Footwear Sketching Famed fashion illustrator and FIDM Instructor Nancy Riegelman mentors a student.
ASSOCIATE OF ARTS
FOOTWEAR DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
The Footwear Design & Development Program prepares students for careers in the global footwear industry. It offers students the opportunity to integrate critical and creative thought and technical skills. Students explore how construction, technology, sustainability, cultural diversity, and aesthetics influence design.
What Our Students Learn In our program, students learn how to design coherent, on-trend footwear collections for today's global and domestic markets.
Why FIDM Students learn from instructors with extensive industry experience, as well as guest speakers representing every segment of the industry. On-site visits to working factories, sample rooms, and key footwear retailers give students practical knowledge of a range of footwear and industry trends. Recent collaborations include: Just Fab, Seychelles, Skechers, PV Footwear/Sbicca, Sam Edelman, TOMS, Steve Madden, and K-Swiss.
[top] Starting the creative process of designing a shoe; Class: Sketching for Footwear Design [left] Students discuss the process of constructing a shoe; Class: Pattern Drafting for Footwear [bottom left] Students design using a "last" [bottom right] Prototype of a final design for a student project with K-Swiss. Student: Jenna Nase
FOOTWEAR DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
REQUIRED CLASSES FOR ASSOCIATE OF ARTS (A.A.) (for students without a prior college degree)
| FTWR 1100 | Introduction to Footwear Design | 3 |
| FTWR 1300 | Sketching for Footwear Design | 3 |
| FTWR 1700 | Technical Sketching for Footwear Design | 3 |
| FTWR 1800 | History of Footwear | 3 |
| FTWR 2100 | Footwear Design & Line Development | 3 |
| FTWR 2300A | Pattern Drafting for Footwear I (6 hours)* | 3 |
| FTWR 2300B | Pattern Drafting for Footwear II | 3 |
| FTWR 2400 | Introduction to 3-D Design | 3 |
| FTWR 2500A | Design & Technical Specification for Footwear I | 3 |
| FTWR 2500B | Design & Technical Specification for Footwear II | 3 |
| FTWR 2700 | 3-D Design Applications | 3 |
| FTWR 2800 | Collection Development | 3 |
| FTWR 2850 | Special Projects in Footwear | 3 |
| GNST 1040 | English Composition | 3 |
| GNST 1170 | History of Costume | 3 |
| GNST 1230 | Color & Design Theory | 3 |
| GNST 1450 | College Mathematics | 3 |
| GNST 1600 | Effective Speaking | 3 |
| GNST 1650 | Critical Thinking | 3 |
| GNST 2220 | History of Design | 3 |
| GNST 2420 | Survey of Western Art II | 3 |
| GNST 2750 | Seminar in the Arts | 3 |
| GNST 2960 | America Political & Economics History | 3 |
| GNST 2980 | Professional Practices | 3 |
| MTFG 2520 | Global Trade Dynamics | 3 |
| MMKT 1550 | Marketing & Brand Development | 3 |
| MPDV 1750 | Trends & Fashion Forecasting | 3 |
| MRCH 1950 | Excel for Business Applications | 3 |
| TECH 1100 | Introduction to Adobe | 3 |
| TSCI 1440 | Textile Science | 3 |
| Total Units of Credit | 90 |
REQUIRED CLASSES FOR PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATION (A.A.) (for students with a prior college degree)
| FTWR 1100 | Introduction to Footwear Design | 3 |
| FTWR 1300 | Sketching for Footwear Design | 3 |
| FTWR 1700 | Technical Sketching for Footwear Design | 3 |
| FTWR 1800 | History of Footwear | 3 |
| FTWR 2100 | Footwear Design & Line Development | 3 |
| FTWR 2300A | Pattern Drafting for Footwear I (6 hours)* | 3 |
| FTWR 2300B | Pattern Drafting for Footwear II | 3 |
| FTWR 2400 | Introduction to 3-D Design | 3 |
| FTWR 2500A | Design & Technical Specification for Footwear I | 3 |
| FTWR 2500B | Design & Technical Specification for Footwear II | 3 |
| FTWR 2700 | 3-D Design Applications | 3 |
| FTWR 2800 | Collection Development | 3 |
| FTWR 2850 | Special Projects in Footwear | 3 |
| GNST 1170 | History of Costume | 3 |
| MFTG 2520 | Global Trade Dynamics | 3 |
| MMKT 1550 | Marketing & Brand Development | 3 |
| MPDV 1750 | Trends & Fashion Forecasting | 3 |
| MRCH 1950 | Excel for Business Applications | 3 |
| TECH 1100 | Introduction to Adobe | 3 |
| TSCI 1440 | Textile Science | 3 |
| Total Units of Credit | 60 |
*Three (3)-hour lab included in 6 hours
For important information about the completion rate, educational debt, and earnings of students who attended this program, go to fidm.edu/go/ge/fdd.