When you buy a pair of shoes or a handbag, do you wonder how it was made? Why did the designer choose pink leather for sneakers? Or black patent leather for a bag?
Students of the Fashion Accessory and Design program at College for Creative Studies are finding out the answers to these questions as they work hands-on with accessory design and manufacturing, including shoes, taking products from concept to completion. This is an important program for educating, nurturing and identifying the next great accessories designers.
"CCS is one of the few schools in the country to offer a degree (BFA) in fashion accessory and design," says Aki Choklat, Chair of the Fashion Accessory and Design department at College for Creative Studies. Choklat is a prominent figure in the design world, and is in the process of moving his business from Europe to the U.S. Choklat has also authored several books, the latest, 'Menswear Trends,' coming out in early 2018. "Fashion accessories is a $53 billion dollar industry - it would be wise for retailers and business owners to understand where and how their products are made."
Students of this program are at work creating by the second week of classes. Choklat says it is important to work through the design process, from a formed idea to the realization of a product. And that process can take a year or more. Areas that students focus on in the program include vision, craft and business.
1. Vision- Students must conceive and understand their own points of view when designing. Choklat says he wants students to be inspired by their surroundings.
2. Craft- One must understand how shoes and bags are made to appreciate the overall design and work that has gone into create each item.
3. Business- Students are taught about manufacturing and the role of merchandising within in the fashion and design industry.
As Michigan's fashion industry continues to grow and be recognized around the country, Choklat says Detroit has something very important to entice designers and businesses looking to either move or expand their business to the city.
"Space," Choklat notes. "Detroit has the room to accommodate many, many businesses at a fraction of the cost over New York, Paris or Milan. The spaces in those areas are very limited in what they can offer a growing business. Here in Detroit, you can find a space to make and sell your products all within one location. Detroit is growing. There is an energy here that in order to understand that energy, one must be apart of it. By designing and educating others, the Detroit fashion scene is growing and becoming a place known for high quality design."
