Best Fashion Schools in Lagos, Nigeria: The Top 5

If you’re looking for information on the the best fashion schools in Lagos, Nigeria, you just landed on the right page. Read on to learn more.

In recent times, the growth of the fashion industry in the country has been quite exponential thanks to the rise in prominence of fashion designers like Deola Sagoe, Zizi Cardow and many more.

As a result, the industry has attracted different calibres of people from young school leavers to unemployed graduates, many of which are beginning to find fulfilment in fashion design as a career path.

However, there’s still a high level of mediocrity in this industry. As a matter of fact, many have reiterated that the average Nigerian tailor or fashion designer is actually synonymous with poor service delivery.

We’ve found out that a major cause of this is the level and quality of training received by these professionals. Really, there’s so much to learn in fashion design and it’s not just how well you use a sewing machine that determines your expertise.

The ideal fashion school should provide extensive training in every aspect of fashion design from how to design and produce garments to how you should treat your customers.

If you’re an aspiring fashion designers looking for the right school or you’re an experienced one looking to improve on what you already know, then our list below of the top 5 fashion schools in Lagos should be your starting point.

Valisimo Fashion School (VFS)

With an extensive curriculum that encompasses adults and kids (both male and female), Valisimo Fashion School is certainly one of the best fashion schools in the country.

The school is located in the Ogba area of Ikeja and they are known to offer flexible timing to their intending students. However, they don’t just train you in the art of dressmaking, they also offer platform through workshops and seminars where you can interact with other fashion enthusiasts and designers.

It doesn’t really matter whether you’re a beginner looking to start a career in fashion or an experienced tailor whose skills needs a little fine tuning, you’ll certainly find VFS suitable.

They teach basic, advanced as well as specialized courses and their modules covers aspects like:

• Bodice
• Bustier
• Bridals
• Volumed skirts
• Jackets and suits
• Kids wears
• Dinner gown and many more

The training at VFS isn’t limited to only the various aspects of dressmaking. Students are also taught what it entails to start a fashion business through the fashion entrepreneurship course.

Also, students are taught fashion consultancy where they learn how to serve as advisors to fashion enthusiasts and entrepreneurs.

The courses at VFS could be as short as 3 months or as long as 12 months depending on the type of training and whether you’re enrolled as a full time or part time student.

If you don’t reside around Lagos, the centre offers boarding facilities where you can stay and pay a subsidized amount for accomodation.

Istituto di Moda Burgo (IMB)

The internationally reputed Istituto di Moda Burgo is one of the oldest fashion schools in Nigeria. Established in 1961, the centre prepares their students for high level careers in the fashion industry both within and outside the country.

IMDB is located in every continent of the world except Australia. The study centre in Nigeria is at the Ekanem Orok Center in the Lekki area of Lagos and they offer both online and in-class courses. Some of these courses include:

• Complete Fashion Course
• Single Fashion Course
• Computer Aided Design
• Fashion Photography

Milan is the fashion centre of the world and one interesting thing about IMDB is their links with prominent fashion houses in Milan. This makes the training at IMDB quite exciting because you can alternate your classes between Milan and Lagos.

As a matter of fact, there’s an advanced diploma course offered at IMDB which comes with a specialization module which you will undertake in Milan.

Also, if you’re a beginner, you can enrol in the basic course which you can complete in either 5 or 10 months. At the end of your course, you can then apply for an internship at any fashion school of your choice.

Additionally, IMDB offers a diploma course which has one year duration. Also, they offer a 2 year diploma course. Some of the courses taught include: fashion design, pattern making, dress making and fashion styling.

Generally, the classes at IMDB are quite small with an average student to teacher ratio of 10:1. When applying, you can choose to start your classes at any time of the year however there’s a summer break between July and August. During this period, admission is closed.

Adurrah Creations

Located in Fadeyi in Lagos, Adurrah Creations is one of the top fashion institutes in Lagos. Adurrah offers garment production, fashion design, dressmaking, pattern making and crafts. Also, students are trained on how to blend the western fashion styles with African fabric

Additionally, Adurrah Creations offers training in business management which prepares students for the business aspect of fashion design.

The fashion training at Adurrah isn’t only restrcited to the four walls of the training centre; you can also be trained through any of their partner vocational centres or NGOs.

The minimum academic requirement before you can enrol at Adurrah is SSCE or its equivalent and you must be at least 18 years old. Also, you’ll attend an informal interview where your potential supervisors at Adurrah will ascertain your eligibility for the training program.

Some of their courses include:

• Basic Fashion Design
• Intermediate Fashion Design
• Advanced Pattern and Fashion Design
• Executive Fashion Design

Fashion & Art Academy (FAA)

Fashion & Art Academy is one of the leading fashion schools in not only Lagos but in Nigeria.

Established in 2000, FAA has been a major provider of technical, creative and business training in fashion.

The academy is one of the most flexible in the State. They offer online classes where you can be trained from the comfort of your home. Also, they provide private training where you’ll be taught at home by your tutors.

However, if you don’t want all of that, you can take your classes at their centre in Surulere. Also, you can take the weekend courses if you’re a busy professional. Or you could take the holiday course if you’re a student.

If you leave outside, you can apply for accomodation with the school although accomodation is currently available to only females.

Their training covers different categories of individuals from primary and secondary students to even retirees.

Ginani Fashion Design School (GFDS)

If you’re looking for a school where you’ll be taught the latest in fashion design, then Ginani Fashion Design School should be one of the schools on your mind.

Located in Surulere, GFDS has trained over 1500 students since its inception in 2001. The school offers combination courses in fashion design. For example, they offer a professional combination course which provides extensive training in design and production. Also, they offer an option of specialization in a niche aspect of fashion design in the course of the training.

Additionally, there are short courses which include basic design and pattern making for bodice, trousers, shirts and skirts.

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Also, GFDS offers weekend and online classes where you can learn the various aspect of fashion design. Their online learning class is available through their fashion e-school learning platform.