If you're interested in learning fashion design, but don't want to begin a degree program, there are several free materials and courses available online.
These are great options for those just starting out or for those who want to brush up on a specific aspect of fashion design.
Top Free Online Fashion Design Courses and Learning Materials
There are a few places online where you can receive fashion design lessons for free. We've listed some of these options below.
1. Museum of Modern Art
The Fashion as Design course is offered by the Museum of Modern Art on Coursera, a large open online course hosting site.
The course focuses on the history, development, and impact of over 70 garments and accessories from around the world.
This beginner-level course takes about 20 hours to complete and is part of the Modern and Contemporary Art and Design Specialization course series.
The course is broken into four weeks:
- Introduction
- Heroes
- Silhouettes
- Coutures
Students can audit the course for free but will need to pay an undisclosed fee for graded assignments and a certificate.
2. Parsons School of Design
Through Coursera, students can take the Fashion Design course from the world-renowned Parsons School of Design. It's part of the Transforming the Fashion Business course series.
The course takes about 10 total hours to complete, divided over four weeks:
- The Fashion Design Process
- Fashion Design: A Sustainable Approach
- Collaborative Design
- Fashion Trends: Interpretation, Observation, and Intuition
The course is flexible and aimed at intermediate designers who have at least two years of design experience. Students can audit the course for free.
3. Wageningen University & Research
Circular Fashion: Design, Science, and Value in a Sustainable Clothing Industry is a course focused on fashion sustainability. It's offered by Wageningen University & Research out of the Netherlands.
The course is flexible and self-paced, and most students spend eight to 12 hours learning per week. There are five weekly modules:
- Translation and Interpretations
- Ecosystem Circularity
- Closing the Loop
- Biobased Innovation & New Materialism
- Business as Crafting Value
The course is free to audit, or students can pay $169 for unlimited access to course materials, graded assignments and exams, and a shareable online certificate upon completion.
4. eLearning College
The eLearning College is a website full of free, flexible distance learning courses. Courses cover a range of topics, and you can access your course materials 24/7.
While courses and materials are free, there is a small fee if you'd like a certificate of completion.
The Fashion Design Short Course is a quick foundational course that teaches you the basics of fashion design.
Most students take about a month to finish. Courses are divided into three topics:
- Introduction to Fashion Design
- The Elements of Design
- The Principles of Design
Students must complete an assessment of the topic before moving on to the next topic, but you can work at your own pace.
5. University of Fashion
The University of Fashion is a website offering over 500 classes covering a variety of fashion topics.
While there is a subscription fee of $19.95 per month, new students can take their first three classes for free.
Students can take courses from multiple areas of fashion design including:
- draping
- fashion art
- pattern making
- sewing
FAQs About Free Online Fashion Design Courses
Find the answers to frequently asked questions about free online fashion design courses and learning materials.
Can I Become a Fashion Designer Without a Degree?
While it's certainly possible to start your career as a fashion designer without a degree, you'll need to do a lot of independent learning and networking.
You'll need to learn as much as possible about fashion design, attend fashion events, and create and market your own collections.
Can I Earn a Fashion Design Degree Online?
There are a few colleges and universities that offer online bachelor's degrees in fashion. These include:
- Academy of Art University
- Central Michigan University
- Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design
How Long Do Online Fashion Design Courses Take?
The length of online fashion design courses can vary. Most of them will let you know up front how much time they'll take.
Where Can I Find More Free Online Fashion Design Courses?
Coursera is a large open online course hosting site. It offers courses through some of the top universities and companies across the globe.
Some courses are completely free, while others are free to audit, meaning you can learn the coursework, but your assignments won't be graded and you won't receive a certificate upon completion.
Coursera also offers a subscription membership, allowing you to take as many courses as you like for a monthly or annual fee.
Also, the open course provider edX was created by Harvard and MIT. Students can use edX to take courses offered by universities throughout the world.
Like Coursera, edX offers some courses for free. Other courses can be audited for free, but students can also pay a fee for graded assignments and a certificate of completion.
Find Free Online Fashion Design Courses and Learning Materials
There are some excellent free online fashion design courses available online. Check out the ones listed above to further your fashion design knowledge.