Fashion Institute of Florida | Returning to Fashion School

Warm cream and ivory fabric bolts stacked on shelves and rolled on a wooden cutting table in a bright atelier — Fashion School Diaries

FASHION SCHOOL DIARIES - FASHION INSTITUTE OF FLORIDA

This series documents my return to formal fashion education later in life. It explores not just what I learned, but how structured training reshaped the way I think about making — from construction and patternmaking to patience, confidence, and process. Each post reflects a different stage of that journey, moving between reflection and practice, and showing how learning continues to influence my work long after the classroom.

THE DIARIES

A return to learning — from decision to discipline, and the quiet rebuilding of craft.

WHY I WENT BACK TO FASHION SCHOOL
A reflective look at motivation, life stage, and the decision to return to structured fashion education later in life.
INSIDE THE FASHION SCHOOL OF FLORIDA
Exploring the learning environment, teaching approach, and the value of small-group instruction in fashion education.
WHAT FASHION SCHOOL TAUGHT ME ABOUT CONSTRUCTION
How formal training reshaped my approach to garment construction, from sequencing and pressing to precision.
LEARNING PATTERN MAKING CHANGED THE WAY I SEE CLOTHES
How learning to draft patterns reshaped my understanding of fit, structure, and how garments relate to the body.
HOW FORMAL TRAINING SHAPES MY WORK TODAY
A reflection on how returning to fashion school continues to influence my approach to construction, fit, and making.
CLASSROOM TO THE RUNWAY NYFW
Supporting students through New York Fashion Week showed how classroom training translates into professional working environments.
MY 2ND SEASON AT NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
Returning to NYFW 2025 reinforced how classroom training translates into professional environments where detail matters most.

THE CLASSES

Not to start over —
but to go deeper.

Here, the process unfolds — fundamentals, pattern work, technical samples, and the discipline that shapes design long before a garment reaches the outside world.

REBUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS
Technique slowed. Precision began.
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GARMENT CONSTRUCTION 1–4
This was the season of making.
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$Learning children's pattern making taught me structure through smaller scale. From conquering fractions to drafting my first shirt from scratch—where drafting stopped feeling theoretical and started feeling possible.$

CHILDREN'S PATTERN MAKING
Learning structure through scale.
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PATTERN MAKING 1–4
Learning to Think in Lines
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PATTERN MAKING 5
Thinking Like a Pattern Maker
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GARMENT CONSTRUCTION 5
Where independence deepened.
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DRAPING
Letting Fabric Speak. Where structure met intuition.
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HISTORY, TEXTILES & TRENDS
Where Design Became Intentional
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FROM CONCEPT TO PRODUCTION
Where It All Came Together
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