Explore fashion from broad social and cultural perspectives, developing designs that respond to the issues shaping our world. Cultivate your design practice through an innovative program that emphasizes purposeful material resources, contextual relevance, embodiment, and identity.
Making—and Change Making: A Commitment to Craft and Sustainable Design
Our process is deeply hands-on, grounded in material exploration, experimentation, and a commitment to craft. Here in Fashion, you will engage with various ways of making, from digital methods to traditional practices, and prioritize responsive design and sustainability. You can even get your hands dirty in the Textile Dye Garden or master the 3-D knitting machines as you discover the joys and challenges of making.
We approach fashion by exploring how something feels on a body and not just how it looks. This shift to the experiential opens up new possibilities and amplifies what fashion and clothing can do. We move beyond visual aesthetics to explore design that is responsive to emotion, embodiment, and identity and place.
“It’s different from some of the other programs that we know people attended outside of Pratt. Pratt had a big focus on the handwork, making processes, and materiality. To create your own habit of working. Creating our own studio practice started at Pratt, just nurturing this love of making and of designing and creating.”
Sophie Andes-Gascon, BFA Fashion Design ’15 Read More
Join a Creative Community
Your design voice will develop through craft, making, critical thinking, and active engagement with the Pratt community. Our integrated approach encourages you to construct unique garments informed by design theory and sustainable practices, positioning you to contribute meaningfully and responsibly to the future of fashion.
Gianna Breinig & Alma Rosado, BFA ‘27. Mending Circle.
State-of-the-Art Facilities
Our world-class studios and labs provide a variety of resources, including advanced tools such as Shima Seiki 3-D knitting machines, 3-D printers, laser cutters, and Framis NOSO technology. In addition, Pratt students have access to the Material Lab, Textile Research Library, and our transportive Textile Dye Garden right on campus.
Students at work in the knit lab at Pratt. George Etheredge for The New York Times
Gain direct exposure to and hands-on, professional studio experience in the New York fashion design industry through internships at top design companies, including Thom Browne, Alexander Wang, Luar, Monse, Three As Four, Kallmeyer, Tibi, Christian Siriano, Alicia Olive, and Oscar de la Renta. Fashion students are required to complete three credits of internship during their course of study. A Pratt faculty adviser guides each student throughout the experience.
Internships in Sustainable and Ethical Design
We encourage our students to collaborate with brands committed to ethical and ecologically conscious practices, empowering them to create garments that honor both the environment and the artistry of fashion. Brands include:
Founded by Sara Sakanaka, Considered Objects is a sustainable design label rooted in heritage, memory, and artisanal craft. Each one-of-a-kind piece is hand-sewn using reclaimed textiles, vintage kimono, and antique materials, honoring both tradition and personal history. With an intuitive, mindful process, the brand creates emotionally resonant garments that foster lasting connections between wearer and object.
Loup Charmant pioneered responsible luxury by partnering with family-run organic cotton farms in India at a time when such materials were nearly impossible to source. Their commitment to sustainability began with a pledge to support heirloom-quality cotton production and continues today through airy, timeless pieces designed for ease and warmth. Rooted in thoughtful sourcing and enduring relationships, each garment reflects a deep dedication to ethical, effortless living.
Kowtow is a New Zealand–based label committed to slow fashion, radical transparency, and environmental responsibility. Every garment is plastic-free and made from Fairtrade organic cotton within a fully traceable supply chain. Certified by Fairtrade, GOTS, and B Corp, Kowtow offers timeless, modular pieces designed for longevity and ethical living
Our Faculty
Faculty are committed to creating positive change in the expansive industry called fashion. With diverse educational and professional backgrounds, our faculty represent the breadth of fashion design’s complexity, including Susan Cianciolo, Shane Gabier, Adrienne Jones, Brooke Garner, Isa Rodrigues, Gina Gregorio, Andrea Katz, Dean Sideway, and Jane B. Nord Professor of Fashion Design Byron Lars. See all Fashion Design faculty and administrators.
To prepare students to become leaders within the creative community, Pratt Fashion offers a wide variety of resources including access to Shima Seiki 3D knitting machines and Framis NOSO technology, as well as a dedicated Textile Research Library within the department and a Textile Dye Garden on campus. Advanced courses and electives, as well as study abroad opportunities, offer students pathways to explore critical topics including gender, race, size inclusivity and activism through the lens of fashion.
INTERNSHIPS
Pratt students are required to complete three credits of internship during their course of study. Students have the opportunity to explore different aspects of the New York fashion design industry through their choice of internships at top design companies including Thom Browne, Zero Maria Cornejo, The Row, Altuzarra, Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Oscar de la Renta, and Creatures of the Wind. The internship provides them with hands-on experience and professional networking skills, as well as practice in how to write a resume and present their portfolio. A Pratt faculty adviser guides each student throughout the experience, making sure the students’ learning objectives are met.
COMPETITIONS
All Pratt Fashion students participate in annual design competitions including the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Design Scholar Awards, the Gucci Changemakers Scholars Program, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Student Fashion Design Competition. Integrated into the curriculum, these competitions provide avenues for scholarship support and exposure within the fashion community.
Upon completion of their studies, students:
Students will exhibit fluency in 2D and 3D construction processes that are innovative in cut, shape and silhouette using diverse embodied approaches.
Students will analyze and use properties and principles of materiality to make design decisions informed by sustainable practices.
Students will communicate design philosophy with evidence of fashion history, theoretical underpinnings, and contemporary culture that addresses issues of justice, equity and social responsibility.
Students will design, produce and present cohesive, contemporary and authentic collections that demonstrate their active engagement as collaborative leaders of the creative community.
Showcase Your Vision
Present your work through multiple high-profile platforms that ensure exposure to industry leaders.
Pratt Shows: The Design Show and The Fashion Show
Present your senior thesis collection in two dynamic formats: The Design Show, an intimate exhibition focused on craft and concept, and The Fashion Show, a full-scale runway production celebrating your work in motion. These events include industry previews and a curated lookbook, giving you direct access to fashion experts and potential employers.
Gain national and international recognition by participating in prestigious competitions like the Supima Design Competition, the Woolmark Prize, and Joe’s Black Book. Integrated into our curriculum, these opportunities offer scholarship support and invaluable industry exposure.
Pratt Design Show. Work of Jacob Khalil, Vespers IX, BFA ’26, and Zoey Yulin Xiao, BFA ’26.
Student Work
Watch our annual fashion show and imagine what you might do here at Pratt Fashion! Through rigorous attention to production, technique, and contemporary aesthetics, you’ll develop your design practice and with it, agency to create change.
Senior Student Portfolio Review with Designer Nicholas Daley, 2025.
Connect directly with industry leaders through our acclaimed Black Dress Talks lecture series, exclusive senior previews with industry guests, and intimate in-class critiques from visiting experts. This constant engagement ensures you build a strong professional network and gain invaluable, real-world feedback throughout your time at Pratt.
Study Abroad: Your Global Studio
Expand your design practice on a global scale. Study in major fashion capitals through our partnerships with leading institutions like London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins at University of the Arts London and Kingston University in London and Paris College of Art. Or, immerse yourself in traditional craft through experiential courses, such as our traditional textile course in Oaxaca, Mexico, and learn from global artisan communities and cultures firsthand.
Career Paths After Graduation
Fashion is a dynamic and expansive industry that offers a wide range of career opportunities beyond the traditional role of a fashion designer. Our graduates go on to shape the field in diverse and meaningful ways.
Career paths include:
Fashion design: specializing in menswear, womenswear, kidswear, wovens, knitwear, cut and sew, textiles, accessories, and footwear
Industry and production: roles in research, concept design, design and development, production, technical design, patternmaking, garment technology, sustainability, and quality control
Fashion business: roles such as buyer, sales manager, and retail buyer
Fashion communications: careers in styling, merchandising, marketing, social media, public relations, and brand communication
Costume design: For theater, opera, ballet, and other performance arts
Textile design and art: Including textile designers for interiors and accessories and independent textile artists
Entrepreneurship: launching and growing independent fashion brands
Our curriculum is designed to prepare students to engage critically and creatively across this wide spectrum, empowering them to find their unique voice and professional direction in the global fashion landscape.
Career Support for Life
Students and alumni can schedule one-on-one appointments with career strategists in Pratt’s Center for Career and Professional Development. A career strategist can work with you to develop your job/internship search strategies and life and business plans, as well as review résumés, cover letters, websites, and other marketing materials.
Thinking seriously about Pratt? Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step.
Building your portfolio can be daunting. We’ll answer your questions and help you feel confident about the portfolio you submit with your application. Start building your portfolio, now.
Find yourself at home at Pratt: our residence halls, student organizations, athletics, exhibitions, events, the amazing City of New York and our Brooklyn neighbors. Check us out.
We’re proud to celebrate our partnership with @solstissusa, whose generous support enabled six of our students to work with exceptional French lace in their collections.
A special congratulations to Opal Sheedy @opals.archive for being recognized for her outstanding piece.
We also want to acknowledge the incredible work of the students who were awarded the French Lace Expert Certificate: Hannah Lewis. Katya Bolanos, Ava Wilson, Devon Carlson, and Haiqin Guan.
Thank you to Solstiss Academy for supporting the next generation of designers.
#FashionEducation #EmergingDesigners #TextileDesign #Solstiss #DesignExcellence
We are thrilled to celebrate the first cohort of our MFA Fashion Collection + Communication students ✨
Please stop by the Schafler Gallery at the Brooklyn campus from May 9–14, 10 AM–5 PM, to experience their final thesis projects, the culmination of their creative practice.
Featuring work by:
Peilin Chen, Linhan (Angelina) Xu, Ta-Shan Liu, Yiyang Franko Gong, Amanda Li, Eliza Draper Corderman, Nandini Shah, Bingshu He
We look forward to celebrating this important milestone with you!
@prattinstitute @pratt_sod @prattfashion
Last Tuesday, we hosted the BFA Senior Fashion Exclusive Preview ✨
This special event offered industry guests a unique opportunity to connect with our students and engage more deeply with their concepts and creative processes ahead of the Fashion Show and Design Show in May.
Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to such a meaningful and inspiring evening, truly a special night!
Photo: Dahlia Dandashi
@prattinstitute @pratt_sod @prattfashion
Last week, we had the pleasure and honor of welcoming our 2026 Pratt Fashion Visionary Award, @korinaemmerich, to the studios.
Our senior students had the opportunity to present their collections and portfolios and receive thoughtful feedback on their work.
Thank you, Korina, for your time, generosity, and insight, it was truly inspiring to have you with us.
Photo: Dahlia Dandashi
Last week, our MFA Fashion Collection + Communication students, through Local Threads and Local Entanglements, had an immersive field trip to @mamafarm, exploring the world of wool, especially from heritage sheep breeds, thanks to @livestockconservancy, and understanding processes from farm to fashion with @isabellarossellini
They also had the privilege of learning from @francievh about growing mohair on a family farm in the Karoo, South Africa, and engaging in meaningful conversations about local and global practices, bioregionalism, and regenerative, care-centered systems.
This hands-on experience beautifully bridged fashion, craft, and conscious practice, inspiring our students to think deeply about material, place, and sustainability in their creative work.
Additional thanks to @elettrawiedemann, @mimiprober, @leandimulder and all the team of @mamafarm
#MFAFashion #SustainableFashion #HeritageWool #Mohair #LocalThreads #LocalEntanglements #RegenerativeFashion #Bioregionalism #FarmToFashion #FashionEducation #ConsciousPractice
Our first-year MFA Fashion Collection + Communication students visited the Brooklyn studio and archive of multi-media and fiber artist @lizzycollins7
Collins launched her knitwear-focused fashion label with a runway presentation in New York during Fashion Week in the 1990s. She spent the following four years building her company designing, producing, presenting, and selling her collections for the international fashion market. After this period, she pivoted her practice, which now spans textile installation, sculpture, drawing, performance, and design, challenging hierarchical distinctions between art and craft.
Students had the rare opportunity to explore archival materials from Collins’s early fashion collections alongside her contemporary artworks. Later in the day, they participated in a hands-on workshop focused on printing and color experimentation.
An inspiring day of fashion, material exploration, and artistic process!
Join us for the seventh event in our ongoing series, “Black Dress Talks,” where we spotlight the invaluable contributions of Black men and women in the fashion industry. Through compelling stories, we delve into the creativity, perseverance, obstacles, and triumphs that define their journeys.
Black Dress Talks: Jewelry is a dynamic and engaging conversation featuring Shara McHayle @shara_mchayle , Lorraine West @lorrainewestjewelry, Angely Martinez @angelymartinezjewelry , and Jameel Mohammed @jameel.world_ , exploring artistry, entrepreneurship, cultural influence, and the evolving landscape of contemporary jewelry design. Centering the voices of innovative Black creatives, the discussion will delve into creative process, brand building, and industry access, while examining the power of adornment as both personal expression and social statement.
This event is made possible by the generous support of the Jane B. Nord Professor of Fashion Design Endowment, the Pratt Fashion Department, School of Design, the Black Alumni of Pratt, the Pratt Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the Pratt Institute Academic Senate.
Admission is free, registration is required. Tickets in our link.
Such a wonderful session we had last week at Growing Cotton in Brooklyn 🌱✨
We began with a screening of an episode from the docu-series How We Grow, created by filmmaker Maxine Simone (@maxinefarming), featuring Why Maya Grows in Brooklyn. The episode highlights Maya Marie S., Black urban farmer, foodways educator, and founder of @deep_routes, and her powerful work cultivating cotton in Brooklyn.
Following the screening, we gathered for an inspiring conversation moderated by Professor Gina Gregorio (@ginaginaginaginagina), with Maxine Simone, Maya Marie S., and textile artist Shradha Kochhar (@shradhakochhar). Together, they explored local cotton cultivation, foodways, and textile practices rooted in community, land stewardship, spirituality, and cultural memory.
We closed the session with a beautiful demonstration of cotton spinning on a box spinner (Peti Charkha), using cotton grown by Maya. It was a truly special moment, deeply spiritual, communal, and grounding.
So grateful for everyone who shared their knowledge, stories, and energy 💛
@prattinstitute @pratt_sod @prattfashion @prattdyegarden
Last week, our students had the opportunity to join Professor J.B. Nord Byron Lars for an inspiring conversation with designer @elenavelez as part of our Fashion Obsessions series 🎉
Elena Velez is an American fashion designer and entrepreneur from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, now based in New York, Elena Velez is known for her powerful fusion of metalwork and high fashion. Influenced by her Puerto Rican heritage and Rust Belt upbringing, her work explores the tension between femininity and force, and has earned recognition from the CFDA, Vogue, Forbes, and the LVMH Prize.
Thank you, Elena, for sharing your insight, energy, and work with our community! 💫
Credit: Dahlia Dandashi
