Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD):

–526 fashion design students
–Tuition (not including room and board): $27,765/year
Famous grads: None yet, but we’re watching closely.

What they have going for them:
–Lots of resources are being put into the fashion program. It was recently split off from the larger school of design and is now called the School of Fashion. Michael Fink, former Saks Fifth Avenue’s women’s fashion director, was hired as the dean.
–They have a variety of fashion career options in which to major: design, accessories design, and marketing/management.
–They are making connections with the fashion world at-large: André Leon Talley is on the Board of Trustees. The André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award is presented every year, and brings a well-known designer to the school. This year’s recipient was Diane von Furstenberg.
–Faculty: Lots of industry professionals and marquee designers are brought in to mentor and do workshops (Simon Doonan, Badgley Mischka, Yigal Azrouël, Zac Posen, Catherine Malandrino).
–Besides Savannah, they have campuses in Atlanta, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France.

What they need to work on:
–The college has only been around since the 1970s, so they don’t have a huge endowment yet (which translates to money and resources).
–It’s off the beaten path. Right now the top fashion schools are in London and New York, which are obviously two fashion hubs. It’s much more difficult to get industry people to drop by. However, it seems they’ve committed the resources to get this done from afar.