The unique learning environment of Savannah College of Art and Design

Savannah College of Art and Design is a private art school founded in 1978 by Paula Wallace, then an elementary school teacher with a different vision for creative studies in the US, who remains president to this day. The seat of learning that she built, on a loan from her parents and a dream, now has Georgia locations in both Savannah and Atlanta, and one in Lacoste, France, along with a global reputation. Hollywood stars, members of the global press and media and CEOs from the fashion industry all regularly descend on the three locations at the request of President Wallace to address and inspire the students.

In the past few months, SCAD has hosted an international crop of creatives including Rebecca Hessel Cohen, founder of Love Shack Fancy; designer Jean Paul Gaultier; acclaimed film director Sam Taylor-Wood, TV presenter Kelly Ripa; Creative Director of Marni, Francesco Rosso; actor/filmmaker Ethan Hawke and his daughter Maya; and Wes Gordon, Creative Director of Carolina Herrera, to name just a few.

One of the first activities visitors to the school are invited to do is experience SCADstory, an immersive animated presentation within a turreted red brick building featuring Hogwarts-style wooden staircases and book-lined rooms with fireplaces, impressive mantels and tartan walls. The presentation incorporates light shows, portraits that come to life and a cartoon version of Paula Wallace sitting at her kitchen table imagining this new type of educational environment for which she would become known. It culminates in a tear-jerking collage of all the industries that employ SCAD graduates which includes a glimpse inside NASA. Prospectus meets infotainment.

Witnessing SCADstory as someone who came up through the UK fashion education system, this reviewer initially had no idea how to react. Such irrepressible optimism isn’t a quality associated with art and design education across the pond and anyway this kind of pollyanna earnestness generally leaves us squeamish. But by the end of three days, having visited the different departments, spoken to professors and students, attended the annual fashion show, and observed the elevated student work, I left entirely converted. In fact I could even imagine its appeal to my 17-year-old self searching for somewhere to thrive creatively.

SCAD attracts global talent to rival top fashion programs

SCAD offers 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across the three locations and online via SCADnow, and it annually enrolls more than 17,500 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 100 countries. It lures faculty away from fashion hubs such as NYC and London and from all across Europe. SCAD Savannah, the largest of the university’s locations, occupies around 70 historic, meticulously renovated facilities scattered about the city so that Savannah itself really is the students’ classroom.

It boasts a highly revered Museum of Art that mounts more than 20 exhibitions each year, and has featured artists such as Jane Alexander, Kehinde Wiley and Alfredo Jaar, while the fashion museum has staged shows featuring the work of contemporary and historical luminaries such as Cristòbal Balenciaga, Ellen Von Unwerth, Madame Grès and Oscar de la Renta. In August an exhibit will open honoring the late Cuban-born, American fashion designer Isabel Toledo, while in October a show highlighting Academy-Award winning costume-designer Sandy Powell’s nearly 40-year career of sartorial storytelling in movies such as Shakespeare in Love, The Aviator, and The Young Victoria.

While the majestic oaks draped in Spanish moss that line Savannah’s public squares and elegant avenues seem to accentuate the magic and fantasy of a creative lifestyle in this uniquely southern fashion outpost, one wonders if the students feel isolated from industry and international runways. SCAD faculty are eager to inform anyone who will listen that 99 percent of graduates gain employment in their chosen field within a year of graduation. But FashionUnited caught up with two of the school’s 2024 graduates who participated in the runway show this past spring to hear firsthand about their experience.

What former SCAD students say

“Attending college in Savannah allowed me to slow down as best I could and take in the beauty, rich culture and history around me while also having the space to look inward,” said Ben Callaghan, who graduated from B.F.A. Fashion Design, and will begin working as an assistant designer at Abercrombie & Fitch in September. “The tight-knit and highly creative community here constantly inspired me to continue learning and do the best I could, and the slower-paced lifestyle here made it the perfect environment to get to work.”

Schools in more cosmopolitan cities that boast an exciting fashion industry and the social life that comes with it must be tempting to high school graduates evaluating the next step. Yet SCAD remains competitive, even offering students scholarships from European luxury companies like Solstiss and Swarovski. It prioritizes exposure in other ways too. “The multidisciplinary nature of SCAD and its students has always stood out to me.

Despite studying fashion, I’m surrounded by students doing strong work in motion media, architecture, visual effects, and industrial design,” Callaghan told us. Certainly, departments within schools in highly populated cities like NYC can tend to be more siloed due to the size, and how spread out the campus is, whereas at SCAD, Callaghan said, “Collaborating and learning from my peers from other disciplines has been invaluable to grow my skill set and strengthen my work as a designer.”

Fellow BFA grad, Ana-Raquel Achurra, put “being able to connect with industry professionals” at the top of her list of significant SCAD attributes. “The skills, connections, and experiences I’ve gained have not only prepared me for the fashion industry but also inspired me to push boundaries and innovate.” She spoke of how it instilled in her a level of confidence and outlook that is anything but parochial. “I feel ready to take on any challenge and make a significant impact in the fashion world,” she said.

Achurra initially set her sights on NYC as the ideal location for her undergraduate program but changed her mind after taking a tour of SCAD. “Savannah is a small town, but its scenery is incredibly inspiring. The trees, parks, and squares create a beautiful backdrop that sparks creativity and feels like home.”

Now working in the industry Achurra has found the transition between classroom and workplace remarkably smooth, which has renewed her confidence that she made the right decision in her undergrad choice. “Conversations with graduates from other schools have shown me that SCAD’s preparation is unparalleled. The technological and design training, the professors, are exceptional. It’s an inclusive environment where no idea is too big or too small, which feels truly empowering. I could go on and on about how amazing it is, but you have to be there to live it!”