More and more students study fashion in Argentina

Buenos Aires offers courses, training, technical and university courses on the world of fashion like no other country in Latin America. For over a decade now the volume of foreign students choosing to study in the Argentine capital has increased significantly.

The education available is very diverse: there are schools that offer short and mid-term courses for those with underlying concerns, for those seeking to further their knowledge with specific content or obtain a technical or university degree. Such is the case with the traditional Donato Delego and Eamoda, Espacio Buenos Aires (EBA) and the new Modern American School of Design (MASD).

These educational centres offer a host of courses including textile design, dress, styling and fashion marketing. And between 30 and 50 per cent of their current students are from overseas in each particular case.

Everyone agrees that Buenos Aires attracts overseas students for many reasons although aesthetic and economic ones are the most prominent. “Buenos Aires is a city that brings together many trends, its architecture and the feeling of inspiration you get from walking through its streets are what many people come for”, observed Adena Tutino, founder of MASD.

For Flavia Delego, director of Donato Delego, the reasons students choose Argentina are more than visual ones: “The quality in terms of design, fashion and its economic position make it desirable for those coming from other countries with a different currency to spend time here”.

Fashion schools in Argentina in high demand

As for the students, there are several features that distinguish the establishments from those in other countries. Delego spoke of her experience, “Foreigners generally come with previous knowledge and are much more sure of themselves, they have a goal. The Argentinians come with more doubts, there is a lower level of commitment and they generally arrive at the school having gone through at least one educational establishment”.

Inés García Lanza from EBA pointed out that: “Argentinian students generally undertake courses to enhance their career or a previous course. On the other hand, foreign students take a lot more courses and workshops together with the intention of being trained in as many subjects as possible; they place more value on the training they receive”.

Most of the foreign students who choose to study in Buenos are Latin American coming mainly from Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil. But there are exceptions. Despite living in countries where there is a very significant fashion industry, there are also US, Italian and Spanish students.

“We noticed that some countries that are fashion centres are perhaps more used to having more structured haute couture fashion schools. We base design on the identity of each of them and put a lot of work into that, we don't try to fall into line with haute couture. At the school, the student can identify with haute couture and develop that streak but we don’t try to influence each other”, Alejandro Bondone, CEO of E am oda pointed out.

Everyone wants to continue to grow. This is the case with Eamoda which, at twenty years old, has just launched the international franchise project in Spanish speaking cities. MASD also plans to open a school outside of Argentina.

The increased number of foreign students is a common denominator in all of the learning centres and there is a great deal of optimism for the future: there is a very good level of training given in Argentina and the cost/benefit ratio is incomparable.

Argentina also has options for university study in the field of fashion. Such is the case with the University of Palermo (UP) which has offered official courses and the only Doctorate in Design in Latin America for twenty years.

As with the other specialist centres, the university courses receive a high number of overseas students, mostly Latin American. According to Patricia Doria, fashion coordinator, “many professionals admitted to the region’s universities come to develop further skills through postgraduate study, masters and doctorates. Others choose to study courses which perhaps are unavailable in their country of origin and they leave here with a degree with which they can then work in any company”.

The experience of sharing classes with students from other countries has greatly enhanced the educational experience. For Doria this has meant a significant added value. “We are much more conservative dressers in the colour palette we use and I believe that this partnership has given us a new opening. This is clear in the classes as the students begin to discover their neighbour’s culture. By coming to study in another country, boundaries become blurred and the exchange has encouraged a different outlook”.

The UP is a pioneer in fashion courses and has become a model to be followed by many foreign schools.

This article was previously published on FashionUnited.com.ar