The Chair of Fashion Design was established in 1993. It is headed by Associate Professor L.V.Kokoreva. The staff of the Chair is 12 people.

In contrast to French fashion design school where stylists, illustrators, designers are trained separately the Academy trains specialists with broad qualifications. This has been dictated by a very weak emerging domestic market, the idea being that a broad specialist would be able to find a variety of jobs ranging from illustrator, artist, advertising artist to designer of clothes for various groups of people.

The training methodology practised at the Academy is developing together with the trade. The world market if fashion is divided into three groups of clothes, which are represented by collection haut couture, pret-a-porter and confection. Training is focused on study and design within these three groups.

The first two years are aimed to provide basic knowledge and skills in this profession alongside art disciplines, costume composition and ornamentation, social sciences, specialty disciplines.

The third and fourth years provide training is industrial design, special disciplines being the design of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing for mass production (confection). At the end of the fourth year students submit a bachelor’s thesis and after graduation can work as fashion designers (stylists).

The fifth and sixth years are devoted to haut couture and pret-a-porter collection design. Special attention is given to individuality. The course covers theory of fashion and advertising. In the sixth year students submit a graduate project and are awarded the qualification of designer, the project being a full collection in sketch and a selection of models in full size. The teaching methodology of the Chair arouses interest, and the number of applicants is increasing each year. Student works have been displayed in Austria, the Netherlands, Germany (1995). Students take part in various international fashion shows in Russia and abroad. In 1996 and in 1997 first prizes were awarded at an annual competition in the USA. The student of the Chair S.Gorlach was awarded a grant and completed a course at a fashion design school in Dallas, USA. We are certain that in the very near future graduates of the Chair will be able to compete in the fashion market in Russia and create Russian fashion.