Reimagining the Role of Fashion Education in Building a Fashion Startup and Career

Welcome back, fashion enthusiasts.

The question of whether higher education and obtaining a fashion degree is “necessary” to succeed in fashion is often framed as a yes-or-no debate. But perhaps a more useful question is: what role does fashion education play across a fashion designer’s journey, especially those wanting to to create their own fashion startup, and how does that evolve over time?

Fashion School is a Starting Point, not the Destination.

For decades, fashion schools and universities have provided structured pathways into the fashion industry. Institutions such as Central Saint Martins and Parsons, for example, are known not only for developing technical expertise but also for offering access to influential networks, collaborators, and opportunities that can shape early fashion careers.

At the same time, fashion entrepreneurship rarely follows a linear path. A 2024 Vogue Business survey found that 51% of fashion graduates are interested in starting their own brand, underscoring how many see entrepreneurship as part of the fashion path (Vogue, 2024). Many underestimate the complexities of starting their own fashion business. Building a brand often requires navigating uncertainty, making decisions with incomplete information, and adapting quickly to change. These capabilities don’t sit neatly within a single module or three-year fashion degree programme, they tend to develop over time, through a combination of learning, testing, and real-world experience.

This raises an important consideration: are we expecting too much from traditional fashion education alone? Or should we view it as one part of a broader, ongoing process of personal development?

Building a Business Framework that Works for Creative Minds

“I realised there was a gap in the market that really didn’t allow the world to teach creatives business in a point of view that they would understand and it ended up with creatives following a roadmap that doesnt necessarily work for them.” Beatrice Newman, Head of Incubation and Talent (Mode was previously a platform by Beyond Form). Listen to Beatrice’s perspective on this podcast episode.

There is No Single Path into Fashion.

Fashion itself is not one career but many, spanning design, production, sustainability, technology, marketing, and business strategy. Each pathway demands different skillsets, and increasingly, careers move fluidly across these areas.

As a result, fashion education becomes less of a fixed stage and more of a continuous journey. This is why Beyond Form has developed different pathways to enter fashion entrepreneurship - Sprint, Launch Pad, andCatalyst. Each with their own distinct methodology to support emerging fashion talent and fashion startups depending on their stage.

The Future of Fashion Education

Encouragingly, the landscape is evolving. Across the sector, institutions are exploring new ways to embed enterprise thinking, interdisciplinary learning, and industry engagement into their programmes. Through partnerships, such as those between Beyond Form and universities like IFA Paris and Ferrari Fashion School for our Paris and Milan incubators respectively, there is growing recognition that supporting graduates beyond the classroom is critical to sustaining creative careers and nurturing emerging fashion entrepreneurs.

So rather than asking whether higher education is enough on its own, the more generative question might be: how do we better connect formal education with the realities of building and sustaining a fashion career?

Because ultimately, education doesn’t begin and end with a degree. It continues through experimentation, collaboration, and the ecosystems we build around creative talent.

Want to Learn More and Connect?

If you are a founder or an executive ready to move beyond "good intentions" and embrace the hard work of operational transformation, we are here to facilitate that journey. To succeed as a sustainable fashion business, you need the right partners and tools.

Speak to Beatrice Newman, Head of Incubation and Talent Development here