program, you need to be very keen on their entry requirements, and their application deadline.
Here are some of the entry requirements in these fashion design schools in Dubai.
- Completion of high school and Submission of its certificate
- Submission of a portfolio showcasing your recent work, in the form of quality pictures or video(s).
- If you’re not from Dubai or any country that has English as their first language, you will be required to submit English Proficiency Test Result.
There will be more requirements from each school.
Fashion Schools in Dubai
Dubai doesn’t have so many fashion design schools, but theirs is bigger than Singapore’s, but the few they have is of high quality. These schools were selected by our expert researchers, and here is the list;
- FAD Institute of Luxury Fashion & Style Dubai
- Heriot-Watt University Dubai (School of Textile & Design)
- Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation
- Esmod Dubai
- Middlesex University Dubai – BA Honours Fashion Design
- Capital Education
- American University in the Emirates (AUE)
- Instituto Marangoni Dubai
- Amity University Dubai
- University of Sharjah
1. FAD Institute of Luxury Fashion & Style Dubai
For over 15 years, FAD Institute has been able to raise graduates that have been prolific in the fashion world. FAD is one of the few fashion schools in Dubai that invite top managers from prestigious companies like Louis Vuitton.
In one of the classes, Louis Vuitton’s HR and Management had to explain to FAD’s students the growth of their company in the Middle East region. With this session with companies like LV, you are sure to have the mindset of Luxury brands, it helps you to see the need for quality fashion products.
This fashion school offers different kinds of fashion courses, in different stages. There are 3 levels of fashion design courses, which can be completed in 10 months, there is also another 6 weeks fashion illustration course.
Also, there are courses in the styling niche, which include;
- A 3-Month Fashion Styling Course
- A 1-week Personal Styling and Shopping
- A sound A-level grade, especially for UK students
- A 3-Month Advanced Editorial Styling
- A 1-Week Celebrity Styling
There are also other courses on Management & Retail, Makeup, and Creative. Furthermore, if you don’t feel like coming around for their physical courses, you are too busy with a lot of obligations, like work and family, they also provide quality online courses.
Their online courses include;
- A 2-week Personal Styling & Shopping
- A 2-week Course on Starting a Fashion Business
- A 1-Month Course on Fashion Design Illustration
And many more online courses.
2. Heriot-Watt University Dubai (School of Textile & Design)
The Heriot-Watt University entered was established in Scotland in 1909, and decided to build one of its campuses in the city of Dubai in 2005, and are currently residing in one of the well-designed brand new building in Dubai. They are offering different kinds of undergraduate programs and postgraduate programs.
Their Undergraduate programs include
- BA (Hons) Fashion
- BSC (Hons) Fashion Technology
- BA (Hons) Design for Textiles
- BA (Hons) Fashion Branding and Promotion
Their post-graduate programs include
- MA Fashion and Textiles Design
- MSC Fashion and Textiles Management
- MA Fashion and Textiles Design With Industry Placement
3. Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation
This is one of the best fashion schools in Dubai that designed their curriculum with MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and the New School’s Parsons School of Design. I believe you know how excellent these foreign universities are in their education, which means you are on the road to superior teachings.
Their bachelor of Design Program does much more than what an average fashion design program can do, it focuses on four disciplines, which are;
- Product design
- Multimedia Design
- Fashion Design
- Strategic Design Management
In your years of study, you will be learning a lot of courses, and during your second year, you are allowed to choose 2 of these disciplines to create the best career for your journey. This means at the end of your 4 years, you won’t only have design skills but will also be skilled in engineering, and business management.
4. Esmod Dubai
This fashion designing school in Dubai offers lots of programs for their students to choose from, such as;
- A 3-year Bachelor’s Degree in fashion design, in which you will be focusing on 2 core disciplines; Design & Pattern-Making
- 4 months Fashion Business Course
- 2 Months Fashion Styling Masterclass
- 1-year foundation program
- 40 hours CLO3D Virtual Fashion Design
- 4 weeks Wedding Dressing Masterclass
And many more programs.
If you have the money and time and have not attended any B.design in Fashion Design, or any related program, I would advise you to go for the Bachelor’s Degree, it will treat all the short courses they have listed and even more.
5. Middlesex University Dubai – BA Honours Fashion Design
This is one of the fashion schools in Dubai that offers a 3-year undergraduate program in fashion design, that will be teaching you a lot of core courses like fashion illustration, portfolio, tailoring, garment construction, presentation, technical drawings, and a lot more interesting courses.
6. Capital Education
Capital Education is not just prolific in fashion design, but they are also excellent in its makeup artist program. This school offers a 6 – 11 months diploma in fashion designing in Dubai, they will help you to understand the fashion industry, and to decide on the best fashion branch for your career.
You will start by learning the history of fashion, then progress to other classes like illustration, style, techniques of fashion, and many more classes.
This course is accredited by Qualifi, UK and also approved by the KHDA, Dubai Government.
7. American University in the Emirates (AUE)
AUE is one of the top fashion schools in Dubai that focuses on BSc in Fashion Design. They have one of the largest fashion design studios in Dubai, and you will be making use of their different kinds of sewing machines, their cutting tables, and their textile labs.
You will be offering lots of core courses such as;
- Color theory and practice
- Basic design
- Illustration and Digital Imaging
- Art History
- Collaborative Design Studio
Before your internship, the school will help you to prepare for it, look into the best internship opportunities, create a better professional resume, and even help you to prepare for interviews.
8. Instituto Marangoni Dubai
This fashion design school was carefully built in the Dubai International Financial Centre, a city that is known for its energetic lifestyle. The school offers lots of undergraduate fashion programs, which include;
- 3-year BA (Hons) in Fashion Design and Accessories
- 3-year Undergraduate Progression in Fashion Styling & Creative Direction
- 3-year Undergraduate Progression in Fashion Business
They also have a 1-year foundational course in fashion design, and so many other short courses.
Furthermore, their professional courses could even add more skillset to your portfolio, especially if you want to gain more mastery in the business part of fashion. You will see courses like;
- Fashion e-Commerce & Digital Marketing
- Fashion Buying & Merchandising
- Fashion Entrepreneurship
- Fashion Luxury Retail & Visual Merchandising
9. Amity University Dubai
This school is offering a 4-year undergraduate program in Fashion design. The school will strongly prepare you so that when you graduate, you will be able to work in multi-national fashion houses, work as a fashion marketer, a stylist, a fashion blogger, a fashion journalist, and many other employment opportunities.
10. University of Sharjah
This is one of the fashion schools in Dubai that offers a 4-year bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design & Textiles. If you have noticed some of the degrees we have listed are either a bachelor of design, or a bachelor of science, but these degrees majorly focus on the artistic part of fashion.
You will be learning fashion textiles, dyeing, embellishment, and many other disciplines.
Conclusion
As you can see, these Dubai fashion schools have something that makes them unique and special, so try and focus on what you need. And, you have also noticed that fashion design is not all about arts, there are fashion designs that have a lot to do with science.
Fashion Schools in Dubai – FAQs
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