From fashion designing to other aspects like styling, branding and merchandising, from beginner to advanced, here is our list of the best online fashion courses to chooose from if you want to learn at home.

Who says learning new skills requires a whole “student” lifestyle? Learning is for everyone – mid-career professionals, students considering a career-change, stay-at-home moms. And the age of social media has made education so accessible.

If you’ve been dying to learn a little about fashion designing or the fashion industry, but find yourself caught up in your daily hustle, this article is for you.

Also read: Fashion Designing Subjects & Courses in Fashion Design Schools

Signing up for an online course are the easiest way to learn a new skill without stepping out the door, just a click away. We have compiled a list of courses you can sign up for. We have rounded up the top online fashion courses in the world – suitable for both beginners and intermediate learners.

1. University of Fashion

With hundreds of online video tutorials in 13 disciplines, for beginner to advanced level, the UofF is a great place to start looking when you want to just dip your feet in the vast ocean that is fashion design education. They have both a monthly subscription (priced at $19.95) and an annual one (at $189) for on-demand lessons. The subscription gives you access to all tutorials, so it’s learning at your own pace, right at home. Check them out here.

Their lessons are on various topics, ranging from draping, pattern making, sewing, garment construction and knitting, to menswear, accessories and fashion business. In fact, they even have a few free online fashion design courses for beginners.

The only difficulty is that one has to be very motivated to follow a self-paced program, otherwise your annual subscription will be a waste. So my advice is to take one only if you really think your lifestyle allows you enough time and motivation to do self-study. Or one good idea would be to start with a monthly subscription to get a good idea of whether you like fashion designing or not.

Also, Shilpa, our Editor-in-Chief, was a guest contributor for their blog. Check out her work for the UofF here.

UAL – University of the Arts London

UAL is Europe’s largest university that specializes in arts, and is one of the best online fashion courses with certificate. Located in London, England, they have programs in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. In online programs, this uni guides you through three heads of fashion: Fashion Business, Fashion design and Fashion Marketing. Pick the one you that drives you the most to pursue and get started onto a new direction. You can find the course details here: UAL

We’ve done the homework for you. Here are the main courses they offer and a bit about each of them, so you can pick the perf one for your needs.

First we’ll look into Fashion Business.

Intro to fashion industry

This course gives you a full insight on the basics of fashion from merchandising to forecasting and history of fashion. These nitty-gritties of fashion are an essential for a total fashion virgin. Being priced at 465 pounds for 3 months of online access, this is a sure shot course to get into the fashion industry from a top-tier university. We feel this is a good idea for those who want to educate themselves on the foundation of fashion, preparing to dive into various careers that go on in the fashion industry.

Store Layout and Visual Merchandising

Tackling the outlook of a store and engaging the clients to purchase is the main feature of visual merchandising. This course helps you get a better understanding of how to place and what to place in a store in order to attract the clientele, thereby accelerating the sales of the store. At 360 pounds for 3 months, this course will mold you to create your own retail designs and merchandising planograms, getting you ready to put yourself out into the fashion market.

Starting an Online Fashion Retail Store

Boost your business skills like brand strategy, personal branding and SEO. With a fee of 465 pounds in a span of 3 months, the course will inculcate confidence in you to launch your dream fashion business. With interactive sessions on marketing and strengthening your brand identity, it is a good course to choose, once your fashion foundation is strong. It may also be a good idea for those who are planning to make a career in fashion retailing, instead of designing.

Next under Fashion Design:

Fashion Design

This course is a complete package on structural fashion knowledge. It covers a wide variety of topics such as silhouettes, textures, fabric, color, and fashion drawing. You can choose this over other courses such as menswear, womenswear and kidswear that they offer, as all have similar topics. However, if you are looking to specialize under any one head, then you can opt for that. Priced at 465 pounds for 3 months, this course seems to be worth every penny.

Draping Womenswear

If you are looking to venture into a new technique of pattern making, draping womenswear is one of the good online fashion courses to build your base. With interactive sessions and personal feedback, you will be able to get a good hand on draping in 3 months for 360 pounds.

However, draping is something you really need hands-on experience to learn. So from my personal experience, I would suggest you to visit a physical class over something online for this topic to have better clarity on the subject. If not, it would be a good idea to have bodyform on you, you can still follow the steps and try it out.

Under Fashion Marketing:

Luxury Brand Management

This course really caught my eye, as I haven’t seen many universities offering a course on Luxury Brand Management. If you are keen on working for a luxury brand, a little knowledge of the culture of the brand is required to get yourself a step ahead from the rest. This course takes 3 months to complete, with a fee structure of 360 pounds.

Fashion Journalism

With blogs, Instagram and online fashion magazines on the rise, fashion journalism is a super fashion tangent to get into. People love reading about fashion. Tips, tricks, celeb styles and what not. With weekly assignments and individual written feedback, this course will mold your writing into something impactful. For 400 pounds and 3 months, this course has a lot to offer. It’s one of the top online fashion courses that could be great for those who enjoy fashion criticism or literature, but not designing.

Fashion Content Marketing

With the world relying on looks, every business needs to know how to portray their company in order to grab the masses. Get access to lively class discussions, hands-on assignments and case studies, along with practical focus on various topics. At a fee structure of 360 pounds for a term of 3 months, this course could be ideal for students who love marketing and fashion.

Milan Fashion Campus

Milan is a fashion mecca, and if you want to get the Italian fashion experience, this could be a great place to look for an online fashion designing course with certificate. They have programs in accessory designing, styling and much more, which you can check out here. Let’s discuss them all in detail.

Online Fashion Design Courses

Online Accessories Design Course

Accessories to accompany your apparel is also an important factor in the fashion industry. Those looking to expand their knowledge in fashion to be more than garments can take up the course. It’ll help you gain knowledge on different accessories, workmanship and how to follow your inspiration into a collection. This course promises to get you kick started on your passion at 180 euros.

Women Fashion Styling

This head has a lot of individual topics to offer. You can sign up for different classes according to your preferences. We have shortlisted a few that we feel will be the best to put your career on the right track.

The Fashion History

To know about fashion evolution is necessary to understand as fashion has a repetitive cycle. Fashion History is one subject that is really essential, as it teaches you about the changes and evolution of fashion. With 16 euros as the fee, it is quite worth for the price you are paying.

Discovering Style Sets

For people who have less or no knowledge in fashion, fashion vocabulary is a must to know the different styles and to understand that style is different from design. This course is priced at 15 euros, and offers consolidated notes on the subject.

The Body Shapes

To know how to design according to body types is important for both as a designer as well as a stylist. Educate yourself on this topic to use your design skills to the fullest. The course has a fee structure of 20 euros.

Color Analysis Set

Learn how to work with colors. This course focuses on complementary colors, triadic colors, etc. for you to comfortably play with different hues in your design process. This education is essential for designers to create a harmony amongst them. This course focuses on increasing your knowledge on the know-how of fashion. With a fee structure of 20 euros, this is a class that will come in handy for various fashion decisions.

Recognize Fabrics Set

This course will guide you to understand the weight and hand of the fabric. By knowing the feel, fall, lightness and thickness of fabrics, you will be able to come to your final decision on which fabric to choose to do justice to your inspiration. Improve you fabric proficiency by learning a little about textile, at a fee of 20 euros.

Men’s Fashion Styling

Men’s Color Analysis

Color analysis tends to be the same for both men and women. You can take your call on which one you want to specialize in and choose what suits your requirements best. The fee structure for this course is 30 euros.

Men Body Types

Picking up a trick of the trade on how to dress/ design in accordance with the different body types is important in the fashion industry. This course will brush brief on each of the body types, clothes complementing the body types and things to avoid, all at a fee of 30 euros.

Online Fashion Courses on Udemy

You can check out their website here. They have countless courses on every topic taught by professionals and fashion instructors. Here are some of their best online fashion courses:

Basic Fashion Illustration

As a fashion designer, illustration has always been my most favorite subject to practice. And honestly, you can never have enough of it. Illustration is an important tool to communicate your designs before constructing the garment. Basic Fashion Illustration course teaches the basics of head theory, features, both male and female body, at a very affordable price of Rs.1920/- . It will be a good kick-start to get your sketching in place.

Advanced Fashion Illustration

Based on your sketching skill-level, you can choose which one you want to pursue. This course covers rendering of skin and different fabrics along with 10 fashion poses for a slightly higher fee structure of Rs.3200/-.

Pattern Making for Fashion Design

Pattern making and garment is one of the backbones of fashion design. You need to know how to construct a garment until you have a person to do so. Basic bodice, with which you can try out other variations, learning to use the measuring tape properly to avoid any mistakes are a few fundamentals covered in this course. Priced at Rs.1280/-, this is one of the online fashion courses that guides you through the fingertips of fashion.

Printing on Fabric

The printing course is optional only if you are looking to gain a comprehensive knowledge on fashion. It would be perfect for anybody interested in textile design. The classes will cover tops on how to prepare the fabric for printing, the degree of dye to be used and other technicalities of the same, at a price of Rs.1280/-.

Oxford Home Study

Advance Diploma in Fashion Design – Level 5

Covering almost all important topics that you will require to get a solid foundation in fashion, this course has got you covered. You don’t have to go around looking for other online fashion courses. From introduction to fashion to sketching and design process, you will learn it all in a period of 320 hours for 540 euros.

Aonline Training

Diploma course in Fashion Designing

The course looks over three aspects of fashion – designing, stitching and merchandising. You will be learning both via Photoshop and Coral Draw to communicate your designs. In addition to your knowledge in fashion, these classes will go over a plethora of tools on the given software. You will be able to engage your clients and express your designs to your best with the help of this course, which is priced at Rs.20000/-.

Online Fashion designing

Diploma in Fashion Designing – Rs.20000 –
Advance Diploma in Fashion and Textile Designing – Rs.30000/-

If you do not have any knowledge on Photoshop and Illustrator, then this diploma will give you a good knowledge on how to translate your designs, using software to express your creativity. However, you need to sign up for other courses, or have a basic background of fashion design, in order to learn fashion concepts. The diploma course includes flat designs for various kinds of shirts, skirts, Indian and western garments. Whereas the Advanced diploma covers flat design on fabric and prints to incorporate onto your designing garments.

Skillshare: Online Fashion Courses

This popular online learning website has courses in anything, including many in fashion design, branding, illustration and more. They have a 14-day free trial if you’d like to try out fashion design online free. Their premium subscription lets you access all courses on the website.

Taught by everyone from gifted artists to experienced professionals, this is a great place if you’re trying to learn fashion aspects just for the fun of it, or to widen your skill-sets. You can browse them all here. Some of their most popular online fashion courses include:

The Staples of Branding: From Purpose to Product

This course focuses on building a brand, targeted at entrepreneurs, fashion aspirants, and those who are planning on building their own product company.

The First Steps of Fashion Design: From Concept to Illustration

Here’s one course if you want to learn how to creating rapid fashion illustrations to convey your ideas, themes, shapes, and textures of garments efficiently.

Also check out: Fashion Design Sketches by World’s Top Fashion Designers

Adobe Illustrator for Fashion (CAD I): Introduction to Garment Flats

Looking for a cad fashion design courses online? Then here’s one for you. Learn Adobe Illustrator for fashion design, and for creating a garment flat. This will help you communicate your designs to pattern-makers and manufacturers.

Painting with Watercolors: From Inspiration to Fashion Illustration

If you want to enliven your fashion illustrations, get into watercolor painting! With hands-on exercises, you’ll learn how to create artistic illustrations, sketching, how to give finishing touches and more from a fashion illustrator.

So we hope this list of online fashion courses was helpful. If you have tried one of these, please give your review below so that we all can learn from your experiences.

Happy learning!