In Prague, art is intrinsically linked with lifestyle—fashion design enjoys a high priority and status. The city’s rich history and artistic culture spurred NC State University to launch its Fashion and Costume Design Program at the Prague Institute in 2006. Prague offers students accessibility to fashion venues off the beaten track. Many of Prague’s hundreds of boutiques are run by independent designers who don’t follow market trends and offer sources of inspiration to young design enthusiasts trying to carve their own paths.

“The concentration on fashion design in Prague is not new,” says Dana Bartelt, Director of the Prague Institute, “It has always been a big part of the culture.”* National costumes have played an important role for centuries as well as theater costumes for the many active theaters found in Prague today and throughout history.

The Fashion and Costume Design Program combines contemporary fashion–looking at and analyzing world trends, learning pattern-making, and conceptual renderings of a line of fashion apparel, and theater costumes–providing a venue for creative, thematic fashion design.

An excursion to Paris, local excursions within the Czech Republic, fashion shows in Prague, and attending theater performances are included in the program.

Two Celebrity Workshops are offered within the fashion and Costume Design Studio in Spring 2013: The Entrepreneurship Workshop with Kathy Moskal and a Fashion Photography Workshop with Robert Vano in conjunction with the Digital Photography Program

*parts of this article are excerpts from Sharon Donovan’s article “Keep it in Czech” in WWDFast publication. Jan 2009.

Required Courses:

ADN 490: Fashion and Costume Design Studio (6 credits)

Recommended Courses:

ADN 492/592: Fashion Illustration (Elective: 3 credits)
ADN 492/592: History of Fashion and Costume Design (Elective: 3 credits)