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Fashion Schools in Los Angeles: Costs, Industry and Transfer Guide

By · Reviewed by Kamila Katkauskaite (Creative Brand & Content Coordinator), November 1, 2026 · Editorial policy

Los Angeles is where American clothes are still made. Los Angeles County had 18,842 apparel manufacturing jobs in 2025, about 24% of the national total, and its downtown Fashion District still holds wholesale showrooms, fabric stores and sample rooms. For students, that means a fashion education here can be unusually hands-on and unusually cheap: the region has a dozen community college fashion programs, alongside private design schools such as Otis, where 2026-27 tuition is $55,744 a year.

This guide compares the colleges within commuting range of central Los Angeles, explains what the local industry offers students, and sets out what living here costs. For every California program, including those in the Bay Area, see our California fashion schools guide.

Fashion schools in the Los Angeles area

Costs below are published in-state tuition and the average net price after grants, from U.S. Department of Education data. Net price includes housing and food, so at some community colleges it is far higher than tuition. Official 2026-27 prices, where schools publish them, are in the program notes further down.

School Location Type Tuition (in-state) Average net price Focus
Otis College of Art and Design Westchester, near LAX Private $58,143 $50,943 Design
Los Angeles Trade Technical College Downtown, south of the Fashion District Public $1,238 $3,531 Design and merchandising
University of Redlands, Los Angeles (formerly Woodbury University) Burbank Private $48,629 $44,337 Design and merchandising
California State University-Long Beach Long Beach Public $8,338 $9,426 Design and merchandising
California State University-Northridge Northridge, San Fernando Valley Public $7,850 $6,346 Design
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, about 30 miles east Public $8,147 $9,404 Design and merchandising
Santa Monica College Santa Monica Public $1,158 $1,693 Design and merchandising
Pasadena City College Pasadena Public $1,180 $16,993 Design
El Camino College Torrance, South Bay Public $1,156 $13,761 Design and merchandising
Long Beach City College Long Beach Public $1,560 $1,192 Design and merchandising
Mt. San Antonio College Walnut, San Gabriel Valley Public $1,364 $1,676 Design and merchandising
Fullerton College Fullerton, Orange County Public $1,150 $1,302 Design and merchandising
Orange Coast College Costa Mesa, Orange County Public $1,222 $1,850 Design and merchandising
Santa Ana College Santa Ana, Orange County Public $1,188 $7,224 Design and merchandising

ASU FIDM, Arizona State University’s fashion school, also teaches in downtown Los Angeles. It reports to the government as part of Arizona State, so it is not in the table; its costs are below and on our ASU FIDM profile.

The main programs

Otis College of Art and Design

Otis offers a BFA in Fashion Design on its campus in Westchester, a few minutes from the airport. Its teaching model is unusual: each year, working designers from outside companies set juniors and seniors a creative brief, then critique sketches and fittings through the year. In 2025-26 the mentors came from companies including Nike, Vuori, St. John and Vince, and the year ended with a runway show. A portfolio is required. Tuition for 2026-27 is $27,872 a semester, or $55,744 a year, plus $1,128 in fees.

ASU FIDM

The independent Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising closed its own programs on March 31, 2025. Its name now belongs to Arizona State University’s fashion school, which teaches at the ASU California Center at 919 South Grand Avenue, on the edge of the Fashion District. In Los Angeles it offers a BA in Fashion with design, technical design or merchandising tracks, and a BFA in Costume Design and Technology. No portfolio is needed. Fall 2026 tuition for a California student taking 7 or more credits is $7,794 a semester; non-residents pay $12,500 a semester at 12 or more credits.

University of Redlands, Los Angeles (formerly Woodbury University)

Woodbury University in Burbank merged into the University of Redlands in July 2026 and now operates as the University of Redlands, Los Angeles. Its Fashion Design BFA asks freshmen and transfer students for a portfolio, requires an internship, and ends with a senior runway show judged by fashion professionals. 2026-27 tuition is $24,168 a semester.

The Cal State campuses

Three California State University campuses in the region teach fashion at public prices. Cal State Long Beach offers a BA in Fashion Merchandising and Design with a design or merchandising option and a required internship. CSUN in Northridge offers fashion design and production, merchandising and textiles options. Cal Poly Pomona’s BS in Fashion Design Technology and Management includes retailing, design and production, and textile options, and its students design a line sold in the campus bookstore. None of the three lists a portfolio for entry. CSU tuition for California residents is $3,419 a semester in 2026-27, or $6,838 a year, plus campus fees.

Community colleges

California residents pay $46 a unit at community colleges, and Los Angeles and Orange County have many fashion programs to choose from. Los Angeles Trade-Technical College sits just south of the Fashion District downtown. Santa Monica College runs fashion design and merchandising programs and an annual student show, LA Mode. Pasadena City College, El Camino, Long Beach City College and Mt. San Antonio College all offer fashion design associate degrees, and Orange Coast College lists six fashion associate degrees, from technical design to styling. Many of these programs teach industry skills like patternmaking and sample making that lead straight to jobs in local factories and studios.

The industry around the schools

The Los Angeles Fashion District is a 107-block area downtown, roughly from 7th Street south to the Santa Monica Freeway, between Broadway and Essex Street. It holds wholesale showrooms, sample sales, fabric and notions stores, the Flower District and Santee Alley. The California Market Center at 110 East Ninth Street hosts LA Market Week and the LA Textile Show, where students can see how brands sell to store buyers.

Behind the showrooms is real production. Los Angeles County’s apparel factories paid an average of $66,060 in 2025, and the metro area has thousands of sewing machine operators and patternmakers. That makes Los Angeles the best U.S. city to learn how clothes are actually made, from technical design and patternmaking to production management. The entertainment industry adds another path: about one in five of the country’s costume attendants work in the Los Angeles metro area, where their median wage was $106,810 in May 2025.

Jobs and pay

The Los Angeles metro area employs about a quarter of the country’s fashion designers, second only to New York. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a median wage for designers in Los Angeles; the national median is $80,960. Buyers and purchasing agents in the metro area earn a median of $82,500. Our fashion merchandising degree guide explains the buying and planning jobs, and the fashion styling guide covers wardrobe and styling work.

What it costs to live here

Rent is the biggest cost. HUD’s fair market rent for Los Angeles County in fiscal 2026 is $2,079 a month for a studio and $2,328 for a one-bedroom, and rents near downtown and the Westside run higher. Many community college students live at home and commute, which is why the cheapest route here is so cheap.

Public transit helps. Students at participating community colleges ride Metro buses and trains free with a GoPass. Other college students qualify for a reduced fare that never costs more than $2.50 a day or $6 a week. The Metro E Line runs through downtown, with stops at LATTC/Ortho Institute, Pico and 7th St/Metro Center.

Transfer routes

There is no fashion Associate Degree for Transfer in California, so community college students should plan their route early. Otis has transfer agreements with many community colleges, including Santa Monica, Pasadena, El Camino, Mt. San Antonio, Long Beach, Fullerton and Orange Coast, that count their fashion courses toward its BFA. For the Cal State campuses, the usual route is to finish general education and fashion courses at a community college, then apply to CSULB, CSUN or Cal Poly Pomona.

Is studying fashion in Los Angeles worth it?

For students who want to make clothes, the answer is often yes. Los Angeles combines factories, showrooms, costume work and a large brand scene, and its community colleges and Cal State campuses make that access affordable for California residents. The private BFAs at Otis and Redlands cost far more, so compare aid offers closely. For students from outside California, the resident rates do not apply, and rent is the bigger decision.

Frequently asked questions

Is FIDM still open in Los Angeles?

No. The independent FIDM closed its programs on March 31, 2025. Arizona State University now teaches fashion under the ASU FIDM name at its downtown Los Angeles center.

What is the cheapest way to study fashion in Los Angeles?

A community college fashion program, at $46 a unit for California residents, followed by a transfer to a Cal State campus or Otis.

Do Los Angeles fashion schools require a portfolio?

Otis and the University of Redlands, Los Angeles do. ASU FIDM, the Cal State campuses and the community colleges do not list one for entry.

Where else should I look?

Compare fashion schools in New York City, the fashion design schools in California page and our other city guides.

Sources

What changed on this page

  • November 2026: city guide published.